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CHAMPAGNE
– STYLES –
Besserat de Bellefon in the centre of Epernay, beyond
the Avenue de Champagne
its wines are blends of juice from different villages in
Champagne. A very small number of labels, like the
Vieilles Vignes Françaises or the Côte aux Enfants,
a non-sparkling Pinot noir produced in the Coteaux
Champenois area, are single-vineyard selections. But
there is now an intermediary version – a single varietal
Pinot noir blended from several vintages, but where the
main growth is a village selected every year. The village
is stated on the label, for those who can decipher it!
‘PNVZ15’ means that the majority 2015 wine came from
the village of Verzenay. This was also true of PNVZ16,
with wine from the following year. But for the 2017s, the
label still states PNXX17, because the choice of village
has yet to be announced. Are these the first stages in a
move towards a 100% single-vineyard wine? “Maybe”,
smiles Bunner.
Nathalie Doucet, chair of Champagne Besserat de Bellefon
14 WINTER 2021 GILBERT & GAILLARD - THE FRENCH EXPERTS ON WINE
BESSERAT DE BELLEFON: QUALITY BUBBLES
This old house, established in 1843, has belonged to
the Lanson group since the 1990s and is now based in
Epernay. Fifteen to twenty percent of the wines come
from their own vineyards, with a balance stemming from
supply contracts.
Cédric Thiébault, the cellar master, has been with the
house since 1999. First of all, he explains that the
‘Besserat de Bellefon feel’ has now been extended to all of
their labels. So what does it entail? Having a Champagne
that looks creamy when you pour it into a flute glass,
instilling greater lightness and silky mousse. How is it
created? By deliberately reducing effervescence to around
4.5 to 4.8 bar, when most Champagnes are around 5.5
to 6 bar. The Champagne appellation does, indeed, allow
producers to reduce pressure to as low as 3 or 3.5 bar.
For lower pressure, less bottling liquor or ‘liqueur de tirage’
must be used during the secondary fermentation. The
idea arose in 1930 as part of a process to producer lighter
Champagne that could pair with an entire meal. Less gas
does indeed lead to finer bubbles, as demonstrated by the
scientist Gérard Liger-Belair. At Besserat de Bellefon, this
technique was first reserved for the Cuvée des Moines,
but has now been applied generally across the range.
Similarly, the special shape of the bottle for this label has
now been rolled out for the entire portfolio.
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