Argonne 2014

Champagne is one of the most distinctive wine of France with a worldwide recognition for its festive quality. Its reputation traces back to the midde-age, when new kings of France were blessed with this wine for their crowning at the Cathedral of Reims. This cool continental climate wine region is located in the Northeast of France, just two hours east of Paris. It extends mostly between the two cities of Reims and Epernay. It includes 5 main subregions: starting from the North, the Montagne de Reims known for its Pinot Noir grapes, the Côte des Blancs known for its Chardonnay, the Vallée de la Marne known for its Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier (reg grapes), and further south, just North of Burguny, the Côte de Sézanne and the Côte des Bars in Aude. The so-called "Champagne method" has been practiced for hundreds of years. Created at the Abbaye of Saint-Hilaire in Limoux in the late 1500's, the method was utilized in England in the mid 1600's and was perfected by eponymous monk "Dom Perignon" in 1693. It consists first of making a low aslohol still wine with a blend of a white grape (usually Chardonnay) and red grapes (usually, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier), sourced from different vineyards sites and assembled with different vintages (or not for single vintage Champagne). It als include 10 to 20% of "reserve" wine, which consists of the best excedents from previous vintages. When the first wine is bottled, some sugar and yeasts are added (liqueur d'expedition) to create a second fermentation which will be trapped in the bottle with a crown cap for a minimum legal period of 15 months (it can be aged longer). The wine is then disgorged and topped off with a mix of reserve wine and sugar (liqueur de tirage) which could vary according to the dryness of Champagne desired, Brut being the standard dryness for Champagne. (3-12gr added sugar) Because of tis unique method and terroir, Champagne offers an array of styles and always bring fun in the glass!