CHAMPAGNE from Terroir to Wine
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CHAMPAGNE from terroir to wine vignerons et maisons CHAMPAGNE : from terroir to wine Translation : Florence Brutton — Crédits photos : Couverture : Jean-Philippe Baltel/Sipa Press – Pages 4 et 5 : Michel Guillard, Carte Empreinte Studio – Pages 6 et 7 : Fulvio Roiter, Philippe Maille, Michel Guillard, Olivier Frimat, Visuel Impact – Pages 8 et 9 : CIVC, Yvon Monet – Pages 10 et 11 : Michel Guillard, Alain Cornu – Pages 12 et 13 : CIVC, Frédéric Hadengue – Pages 14 et 15 : CIVC, Michel Guillard, John Hodder – Pages 16 et 17 : John Hodder, Jean-Philippe Kahn, dessins INAO – Pages 18 et 19 : CIVC, John Hodder, Alain Cornu – Pages 20 et 21 : John Hodder, Fulvio Roiter – Pages 22 et 23 : John Hodder, Alain Cornu, schéma CIVC – Pages 24 et 25 : Alain Cornu – Rohrscheid – Pages 26 et 27 : Alain Cornu, Gérard Rondeau – Pages 28 et 29 : Hervé Chevron, Alain Cornu, Patrick Guérin – Pages 30 et 31 : Alain Cornu, Yvon Monet, Rohrscheid. – Pages 32 et 33 : Alain Cornu, Philippe Maille, Piper Heidsieck – Pages 34 et 35 : Alain Cornu, Huyghens-Danrigal, Kumasegawa – Pages 36 et 37 : Visuel Impact, Eric Cuvillier/Jacques de Marcillac • Création graphique, mise en page et impression : EMPREINTE Studio à Epernay • Imprimé en France en avril 2013 pour le Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne. Tous droits réservés © CIVC. vignerons et maisons CHAMPAGNE from terroir to wine Contents 4-5 • Geographical location 6-7 • Climate 8-9 • Soil and sub-soil 10-11 • Champagne grapes 12 • Mass selection and clonal selection 13 • Planting 14-15 • Sustainable viticulture 16-17 • Pruning 18-19 • Summer maintenance 20-21 • Harvesting 22-23 • Pressing 24 • Clarification 25 • alcoholic fermentation 26 • Malolactic fermentation – Clarification 27 • Blending 28-29 • Bottling and second fermentation 30-31 • Maturation on lees 32 • Riddling 33 • Disgorgement 34 • Dosage 35 • Final corking - shaking and final inspection 36-37 • Labelling CHAMPAGNE : from terroir to wine Translation : Florence Brutton — Crédits photos : Couverture : Jean-Philippe Baltel/Sipa Press – Pages 4 et 5 : Michel Guillard, Carte Empreinte Studio – Pages 6 et 7 : Fulvio Roiter, Philippe Maille, Michel Guillard, Olivier Frimat, Visuel Impact – Pages 8 et 9 : CIVC, Yvon Monet – Pages 10 et 11 : Michel Guillard, Alain Cornu – Pages 12 et 13 : CIVC, Frédéric Hadengue – Pages 14 et 15 : CIVC, Michel Guillard, John Hodder – Pages 16 et 17 : John Hodder, Jean-Philippe Kahn, dessins INAO – Pages 18 et 19 : CIVC, John Hodder, Alain Cornu – Pages 20 et 21 : John Hodder, Fulvio Roiter – Pages 22 et 23 : John Hodder, Alain Cornu, schéma CIVC – Pages 24 et 25 : Alain Cornu – Rohrscheid – Pages 26 et 27 : Alain Cornu, Gérard Rondeau – Pages 28 et 29 : Hervé 38-39 • Glossary Chevron, Alain Cornu, Patrick Guérin – Pages 30 et 31 : Alain Cornu, Yvon Monet, Rohrscheid. – Pages 32 et 33 : Alain Cornu, Philippe Maille, Piper Heidsieck – Pages 34 et 35 : Alain Cornu, Huyghens-Danrigal, Kumasegawa – Pages 36 et 37 : Visuel Impact, Eric Cuvillier/Jacques de Marcillac • Création graphique, mise en page et impression : EMPREINTE Studio à Epernay • Imprimé en France en avril 2013 pour le Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne. Tous droits réservés © CIVC. location Geographical Geographical 4 location The Champagne production There are four main growing zone (AOC vineyard area) is regions: the Montagne de Reims, Vallée de la Marne, Côte des defined and delimited by the Blancs and Côte des Bar. Toge- law of 22nd of July 1927. It lies ther these encompass 278,000 some 150 kilometres to the individual vineyard plots, each with an average size of around east of Paris, extending into 18 ‘ares’ (1,800 square metres). the departments of the Marne (66% of plantings), Aube (23%), Behind this mosaic of micro-vineyards lies a unique Aisne (10%), Haute-Marne combination of natural factors. and Seine-et-Marne. The zone Climate, soil and topography stands at roughly 34,000 hec- have produced a region with almost as many geographical tares of vineyards, spread permutations as there are acres across 320 villages (‘crus’) of of vineyard. Making the most of which 17 traditionally rank as that diversity is Champagne’s 15,000-strong team of well- ‘Grands Crus’ and 42 as ‘Pre- practised winegrowers. miers Crus’. Vineyard in the Vallée de la Marne A 26 The Champagne wine-growing region N 2 D18 N 51 ARDENNES Aisne N 31 N 44 location D 6 Massif de Saint-Thierry Geographical N Fismes Reims Vallée de Ar Aisne dre AISNE l'Ardre D931 D977 5 Ville-en- D982 D 967 Tardenois D 386 Montagne A 4 Verzy Vallée de la Marne Châtillon- N 51 de sur-Marne Vesle Aÿ Reims N 3 MARNE A4 Château- Dormans N 3 Thierry N 44 Épernay D 3 Avize S urm D 51 Châlons-en-Champagne Charly-sur-Marne elin Côte Vertus des Blancs N44 D982 nain Or Gra nd M o r N 4 N34 in Vitry-le-François Sézanne N4 N 4 D13 Côte de Sézanne MARNE D 236 Aube A 26 N 19 Villenauxe- la-Grande