The Champagne Edit by Ken Gargett

The Champagne Edit

Threats to Champagne’s position as the world’s leading sparkling wine, and first choice for celebration, have come and gone ever since the famous monk, Dom Perignon, allegedly called on his colleagues to “come quickly, I am drinking stars” (it seems much more likely that this was a brilliant marketing line from Moët et Chandon, rather than a genuine utterance). By Ken Gargett

There have been times when quality has not been what it should be; dosage was perhaps a little higher than ideal for many releases; the Houses would talk the talk of how non-vintage (or the better term of ‘multi-vintage’) was their most important wine but they often failed to walk to the walk; the New World got serious about making first class fizz; the region has been centre-field for a number of wars and suffered riots of its own; a push to organic and biodynamics that fits more with the image of the Growers, but is also very evident at some of the traditional producers like Louis Roederer; more recently prosecco has proved massively popular, albeit at a much lower price point than top Champers; and perhaps most worryingly of all for the future, climate change could change its very nature.

Champagne has also faced an internal battle between wines from the traditional Houses and those from the Grower revolution. One, the traditional Houses, epitomises what champagne has always been about – blending. Blending vineyards, regions, vintages, varieties. Meanwhile the increasingly ubiquitous Grower champagnes are much more about terroir, single vineyards, solo varieties and isolated vintages. One suspects that while Grower champagnes are perhaps the most discussed but least drunk styles at the moment, that is changing and that in time, there will be room for both. At the moment, there are some brilliant Grower champagnes – Selosse, Ulysses Colin, EglyOuriet, Chartogne-Taillet, Agrapart, Leclapart, Pierre Peters and many more – but there are too many that do not meet the standards that the traditional Houses have reached.

They have also forced the hand of the large Houses and many now make wines which fit more into the Grower profile than their usual releases. Krug has long had their famous Clos de Mesnil and more recently, Clos d’Ambonnay and we have seen others join them, such as Taittinger’s ‘Les Folies de la Marquetterie’ and ‘Clos Lanson’.

Many of these threats are here to stay but Champagne, the wine and the region, has always prevailed. Perceptions have altered. Many consumers will now reach for that bottle of prosecco as a value alternative, or more likely one of our own very fine offerings. The conversation in those cases often turns to value and the consensus seems to be that if one is paying $40 to $80 for a sparkler, they expect a decent champers or an exceptional local wine.

In other words, the world still perceives that champagne rules when it comes to quality.

Champagne has never been better. A recent tasting of more than forty of the great champagnes from the top years of the 1980s showed how well the better wines age and how they become more complex, more interesting. Expect wines from recent years to do just as well; indeed, expect them to surpass those wines. 2002, 2004, 2008 and 2012 are stellar years, and there are plenty scattered among them that are not far behind – and of course, every vintage will throw up scintillating surprises. For the future, reports suggest that 2018 will take its place among the greatest vintages of all, though it is very early to attempt to make any definite call on a champagne vintage. The truth is that we won’t know for at least another five to six years, and possibly even longer – 1988 is a perfect example, almost overlooked at the time, but now acknowledged as one of the finest in history. So, it could well be that this is an example of a little premature hyperbole from the Champenois, something that they do not really do too often, or we will really have something special on our hands.

The Champenois have not sat on their hands in recent years. As well as extensive work in the vineyards, great care is being taken in the making of the wines today. Top Houses like Mumm and Moet have, ever-so-gradually as to move too quickly risks the loss of long-time fans, slowly reduced the dosage of their nondrinks trade|75

vintage wines, raising the bar. We are seeing far more late-disgorged wines, an increase in Rose styles (one of the most popular styles at the moment), blanc de blancs are at levels of quality never seen (if one could mention a personal favourite, the extraordinarily elegant Perrier-Jouët ‘Belle Epoque’ Blanc de Blancs is a champagne of such ethereal grace that one cannot possibly try it and not revel in the joy that champagne offers), the afore-mentioned Grower wines, an increase in the use and respect given to the reserves used in non-vintage wines, an increase in the amount of information provided to consumers (something that must have really hurt the usually secretive and reticent Champenois) and much more.

The respect given to reserve wines is interesting. Houses like Krug and Charles Heidsieck are seen as two of the very great makers. No surprise then that they treat their reserve wines like the family jewels. Charles Heidsieck was prepared to forgo vintage releases from a number of superb years, like 2002, to ensure that they had sufficient stocks of these crucial wines for use in their non-vintages. Krug has done likewise with the marvellous 2012 vintage. Many of us regret that we will never have the opportunity to try those wines, which were never made, but the trade-off is the immaculate multi-vintage wines we are enjoying today.

Australia remains a critical market for champagne. We are the 7th largest market in the world and we have the largest consumption per head for any country outside Europe. We are equal first for the proportion of vintage cuvees, though our percentage of these wines was even higher a decade or two ago. We see a greater array of Houses than any other export market, especially with regard to smaller Houses, although we import less Grower champagne, by volume, than any other market (most discussed, least drunk?). We also have not joined the bandwagon for Rose to anything like the extent seen elsewhere. Expect that to change as this is certainly something that has not gone unnoticed by the Houses. We have gone from a nation which focused heavily on vintage champagnes to a market dominated by non-vintage wines more than any other, with the exception of Belgium.

In general, 2017 saw the record for the highest ever turnover – E4.9 Billion – of champagne. 95 per cent of the value gains came from ourselves, Japan and the States. 2017 was also the first

time that exports matched domestic sales, which was reflected in the decline in sales in French domestic, British and European markets. So swings and roundabouts, but the champagne producers have much to look forward to in coming years.

While the Champenois would certainly never want to see their wines lose their position as the must-have celebration accompaniment, they are keen to see their products be recognised as quality wine, in the same way we look on Bordeaux, Burgundy and the Barossa. They rightfully feel that champagne should be seen amongst the great wines of the world.

Outside of Champagne, we have seen everincreasing quality from places like Tasmania and England, as well as improvements in wines like Prosecco and Cava.

Fizz may indeed be enjoying a sparkling period, but no gem shines quite so magnificently as does Champagne.