Great Millésimes, purity, finesse and excellence!

In Champagne, the Millésimes are always synonymous with refinement, quality and excellence. Why ? What is a Millésime and, above all, what are the elaboration rules to be followed for a Champagne to be recognized as a Millésime?

First of all, it is important to know that in Champagne, only the best years are Millésimes!

Unlike other Cuvées, the Millésimes are Champagnes made from the selection of a single year. An exception which makes them rare and very popular.

They are therefore distinguished from other wines with controlled designation of origin which, for the most part, state on their bottles the indication of the year of harvest from which they come.

What makes a Millésime a great Millésime?

In Champagne, a year becomes a Millésime  when the climatic conditions are favorable and one or all of the three grape varieties are of extraordinary quality, possibly combined with quantity.

Grapes are fruits, and like strawberries or apricots, they are sensitive to climate change. A Millésime from the same vineyards and from the same terroir will never have the same taste and the same characteristics from one year to the other. A phenomenon which makes each Millésime a special and rare Cuvée.

A Millésime is the exception, the perfect balance between two essential parameters: sugar and acidity.

These Cuvées are therefore elaborated during different years depending on the grape variety: an exceptional year for Chardonnay is not necessarily an exceptional year for Pinot Noir or Meunier and vice versa.

It is the vigneron who decides whether his harvest is worth of being enhanced by the Millésime of one or all of its grape varieties. Several factors influence its choice.

First of all, of course, the character of the wines of the year.

In recent years, a large number of producers agree on the same Millésimes, which is explained by the improvement of cultivation methods, the progress made in the fight against diseases and pests in compliance with environmental protection certificates and the adoption of better winemaking techniques.

Another factor that justifies the exceptional character of a Milléisme is its production: the aging on « lies » must last at least 3 years. This characteristic becomes fascinating when tasting Millésimes that have aged in a bottle on lies for more than 20 years!

If the younger Champagnes delight us with their finesse, freshness and elegance, the oldest Cuvées propel us into another dimension. Aging, which is a source of enrichment for all wines, is particularly so for Champagne, because one of the particularities of its production process is a prolonged stay of the wine in the bottle in contact with the yeasts of the second fermentation.

In our collection, we are pleased to count three Grands Millésimes which, since 1996, 1998 and 1999 respectively, have aged in the bottle on lies while waiting to be tasted! A service cousu main for pure Champagne treasures. These three Millésimes, which exist in Extra Brut and Nature versions, are made of 100% Chardonnay, a choice that is not completely trivial.

Indeed, synonymous with elegance and refinement, Chardonnay is characterized by a slow evolution and its acidity makes it an ideal grape variety for excellent aging of the wine! This grape variety with yellow-green skin and colorless pulp, whose freshness and minerality we all appreciate, is characterized, as it ages, by aromas of great nobility and complexity: honey, quince, vanilla, candied fruits and toasted notes like coffee, toast and cocoa.

The 1996 Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut is a Millésime of an amazing year still considered the best year for the Chardonnay.

Large and very taut, this wine stands upright and structured after more than 24 years of maturity in the cellar. The nobility of its aromas and the finesse of its texture rank it among the great names of the appellation.

The first nose, very elegant, expresses itself with nobility: cookies, butter, ginger, saffron. A small aeration of a few minutes confirms the excellent quality of this wine. The very ripe pear and the purity of the minerality, reminiscent of large crustaceans, sign a wine of great origin. The acacia honey brioche with butter, thyme and lemongrass prolong the pleasure. The air tightness after twenty minutes in the flute is excellent and confirms the potential of this 1996 that is held to a very high level of complexity and finesse.

The 1998 and 1999 Millésimes are just as incredible, full of finesse, delicacy and spirit. Expressive, warm and generous Grands Millésimes, to be discovered in our Millésime coffret!

Cin cin et à votre santé!