Champagne: The 2018 Summer Preview

 BY ANTONIO GALLONI | JULY 27, 2018

Two thousand-eighteen is shaping up to be a terrific year for Champagne lovers, as there are a number of new releases in the market, from large houses and small estates alike, including many wines that are being offered for the first time. Champagne continues to be one of the most fascinating regions in the world. Of course, the best wines are compelling, but it is the fast pace with which new Champagnes and estates continue to emerge that makes the region so exciting today. The 2018 Summer Preview mostly focuses on new releases in advance of my much larger and more comprehensive annual fall coverage.

Tasting in the cellar at Georges Laval, Cumières

A First Look at 2017: It’s Complicated…

As I have done for over a decade, I spent a week in March tasting the young vins clairs. These are the base wines, before they have been blended or bottled (which is where the wines get their prise de mousse or bubbles.) More than any year I can remember, 2017 is a vintage of sharp contrasts in terms of both the quality of the wines and also the approaches various estates took in dealing with the challenges of the growing season.

A deadly spring frost hit Champagne in April, as it did many regions in France, curtailing potential production anywhere from minimally to 60-70% in the worst hit areas. On average, the houses I visited for this article are down around 30% across the board. The critical summer months were very hot. Heavy, insistent rains characterized the two weeks between August 15 and September 1. Meunier appears to have been the most affected variety. Some growers told me they did not pick any Meunier at all. Pinot Noir was afflicted by severe disease pressure that required diligent sorting. Chardonnay came through the best for several reasons. The Côtes des Blancs was spared the severe rains that fell in the northern sectors of Champagne. Well-drained terroirs dealt best with the rains, and of course, Chardonnay benefitted from naturally thicker skins that made the grapes more resistant to disease pressure than was the case for red grapes. I did not venture into the Aube, but the samples I tasted and the reports I heard point to a far less traumatic harvest there.