Focus on Champagne

As the Champagne region is about as far north as one could reasonably expect to grow chardonnay and pinot noir, Champagne is typically a bracing, vibrant and racy drink-one that hits the palate like a slap on the face on a winter morning. This style of wine is usually based heavily, if not entirely, on chardonnay grown in the chalky soils of the Cote des Blancs, which lies just east and south of Epernay. But Champagne is not a monolithic wine, or region. On the contrary. There are also bottlings that are rich and thick, and as toasty and deep as the most powerful white Burgundies. These latter wines will satisfy even the hardest-to-please size freaks. The best examples of this style are usually made by producers with vines in the more northern Montagne de Reims area, which lies southeast of Reims. The smaller Vallee de la Marne section of Champagne sits roughly between the Cote des Blancs and Montagne de Reims and produces wines that range across the style spectrum, with a high percentage of its best wines based on the red grapes pinot noir and pinot meunier.

Generalizations about Champagne are as dangerous and misguided as with any other region, and open-minded wine-lovers owe it to themselves to get to know as many examples as their budgets will allow. Speaking of budgets, this is the season when pricing of Champagne in the retail marketplace is at its most competitive. Many of the wines reviewed in this article have suggested retail prices that are officially in the $30 range but will soon become available for $20 a bottle, and, in some markets, for even less.

Current vintages in the marketplace. Some vintage 2000 bottlings have begun to enter the market, and many current non-vintage brut releases rely heavily on wine from this vintage. Vintage 2000 bottlings as well as non-vintage wines based primarily on this year tend to be elegant and restrained, with graceful fruit but perhaps a slight shortage of stuffing, weight and power. Vintage 1999 produced richer, thicker, more structured wines with broader shoulders. The downside to '99 is that some wines lack grace and precision and can be a bit coarse. But by blending this material with wines from 2000 and, especially, from 1998, many producers have been able to add refinement and personality to their non-vintage bottlings based on the '99 vintage.