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Elaboration of our champagne
The
first fermentation of the champagne wine is the alcoholic
fermentation, which converts the must into wine. The
yeasts 'eat' the sugar and thus produce alcohol and carbon
dioxide, along with other elements that will characterize the
flavour of the wine. This fermentation occurs just after the
pressing, in stainless steel vats. The malolactic
fermentation is the process that converts apple acids
(malum is Latin for apple) into lactic acid (lac is Latin for
milk) and carbon dioxide. They let the flavours evolve in the
wine. The blending of
champagne wines is a response to the volatile nature: parcels,
harvests and years can lead to quite divergent results. The
winemaker will blend wines so as to achieve clearly more than
the sum of the qualities mixed. One can assemble wines of
several parcels, of different grape varieties (chardonnay,
pinot noir, pinot meunier) or of several years. Of course the
wine maker can also decide to only assemble one of these
dimensions: for example a ‘millésime’ if the vintage of a year
is sufficiently exceptional to be elaborated without reserve
wines, or an exceptional grape variety as our Chardonnay Blanc
de Blancs with its typical flavour. One could even assemble
wines of a parcel, a municipality or a hamlet. Filling
the bottles – called the ‘tirage’ - may not happen
before 1 January of the year following the vintage. Filling,
followed by fermentation in the bottle, are intended to make a
foaming wine, hence the French name "prise
de mousse". To achieve this fermentation a liqueur is
added, called the ‘liqueur de tirage’, which is composed of
sugar, yeast and a remuage component. After the bottles are
filled, they are sealed by a cap in polyethylene, called the
"bidule", and then closed with a crown cap. Then they are
taken to the basement and placed "sur lattes", i.e. piled in
long rows with wooden strips in order to reach more stability.
During this fermentation, which lasts 6 to 8 weeks, the yeast
will consume all sugars, and bring in the wine next to alcohol
and carbon dioxide also esters and superior alcohol
contributing to the typical flavour characteristics of the
wine.