Most champagne houses use three main grape varieties which are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. Each of them has their own technique of blending these varieties to create typical champagnes. In any case, we can put all the champagnes available on the market into three main categories.
Brut Champagne
Brut is definitely the star champagne with a legendary, constant and timeless taste. If you like brut, you will find the best champagne on Millesima. Brut champagne is made with different grape varieties like Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier. What characterizes it is its dosage. As a matter of fact, it always includes less than 12 grams of sugar in a liter of champagne. Depending on the dosage, brut champagne can be sweeter or less sweet. This is why there are:
- Extra brut champagne
- Brut Nature champagne
- Brut champagne
- Demi Sec champagne
- Sweet champagne
Blanc de Blancs and Blanc de Noirs
Let’s start with the Blanc de Blancs which is produced exclusively with white grapes (Chardonnay), the flagship white grape variety of Champagne. Each bottle of this type of champagne is a blend of different years. However, if a year’s harvest is of very high quality, some champagnes are made with only grapes from that year. This gives vintage Blanc de Blancs champagnes. The juice used for this champagne is the first juice extracted from the grapes, which gives it great finesse and a subtlety of its own.
The, there is the Blanc de Noirs champagne. This type of champagne is rather rare because not all houses make it. It is made exclusively from black grapes which are Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. It is often the reflection of its terroir. The Blanc de Noirs is a powerful champagne highly appreciated by connoisseurs for its vinous side.
Rosé Champagne
Rosé champagne is also made of several black grape varieties. It is the skin of these black grape varieties that gives the wine this beautiful pink color. During maceration, the juice comes into contact with the skin and takes on a pink color. Champagne brands can also use a white grape such as Chardonnay. However, it does not color the wine as black grape varieties do.
For some champagne houses, rosé reflects the elegance and finesse of their terroir with a dominance of Chardonnay. For others, it displays the complexity and vinosity of their vines with mainly Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grape varieties. To know the best champagne brands, you can visit this site.