BLANC DE BLANCS

Non-vintage, vintage, and prestige Literally meaning “white of whites,” this wine is produced entirely from white Chardonnay grapes and possesses the greatest aging potential of all Champagnes. Blanc de blancs may be made in any district of Champagne, but the best examples come from a small part of the Côte des Blancs between Cramant and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. If consumed too early, a classic blanc de blancs can be austere and seem to lack fruit and generosity, yet with proper maturity this style of Champagne can be very succulent. Given a few years’ bottle aging after purchase, most blanc de blancs develop a toasty-lemony bouquet together with intense, beautifully focused fruit. If the first blend of Lenoble’s nonvintage Cuvée Les Aventures (1990/5/6) is anything to go by, it will be fighting for a place in the top 10 nonvintage blanc de blancs.

I Nonvintage Billecart-Salmon • Boizel • Bonnaire • Gaston Chicquet • Delamotte • Pierre Gimonnet • Moncuit • Joseph Perrier • Jacques Sélosse (Tradition) • Vilmart & Cie • Vintage Billecart-Salmon • Bonnaire • Deutz • Duval-Leroy • Pierre

Gimonnet (Collection en magnum) • Jacquesson (Avize) • Henri Mandois (Chardonnay Brut) • Le Mesnil (Vigne Sélectionnée) • Pol Roger • Louis Roederer • Prestige cuvée Boizel (Joyeau) • Deutz (Amour de Deutz) • Charles Heidsieck (Cuvée de Millénaires) • Krug (Clos du Mesnil) • Ruinart (Dom Ruinart) • Salon (“S”) • Taittinger (Comtes de Champagne)

BLANC DE NOIRS

Nonvintage, vintage, and prestige Literally translated as “white of blacks,” these Champagnes are made entirely from black grapes, either Pinot Noir or Pinot Meunier, or a blend of the two. The most famous and most expensive is Bollinger’s Vieilles Vignes Françaises, which is a unique example of pure Pinot Noir Champagne made from two tiny plots of ungrafted vines, which between them cannot produce more than 3,000 bottles, hence the hefty price tag. Aside from Bollinger, few producers have traditionally used the term blanc de noirs, but the Vieilles Vignes Françaises has given it a certain cachet and a few commercially minded houses have begun to cash in on the term (Beaumet, Jeanmaire, Mailly Grand Cru, Oudinot, and De Venoge, for example). Many supermarkets now sell their own-label brand of blanc de noirs. Bollinger inadvertently created the myth that a blanc de noirs is intrinsically a big, full, and muscular Champagne, but it is generally little different in style from the other cuvées a house may produce. If you try Serge Mathieu’s Champagne, you will discover a wine so elegant that you would never guess it is made only from Pinot Noir, let alone that it is grown in the Aube. Pommery’s Wintertime and the Mailly cooperative’s basic nonvintage Blanc de Noirs Grand Cru just miss the cut, but deserve an honorary mention. Another cooperative, Veuve A. Devaux, has just come back on track with its nonvintage Blanc de Noirs, which should make the list next time around if standards are maintained.

I Bollinger (Vieilles Vignes Françaises) • Canard-Duchêne (Charles VII) • Serge Mathieu (Cuvée Tradition) • Moët & Chandon (Les Sarments d’Aÿ)

CHÂTEAU CARONNE STE. GEMME

AOC Haut-Médoc Cru Bourgeois Supérieur

This property is situated south of Château Lagrange—a superb island of vines on a gravel plateau. Matured in wood for 12 months, with 25 percent new oak.

RED Full-bodied wines rich in flavor with undertones of creamy oak, and a supple, tannin structure.

Cabernet Sauvignon 65%, Merlot 33%, Petit Verdot 2%

8–20 years

Second wine: Château Labat

CHÂTEAU CHANTELYS

AOC Médoc Cru Bourgeois

Owner Christine Courrian Braquissac brings a gentle touch to the naturally firm wines of this district.

RED Well-colored, medium-bodied, gently rich-flavored wines of some elegance.

Cabernet Sauvignon 55%, Merlot 40%, Petit Verdot 5%

3–8 years

Second wine: Château Gauthier

VEUVE A. DEVAUX

Domaine de Villeneuve

10110 Bar-sur-Seine

This was the most dynamic cooperative in Champagne from the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, producing richer, crisper, fruitier Champagnes than some Marne-based cooperatives with a large percentage of grand cru vineyards. The quality took a dip at the turn of the millennium, but is now back on track.