SEINE ET MARNE N 19 HAUTE MARNE AUBE SEINE D960 YONNE Montgueux Bar- Troyes N19 A5 sur-Aube N 71 Côte des Bar A5 Growing area Bar- (administrativeN77 centre) Verzy ‘chef-lieu’ sur-Seine A of the ‘canton’ Essoyes ube Mussy-sur-Seine Armançon O 5 10 km Les Riceys ur 0 D 444 ce 71 CÔTE D'OR N D965 The vineyards in Champagne are plantedA6 at altitudes of 90-300 metres, on predominantly south, east and southeast- facing slopes. Average gradient is around 12%, rising to nearly 60% in some areas. Champagne’s undulating to moderately steep terrain creates ideal vineyard sites that combine good drainage with optimum exposure to sunlight. Climate Climate 6 The Champagne region lies at the northernmost limit of vine cultivation (latitudes 49°5 and 48° North for Reims and Bar-sur-Seine respectively). It is distinguished by a dual climate that is sub- ject to both continental and oceanic influences. Continental influences bring often-devastating winter frosts but also provide high levels of sunshine in the summer. Oceanic influences keep temperatures on the low side but also ensure steady rainfall, with no major fluctuations in temperature from year to year. Springtime in Boursault Villedommange in winter Climate 7 Around Chouilly and Cramant in summer Average annual temperature is just 11°C. The mean number of sunshine hours per year is 1,680, rising to 2,100 hours or more in certain years (1976 and 2003, for instance). This combination of weather influences makes for constant, moderate precipitation – a near-ideal pattern of rainfall that provides the vines with just enough water to produce quality fruit. Mean annual rainfall for the Champagne region as a whole is close to 700mm, ranging from 600mm to 900mm depen- ding on the area. Summer and winter alike, the vineyards are at the mercy of variable weather. Winter frosts (on average 1.1 day a year of temperatures below –10°C, up to 3 days in some places) can be severe enough to kill the vines. Likewise, spring frosts can destroy nascent leaves and buds, dramatically reducing yield potential (48% loss in 2003). June may bring cold, wet weather that interferes with flowering and fruit set, increasing the incidence of ‘coulure’ (bud or berry drop) and ‘millerandage’ (stunted berries). Summer frequently sees violent thunderstorms that leave the vineyards riven with gullies. Hailstorms are another frequent menace, seriously damaging vines and grape clusters alike (in 2000, 31 separate bouts of hail wiped out yields across a 3,000-hectare area). Hautvillers in autumn Soil and Soil and subsoil 8 subsoil Chalky subsoil The subsoil in Champagne is predominantly limestone. Outcropping sediments are likewise composed of 75% limestone (chalk, marl and limestone proper). This type of terrain provides good drainage and also explains why certain Champagne wines have a distinctly mineral taste. Champagne’s extensive chalk deposits show as outcrops in the vineyard areas of the Côte des Blancs, Côte de Sézanne and Vitry-le-François, but are buried deep underground on the Montagne de Reims. Elsewhere, chalky soils give way to a greater proportion of marls, clays and sands, in the Vallée de la Marne (to the west of Châtillon-sur-Marne) and in the hills surrounding Reims (Saint-Thierry, Vallée de l’Ardre and Montagne ouest). Marls essentially take over in the Côte des Bar vineyards (Bar-sur-Aube and Bar-sur-Seine). The chalk in Champagne consists of calcite granules that are formed from the skeletal plates of coccolithopores (marine phytoplankton), and is characterized by the presence of belemnite fossils (marine invertebrates of the Mesozoic era). Being highly porous, chalk acts as a natural reservoir (holding 300 to 400 litres of water per m3), providing the vines with just enough water even in the driest summers. Chalk draws in water through capillary action. The effort required to tap into this water supply puts the vines under just enough water stress in the growing season to achieve that delicate balance of ripeness, acidity and berry aroma potential. A chalk pit in Reims Lithological formations of the Champagne vineyard A 26 N 44 Massif de Soil and subsoil Saint-Thierry N 51 Fismes Reims 9 Vesle Vallée de l'Ardre N 31 Ville-en- A rdr e Tardenois Vesle Montagne A 4 Verzy de Reims Châtillon- Vallée de la Marne N 51 sur-Marne N 44 Château- A 4 Thierry Dormans Aÿ N 3 Marne Épernay Avize Charly-sur-Marne Surmelin Côte des Blancs Vertus orin N 44 Petit-M N 4 Saulx Vitry- N 4 le-François orin Grand-M Sézanne N Côte de Sézanne Villenauxe- la-Grande Rock types Troyes Montgueux Aube Chalk N 60 N 19 Hard and soft limestone, Bar-sur-LandionAube calcareous sands A 5 Marls (calcareous clays) Côte des Bar Bar-sur-Seine Clays and argillaceous alluvium Essoyes Seine Ource Siliceous sand N 71 Laignes Mussy-sur-Seine Slope wash (composite rock) Les Riceys Champagne Champagne grapes 10 grapes Montigny-sous-Châtillon vineyard It is the special nature of the Champagne terroir that determines the choice of plantings.