As we await for the horological year to start proper with novelties and watches to review, we bring you this new Sunday column, where we periodically will share with you some of the enjoyable lifestyle to accompany a luxury horological lifestyle. We begin with something very close to our hearts – champagne.
Horological Lifestyle: Some of the best Champagnes we enjoyed recently
Personal notes
We begin by first stating that we are not sommeliers, nor wine experts by any stretch of imagination. So this series is not about wine reviews, but for me to share some of the good stuff I have been drinking recently. Both Stanley and I have done our WSET Level 2 Certification for wines, so that forms the basis of this newfound enjoyment of champagnes. For me, the world of wines are far too big to encounter all at once. And though I do enjoy many wines from both the new and old worlds, I have decided to focus on champagnes as well as mainly red Burgundy wines.
As some of you may already know, I have been making a pilgrimage to Burgundy for a couple of days of relaxation after each year’s super hectic week at Watches & Wonders. And I usually stay a few days in one village in Burgundy. I have stayed in Puligny-Montrachet, Vougeot, Pommard, as well as the city of Beaune. Thus I do have some level of familiarity, especially with the Cote d’or. And for champagnes, it has always been the beverage of choice for me when it is available.
So on to the champagnes.
Champagne, a quick backgrounder
Champagnes are typically seen as celebratory alcohol. And usually associated with luxury. It can be such, but this need not necessarily so. It can be an “everyday” drink. I see champagne as an alternative to each time an alcoholic beverage is served.
Champange is a sparkling wine which originates and made in the Champagne region of France under strict rules which govern the appellation. These rules place very specific demands on vineyard practices, with well defined grape pressing methods and secondary fermentation of the wine in the bottle. Sourcing of grapes used in the production of champagne must be exclusively from the region, and the rules further divide these into farmer/grower producers who make the champagnes from only grapes from their own vineyards, or those who may buy grapes (remember only from vineyards in the region of Champagne). With more than 100 champagne houses and 19,000 vignerons (wine growing producers), the region has some 32,000 hectares of vineyards. Each producer is identified by a ID serial number following an official abbreviation:
- NM: Négociant manipulant. These producers buy grapes and make the wine, though they may make wines from their own vineyards. All the big houses which the general public identifies as champagne are this category.
- CM: Coopérative de manipulation. Cooperatives that make wines from the growers who are members, with all the grapes pooled together.
- RM: Récoltant manipulant. (Also known as Grower Champagne) A grower must make their wine from its own grapes (a maximum of 5% of purchased grapes is permitted). Note that co-operative members who take their bottles to be disgorged at the co-op can now label themselves as RM instead of RC.
- SR: Société de récoltants. An association of growers making a shared Champagne but who are not a co-operative.
- RC: Récoltant coopérateur. A co-operative member selling champagne produced by the co-operative under its own name and label.
- MA: Marque auxiliaire or Marque d’acheteur. A brand name, owned by a third party who is unrelated to the producer or grower, for example a supermarket.
- ND: Négociant distributeur. A wine merchant selling under his own name.
Each bottle of champagne includes this identification number, usually on the back label. Most of the large houses like Louis Roederer, Moët et Chandon and Veuve Clicquot may use grapes from as many as 80 different vineyards in the Champagne region to create a consistent house style. These are thus classified as NM. Grower Champagnes tend to be more terroir-focused, sourced from a single vineyard or closely located vineyards around a village, and made with grapes which vary with each vintage. Today there are over 19,000 independent growers in the Champagne region, accounting for nearly 88% of vineyard land in the region; around 5,000 of these growers produce wine from their own grapes, the rest sell the grapes to the big producers. And the 5,000 growers who make champagne from their own grapes are identified as RM. There are some champagne houses who carry the identification NM, but are micro producers, making very small batches of terroir focused champagnes. Mainly because they do not own the vineyards where the grapes are sourced from.
I have a particular interest in RMs, just like I have a specific interest in independent watchmaking. Maybe I am just a sucker for the small producers. Grower champagnes may perhaps be similar to the independent watchmakers of the watch world who make their own movements. NMs are those who design and make their own watches, but may use movements from ébauche makers. This comparison is, of course very loose, with many differences which will not apply across from watchmaking to champagne. Partly because we are comparing fruits to vegetables, but also because the rules governing champagne are very strict, and there are none in the watchmaking world regarding insourcing or outsourcing.
The best part of RM champagnes is that for the most part, they are actually less expensive to drink than champagnes from the big houses, and especially when compared to the prestige labels of the big houses. For eg, Dom Perignon is a prestige label for Möet, Salon the premier brand for Delamotte and Cristal for Louis Roederer. In the same vein as what Grand Seiko and Credor is to Seiko. Same Maison, higher level offering. Most of these bottles I feature in this article are about the SGD 150 mark, inclusive of Singapore tax, and many are below SGD 100, when bought from a wine shop rather than opened in a bar or restaurant. Of course grower champagnes also have their celebrated heroes like the Rexhep Rexhepis and Philippe Dufours of the champagne world. For example Jacques Sellosse’ standard 750ml bottles begin at SGD 1500. And yet, even at these prices, he just manage to be on par with the prestige label champagnes from the big houses.
With this we get on to those memorable recent bottle we popped.