Grande Réserve Brut (NV) • Cuvée D Brut (NV) • Blanc de Noirs (NV) • Cuvée Distinction Rosé (V) • D. de Devaux (V)

VRANKEN

42 avenue de Champagne

51200 Epernay

The house of Vranken is owned by Belgian Paul Vranken, whose ideas on quality I do not share but who undoubtedly has one of the most clever commercial brains in the region. His brands include Charles Lafitte, René Lallement, Demoiselle, Vranken, Barancourt, and Heidsieck & Co. Monopole, but his masterstroke was the purchase of Pommery in 2002. Marne et Champagne bought Lanson at the top of the market, and watched its assets dwindle, whereas Vranken bought Pommery at the bottom of the market, and watched his assets grow. He paid 150–180 million ($180–215 million), which was some 50 ($60 million) less than LVMH was asking. Although sales inevitably sank after the millennium blip, Vranken knew they were about to rise, and very quickly saw the value of Pommery jump 50 million ($60 million). In addition, Pommery sells at a premium compared to other Vranken brands, thus his group’s profit margin increased overnight. Some critics believed the Belgian business maestro would have to sell more bottles of Pommery to meet his bank repayments, and the only way he could do that would be by cutting prices, but he has in fact increased both sales and price! Vranken also owns subsidiaries in Portugal (Port: Quinta do Convento, Quinta do Paco, and São Pedro) and Spain (Cava: Senora, and Vranken).

CHÂTEAU LA CARDONNE

AOC Médoc Cru Bourgeois Supérieur

This property was purchased by the Rothschilds of Lafite in 1973 and has since been expanded and

renovated. This wine is matured in wood for 12 months, with 50 percent new oak.

RED These are attractive, mediumbodied wines with a good, grapey perfume and a silky texture, made in an elegant style.

Cabernet Sauvignon 45%, Merlot 50%, Cabernet Franc 5%

6–10 years

VINTAGE BRUT

Not more than 80 percent of any year’s harvest may be sold as vintage Champagne, so at least 20 percent of the best years’ harvests are conserved for the future blending of nonvintage wines. Some houses stick rigidly to declaring a vintage in only the greatest years, but many, sadly, do not, which is why we have seen vintage Champagnes from less than ideal years such as 1980, 1987, and even 1984. Most coopératives and a large number of growerproducers produce a vintage virtually every year, which is possible, of course, but rather defeats the object and debases the value of the product. However, even in great years, a vintage Champagne is more the result of tightly controlled selection of base wines than a reflection of the year in question, and this makes these wines exceptionally good value. The character of a vintage Champagne is more autolytic, giving it an acacialike floweriness, than that of a nonvintage of the same age because it has no reserve-wine mellowness. If you like those biscuity or toasty bottlearomas, you should keep vintage for a few years. For those who have read about me trumpeting Henri Giraud’s 1993 Fût de Chêne, despite its ludicrous price (five euros ($6.50) more than Cristal, at the time of writing), I have not tasted another vintage from this producer that comes remotely close to the special quality of his 1993.

I Billecart-Salmon (Cuvée Nicolas-François Billecart) • Bollinger (Grande Année)

• Deutz • Alfred Gratien • Krug • Lanson • Pol Roger • Louis Roederer • Veuve Clicquot • Vilmart & Cie (Grand

Cellier d’Or)

SERGE MATHIEU

Les Riceys 10340 Avirey-Lingey

Mathieu, a small grower in the Aube, consistently produces excellent Champagnes that are beautifully focused, have much finesse, and a real richness of fruit for such light and elegantly balanced wines.

Entire range

CHAUVET

41 avenue de Champagne

51150 Tours-sur-Marne

A small, quality-conscious house situated opposite Laurent Perrier, Champagne Chauvet is owned by the Paillard-Chauvet family, who are wonderfully eccentric. They are related to Pierre Paillard in Bouzy, Bruno Paillard in Reims, and the Gossets of Aÿ. I have always enjoyed Chauvet’s Carte Vert blanc de blancs, which is an excellent nonvintage blend of exclusively grand cru wines, and I have also greatly admired the consistency and quality of their entire range since the early 1990s.

Entire range

PAUL DÉTHUNE

2 rue du Moulin

51150 Ambonnay

As one of the more consistent growers, Paul Déthune always makes good vintage and rosé, but is best known for his prestige cuvée, the luxuriously rich, big, deliciously creamy Princesse des Thunes, which is made from an assemblage of mature vintages. Try his fascinating, educational, and quality-driven Trilogy Ambonnay Grand Cru: three bottles labeled Cuvée 1, 2, and 3 each one being made from the same Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines, but in different proportions. Decide which one you prefer (they are all excellent), then discover why. Also, from 2005, look out for Cuvée à l’Ancienne.

Grand Cru Rosé (NV) • Millésimé (V) • Trilogy (V) • Princesse des Thunes (PC)

DEUTZ (GM)

16 rue Jeanson

51160 Aÿ-Champagne

The profitability and quality of Deutz suffered from underfunding until Roederer acquired it in 1983. Its resurgence began a little shakily with the 1985 vintage but was firmly established by 1988, when it returned to making very stylish Champagnes. Now on stunning form. Deutz also owns Delas Frères in the Rhône and Château Vernous in the Médoc, and has a partnership with Montana to produce Deutz Marlborough in New Zealand (owned by Allied-Domecq, which owns Mumm and Perrier-Jouët).

