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The International Wine Review
December 2007
Report #9 Champagne
Introduction
There is no wine that creates
more excitement or stirs the soul
like Champagne. No evening
should begin nor day end without
it. The mere sight of Champagne
flutes crowned with bubbles has
the uncanny effect of bringing a smile to everyone in a room.
Great Champagne can transform a simple get-together into
a party. Champagne is more than a wine with bubbles, more
than a region in France and more than a method of making
wine. It is a symbol for good luck, success, triumph, happiness
and love throughout the world. No other wine can make that
claim.
While almost everyone is familiar with Champagne, few
people -- even in the wine trade -- know all the intricacies of
its production or the complexities of its many styles. In this
report, the International Wine Review presents a primer on all
aspects of Champagne and reports the results of its extensive
tasting of more than 100 of the finest French Champagnes on
the market.
We describe in detail various styles of Champagne, explain
how to read a label and how to pair Champagne with food
successfully. We look at the sub-regions of Champagne, its
rating system, recent vintages, the grapes used and challenges
in the vineyard. We take an in-depth look at the méthode
champenoise and explain the importance of each step in the
production process.
In our tasting notes, we identify several Champagnes that are
the crème-de-la-crème of their type, such as the Dom Ruinart
1996 Blanc de Blancs Reims (96 points), the Henri Billiot Cuvée
Continued on page 3.
In This Issue
Introduction....................................................Cover
Champagne: An Overview.................................... 3
The Evolution of the Champagne Method........... 3
The Regions of Champagne................................. 4
The Vineyard Classification System....................... 4
Vintages................................................................ 5
The Grapes........................................................... 5
In the Vineyard...................................................... 5
In the Winery: Méthode Champenoise................. 6
Styles Of Champagne........................................... 9
Grower Champagne and House
Champagne: Different Paths to Quality.............. 11
Champagne with Food....................................... 12
The Label: What to Look for............................... 14
The Market.......................................................... 14
Top-Rated Champagnes by Style........................ 16
The Champagnes: Tasting Notes and Ratings.... 17
Annexes
Annex I The Echelle des Crus Grands
& Premiers Crus...................................................22
Annex II Dosage and Champagne Styles..........22
Annex III References and Further Reading..........22
Annex IV Map of Champagne...............Back Cover

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Continued from page 1.
Julie Grand Cru Brut NV Ambonnay (95 points), the Krug
Grand Cuvée NV Reims (95 points), the Bollinger 1999
Grande Année Ay-Champagne (96 points), the Nicolas
Feuillatte 1997 Palmes D’Or (96 points), the Dom Pérignon
1996 Rose (92 points), and the Veuve Clicquot 1984 Rare
Vintage Rosé Reims (92 points).
We also found a number of bottlings that offer exceptionally
good value. Good values in excellent Champagnes include
the Nicolas Feuillatte 1998 Blanc de Blancs Chouilly ($40,
93 points), Egly-Ouriet NV Les Vignes de Vrigny Brut
Ambonnay ($42, 93 points) and Pierre Gimonnet 2002
Cuvée Gastronome Chouilly ($58, 92 points). The Bollinger
1999 Grand Année Ay-Champagne rated at 96 points is also
an exceptionally good value at $89.
Acknowledgements
We wish to acknowledge with great appreciation the
contributions of Charles Curtis, MW, to the preparation of this
report. In addition to serving as author of the sectionabout
the styles of Champagne, Charles has been our principal
source of advice and support on all aspects of Champagne.
We also wish to express our appreciation to the Institute
of Masters of Wine, which hosted its annual Champagne
tasting in New York and San Francisco in September 2007.
The event, open to the public, has become the preeminent
tasting of its kind and enables U.S. consumers to taste
Champagnes that are often difficult to obtain. This is an
event not to be missed.
We wish to thank the many importers, distributors and
retailers -- including Geoff Macilwaine at the Wine Warehouse
in Charlottesville, VA -- who provided samples as well as the
members of our tasting panel and guest taster, sommelier
Andy Myers from CityZen restaurant at the Washington DC
Mandarin Oriental.
For this report, some of the wines were tasted blind, as is
our normal practice. However, many wines were tasted at
the IMW Annual Champagne tasting.
We also wish to thank the Office of Champagne, USA
and the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne
(CIVC) for use of photos. Finally, we wish to acknowledge
the important contributions to this report from Contributing
Editors Heather Price and Donald Winkler.
Jay Youmans, MW
Mike Potashnik, PhD
Publishers, International Wine Review
Champagne: An Overview
Where does Champagne come from, how is it made, and
how does it differ from other sparkling wines? Simply defined,
Champagne is a geographic area in northern France. It is
home to a winemaking method, the méthode champenoise,
that evolved over several centuries. Champagne is one of
France’s greatest wines; but, unlike wines of the Rhône,
Bordeaux and Burgundy, Champagne is as much about the
process as the place.
This may border on blasphemy among fanatics of French wine
and its terroir. When defending their wine, the Champenoise
will point to their chalky soil and cool growing conditions,
both important quality factors. But the characteristics these
factors impart to the grapes are altered by the winemaking
process. Champagne is unique, but the method and the
winemaker deserve credit along with the terroir for its
greatness. The impact of the traditional method,however,
makes Champagne some what susceptible to challengers
from abroad. Yet, no region around the world has been able
to mount a serious threat to Champagne’s position as the
world’s source for luxury sparkling wine.
The strong market position of Champagne is due to
marketing. There is no stronger brand name in wine than
Champagne. The Champenoise have done a superb job
developing, improving and defending the name. This is
the only region in France where the appellation controlée
statement is not required on the label, only the name
Champagne. Despite this, not everyone knows that true
Champagne must come from this region and be made using
the méthode champenoise.
Despite vineyard expansion in recent years and signs that
the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne
(CIVC) may allow even more, there are limits to how much
the demarcated area of Champagne can expand. Global
demand for Champagne is strong and supply is increasingly
limited. Unless the New World offers suitable alternatives,
Champagne will surely become more expensive.
The Evolution of the Champagne Method
The common myth is that a 17th century monk named Dom
Pérignon invented Champagne and the process behind it.
Less fanciful and more true, however, is Tom Stevenson’s
assertion in his “World Encyclopedia of Champagne &
Sparkling Wine” that it was probably the English who
invented Champagne.
Up until the 18th century, Champagne was a still wine that
was shipped to England in cask, then bottled. With the onset
of winter temperatures, fermentation of Champagne was
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