André Clouet Grand Réserve Brut
This is one of my favourite champages of late. I was introduced this champagne at Convivial, a local champagne bar. And I have since bought a case for drinking at home. The wine is 100% Pinot Noir Grand Cru Champagne from Bouzy, often noted for its excellent value and “old-school” autolytic style. As a Grande Réserve, it is a cuvée made with wines in a solera system. 70% is from the current vintage on the lees with 30% reserve wines kept in steel tanks for 2 to 5 years. It then undergoes secondary fermentation and is aged for at least 36 months on lees en tirage (bottled wine rests on its lees (dead yeast cells) after secondary fermentation. This crucial aging process, which typically lasts from 18 months to several years, and is where the champagne develops complex, toasted, and creamy flavours through autolysis). A dosage of 5g/l is applied at disgorgement.
Dosage is reserve wine (“liqueur d’expédition“, approximately 10ml for a 750ml bottle) added to top up the wine lost during the disgorgement process. This liqueur may contain dissolved sugars. The amount of sugar added depends on the style of champagne. In wine terminology, dry is opposite of sweet. The quantities of sugar added can range from as low as 0-3g/l (classified as Brut Nature) to 50g/l (for Doux). The normal range is Brut Nature, Extra Brut with 0-6g, and Brut 0-12g. But we can also find higher sugar content in Extra Dry (12-17g/l), then Sec(17-32g/l), Demi-Sec (30-50g/l), before reaching Doux. As a comparison, regular Coca Cola has 106g/l, so even at Doux, though literally French for sweet, the champagne is still quite dry.
On the nose it hits immediately with apple and pear. And on the palate, this features as a rich creamy apple, with nut and pear interplaying with brioche notes. Nice long finish. Very refreshing and delicious.
Julien Prelat Blanc de Blancs Champagne Extra Brut ‘Presle’ NV & ‘Blanc de Noir Chantemerle’ NV
Two exceptional champagnes from Julien Prélat. The first is a Blanc de Blancs (white from white, meaning white sparkling wine made from white grapes) with 100% Chardonnay. And the second is a Blanc de Noirs (white from black, meaning white sparkling wine from black grapes) with 100% Pinot Noir. Both are made from grapes from their own vineyards. The chardonnay is from the Valée de la Marne and the pinot noir from Côte de Bar. The first fermentation is in stainless steel and aged several months on the lees before bottling. It then spends two years resting en tirage.
The Prese is finished with a low Extra Brut dosage of 3g/l. It shows as pale yellow-colored, with hints of green, with a constant, fine mousse (bubbles). On the nose, white flowers of jasmine. On the palate, a silky and delicate mouth feel emphasising the nose, and a long citrus finish.
The Chantemerle is also finished as Extra brut with 2g/l of dosage. It shows a pale yellow colour with pink gold hints. On the nose and mouth it presents as a very rich with yellow and red fruit notes (peach, plums). Crisp and elegant.
Drémont Père & Fils “Éphémère 018” Grand Cru Extra Brut
The Éphémère cuvée is the result of the collaboration between Fréderic Savart and Drémont Père & Fils. Savart is a well known small grower house. As is Drémont. This collaboration is perhaps like two independent watchmakers coming together – for e.g. MB&F with H. Moser to create a unique product. The Éphémère line of Champagnes, which are often described as high-end, limited-edition, or “neo-négociant” style blending specific, high-quality parcels. Production is very small.
“Éphémère 018” is 74% Chardonnay from Cramant, Mesnil, Avize & Oger with 26% Pinot Noir from from Ambonnay & Bouzy. All Grand Cru villages. Dosage is extra brut with 3g/l. The 2018 harvest is only disgorged in 2023, with a lengthy aging in lees en tirage for 5 years. The character on the nose evokes lime, sweet brioche, lemon and apple. On the palate, these notes are still well established, with a rather high acid showing up as a bit of zest. But is still quite balanced.
Adrien Renoir Assemblage Le Terroir Grand Cru Verzy
“Le Terroir” is a NV cuvée of Grand Cru Verzy is a 50/50 blend of chardonnay and pinot noir. All of Adrien Renoir’s vineyards are in the Verzy region in the Montagne de Reims. And all 7 hectares of vineyards are classified as 100% Grand Cru. This Assemblage is aged in oak for the base wines and finished with a very low dosage, 1.6g/l.
On the nose a lovely bouquet of lemon, pear and shortbread. On the palate, it is quite powerful but balanced with green apple, drying chalky acidity to rein this into a saline finish. Beautiful mousse.
Laherte Frères Rosé de Meunier Extra Brut
The Laherte Frères Rosé de Meunier is made from 100% pinot meunier, with 30% from maceration (rosé de saignée) blended with 10% Red Wine and 60 % White Wine. (from a solara system with 40% of reserve wines aged several years). This is a rather unique method of making a rosé champagne. The champagne is finished with 2.5g/l of dosage.
The champagnes presents in a vibrant, almost bright pink in hue. Apologies for not taking a picture of the champagne in glass, by the time I remembered to photograph the bottle, we had finished it! So yea, it was delicious. On the nose is orange peel, with a touch of sweet red berry. On the palate, more than a hint of red fruits balanced with a chalky minerality and a touch of salinity. A very taught balance with a long finish. The mousse was very beautiful as well.
Concluding thoughts
I hope you have enjoyed this journey as much as I have drinking these champagnes and enjoying the buzz. It is a learning journey for me. And the extra research that I have to do to write this summary is as much the process. I will be popping up with these “Champagnes Enjoyed” articles over the coming months. And I am looking forward to the research.