Entire range

CHÂTEAU CAPLÉON-VEYRIN

AOC Listrac Cru Bourgeois Supérieur

Simply called Château Cap-Léon originally, the vines of this property are planted in two plots of claygravel soil over marl.

RED Deep-colored, full-bodied, richly flavored wines with high extract levels and a good balance of tannin.

Cabernet Sauvignon 35%,Merlot 60%, Petit Verdot 5%

5–12 years

CHÂTEAU CANTEMERLE

AOC Haut-Médoc 5ème Cru Classé

In 1980, new stainless-steel fermentation vats replaced the old wooden ones that had been responsible for some stingy vintages. Also discarded were all the old casks, so the 1980 vintage was uniquely matured in 100 percent new oak. The wine is normally matured in wood for 18 to 20 months, with onethird new oak. It is currently performing above its classification.

RED Deliciously rich wines of fine color, creamy-oaky fruit, beautiful balance, and increasing finesse.

Cabernet Sauvignon 50%, Merlot 40%, Cabernet Franc 5%, Petit Verdot 5%
8–20 years
Second wine: Villeneuve de Cantemerle

CHÂTEAU CAMENSAC

AOC Haut-Médoc 5ème Cru Classé

Situated behind Château Belgrave, this property was renovated in the mid-1960s by the new owners, the Forner brothers, who are of Spanish origin, and later established Marquès de Cáceres in Rioja. Camensac began making wine equivalent to its classification in the late 1970s, and since 1995 has been performing beyond its class. It is matured in wood for 17 to 20 months, with 35–70 percent new oak.

RED Well-structured wine, with a medium weight of fruit and a certain amount of finesse.

Cabernet Sauvignon 60%, Merlot 40% k8–20 years

Second wine: La Closerie de Camensac
Other wine: Le Bailly de Camensac

CHÂTEAU BRANAS GRANDPOUJEAUX

AOC Moulis

These excellent and rapidly improving wines are aged in wood for 18 months, with 100 percent new oak.

RED Thanks to an increase in Merlot, this wine has plenty of accessible fruit, charming aromatic properties, and increasing finesse.

Cabernet Sauvignon 50%, Merlot 45%, Petit Verdot 5%

5–12 years

Second wine: Clos des Demoiselles

CHÂTEAU BRILLETTE

AOC Moulis

Cru Bourgeois Supérieur

This château’s name reputedly derives from its glinting, pebbly soil. The wine is matured in wood for 12 months, with 40 percent new oak.

RED These are attractively colored wines of full but supple body, with delightful summer-fruit and vanilla aromas. Easily equivalent to cru classé quality.

Cabernet Sauvignon 40%, Merlot 48%, Cabernet Sauvignon 9%, Petit Verdot 3%

5–12 years

CHÂTEAU CAMBON-LA-PELOUSE

AOC Haut-Médoc

Cru Bourgeois Supérieur

Under the same ownership as Château Grand Barrail-Lamarzelle Figeac, this estate was classified cru bourgeois in 1932, but not included in the Syndicat’s 1978 list. This wine is matured in wood for 12 months, with 45 percent new oak.

RED Soft, medium- to full-bodied wines with fresh and juicy flavors.

Cabernet Sauvignon 30%, Merlot 50%, Cabernet Franc 20%

3–8 years

Other wine: Château Trois Moulins

CHÂTEAU LE BOURDIEU VERTHEUIL

AOC Haut-Médoc Cru Bourgeois

Situated between Vertheuil and St.Estèphe, this château was classified cru bourgeois in 1932, but not included in the Syndicat’s 1978 list. This wine is matured in wood for 12 months, with 30 per cent new oak.

RED Well-colored, full-bodied wines of robust character that are not lacking in charm.

Cabernet Sauvignon 60%, Merlot 25%, Cabernet Franc 10%, Petit Verdot 5%

7–15 years

Second wine: Château Haut-Brignays

Other wines: Château La Croix des Sablons, Château Victoria-Picourneau

CHÂTEAU BOUQUEYRAN

AOC Moulis

A big improvement in quality and value since this 32-acre (13-hectare) property was leased by Philippe Porcheron of nearby Château Rose Saint-Croix. Wines are matured in wood for 18 months with up to 50 percent new oak. La Fleur de Bouqueyran is a superior cuvée.

RED Lovely deep-colored, deepflavored wines of not inconsiderable style and finesse.

Cabernet Sauvignon 41%, Merlot 57%, Petit Verdot 2% k5–10 years

Second wine: Les Tourelles de Bouqueyran