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EDITORIAL<br />
PHILIPPE GAILLARD - EDITORIAL DIRECTOR<br />
CHAMPAGNE REVERTS BACK TO<br />
THE FUNDAMENTALS<br />
The time when Champagne production was limited to<br />
the basic range staples that are ‘brut’, ‘demi-sec’ and<br />
rosé is long gone. The era when Champagne rode the crest<br />
of robust economic success – more or less in the second<br />
half of the 20th century – stoked by a constant growth<br />
in production and penetration of new export markets,<br />
is over. This was a time when a bottle of Champagne was<br />
mainly viewed as a symbol of celebration, newfound<br />
freedom and as something aspirational. Champagne as a<br />
‘product’ became the companion of unwavering economic<br />
growth and consumers cared little about the exact provenance<br />
of the wine, how it was made, its home village or<br />
its vineyard site.<br />
But that was then. Over the past ten or fifteen years, this<br />
has radically changed. Consumer and producer aspirations<br />
have now converged and Champagne has finally<br />
emerged as a wine in its own right, with a history, people<br />
– increasingly women – and a process. Today’s product<br />
portfolio is virtually endless, and the blends of yesteryear<br />
have almost fallen into oblivion. There are multiple<br />
levels of interpretation, ranging from the village to the<br />
vineyard block, the use or not of malolactic fermentation<br />
and a whole host of maturation styles – even solera! – or<br />
sometimes barrel fermentation. This stylistic revolution<br />
has laid the groundwork for an incredible exploration of<br />
a region which, ultimately, is as classic as it is timeless.<br />
WINTER 2023 • GILBERT & GAILLARD - THE FRENCH EXPERTS ON WINE<br />
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