“A good grape in the hands of a good wine maker makes a good champagne!” Thierry Triolet

Thierry Triolet (TT) owns and runs a small vineyard in Bethon (pictured above) in the South of the Champagne Region. Here are the answers to the questions Champagne Warehouse (CW) posed.

CW: Thierry, can you tell us why you think people should drink Triolet champagnes?

TT: Time and time again our customers find a taste in our champagnes which they appreciate and enjoy. We also seek to have a good relationship with our customers, we want to build up a great rapport and trust with them. We encourage them to visit our ‘House’ if they can!

CW: What would you say makes your champagne special Thierry?

TT: The way in which I blend the wines that go into the champagne to show the distinctive terroir of the South of the Marne. The grapes I grow are a good grade and have heightened levels of acidity, which is crucial  for champagne making.

CW: What would you say to people who are tasting your champagnes for the first time.

TT: Firstly, I would want to know what they are looking for in their champagne, then I would choose the most appropriate blend. The Cuvée Réserve and Grand Réserve are bold and fine. The Brut is  more rounded and the Rosé is perfect in the summer as an aperitif or with a red fruit dessert.

CW: What are your feelings and predictions about the 2009 harvest?

TT: In terms of the climate 2009 was very difficult, however the harvest was superb with a good crop and acidity levels in the grapes higher than normal.

CW: What do you try to express in your champagnes?

TT: I try and express what I love and my way of working.

CW: What inspires you Thierry?

TT: The vines, working them and their development during the year.

CW: What’s the best moment in your champagne making career so far?

TT: My first cuvée Vieilles Vignes in 1989.

CW: Have you had any bad moments?

TT: The frost in April 2003 which practically destroyed all our harvest.

CW: And finally Thierry can you tell us what your favourite champagne is at the moment?

TT: Le Rosé and La Grande Réserve.

CW: Thanks to Thierry for his time, visit our shop to have a look at his champagnes.

You don’t often get the opportunity to taste several Grandes Marques in one evening plus Jean-Paul Morel Carte Noir! This was the treat for some generous people from Birmingham who attended a charity evening to raise funds for Brain Tumour  UK.  We (Tony and Helen) popped along to see how the Jean-Paul Morel fared as the only grower champagne among several famous Grandes Marques. Find out below! (Jean- Paul you can hold your head up high!)

The tasting was run by Richard Bampfield (Master of Wine and European Champagne Ambassador 2009) and Laura Clay (pictured above). Richard got the evening off to a spectacular start by opening a bottle of champagne with a sabre (sabrage). Daring guests were then invited to try their hand (or Richard’s sabre) at this ancient ritual- with success all round!

Richard about to demonstrate sabrage

The tasting  aimed to show how diverse champagne is and by sampling specially designed canapés the audience came to appreciate  how well champagne accompanies food. So you don’t just have to drink it as an aperitif!

The evening started with a comparison between Ruinart’s Blanc de Blancs and Jean-Paul Morel Carte Noir. The Carte Noir is 70% Pinot Noir and is aged for 4 years so it’s rich with red fruit and bready components; it was a great contrast to the lightness and citrus and apricot notes of the Ruinart. The Carte Noir easily cut through the roast beef and Yorkshire pudding canapé it was served with while the Ruinart was complimented well by a smoked salmon blini. We are delighted to say a show of hands voted  Jean-Paul as the favourite for that round.

Laura and Richard extolling the virtues of their respective champagnes

The second comparison of the evening was Taittinger Prélude Grands Crus versus Gosset Grande Réserve. The evening was made even more entertaining by the banter between Richard and Laura who extolled the virtues of the opposing champagnes. On this occasion Laura spoke for the lightness and delicacy of the Taittinger which demonstrates its chardonnay elements in the strength of the citrus flavours on the palate. Richard appealed to the audience to appreciate the richness of the Gosset Grande Réserve with its delicious cherry, almond and biscuit complexity. The Gosset had the edge in this round.

The final pair of champagnes was a Pol Roger Pure and a Louis Roederer Carte Blanche. The contrast between these champagnes was stark as the Pol Roger has no sugar added to it (known as Extra Brut or zero dosage) while the Louis Roederer which is a demi-sec has 42g/litre of added sugar! The demi-sec was wonderful with the little frangipani tarts.

To finish the evening with sophistication and flourish a 10 year old vintage Dom Pérignon (2000) was served. There was almost unanimous agreement that it was wonderful. Its freshness belied the 10 years it has spent in the bottle.

Thanks to Richard and Laura for showcasing one of Champagne Warehouse’s Champagnes.

Read more about Richard Bampfield and Laura Clay and their work at the Association of Wine Educators

Richard and Tony enjoying a glass of Jean-Paul Morel.

Oscars night is over for another year with no prizes for the British nominees for Best Actor and Actress this year. However the two lucky winners of our competition can celebrate this week as their champagne is on the way to them!

From all the entries who correctly guessed Sandra Bullock as Best Actress, Kate Gunn from Scotland was our lucky winner. Congratulations Kate!

All the entrants who guessed Jeff Bridges would win Best Actor went into the champagne bucket and Alan Dadswell from Buckingham had is name pulled out. Well done Alan!

Thanks to all of you who took part!

(The picture above shows the House of Roger Legros in the village of Prouilly.)

Helen has been emailing Gauthier about a few things today. In her last email she decided to ask Gauthier what he’s been up to today besides answering Helen’s emails! This is what Gauthier said.

Gauthier Legros: Today’s been a day when I did a bit of everything really. On the physical side, I loaded two palettes for the gyro palette and labelled some magnum bottles.

I spent some time at my desk dealing with some sales and admin- I took some typical phone calls and sent emails to customers and suppliers. I also spent some time on the creation of a new label for some Jeroboam bottles (which are a blending of the harvests of 1995 and 1996). We tasted one of these bottles last Christmas and it was delicious! We only have 25 bottles of this blend left. But the new label design will be used for future jeroboam bottles too.

As you know I am attending the London Wine Fair in May so I have spent some time preparing for that. I need to look for a counter and curtains etc….!

So there you have it a brief glimpse into the life and skills of a small champagne grower and that was just a Monday!

The vines with the village of Prouilly in the background

If I win- don’t throw this one over me! – it’s too good to waste… (Mr Wilkins son who races cars).

Mr Wilkins and his family from Essex kindly tasted this champagne for us. Here are their comments below. Please note we ask our tasters to be frank and honest and we realise not all champagnes are to everyone’s taste.

CW= Champagne Warehouse. W=The Wilkins

CW: Can you comment on the label?

W: Could have more definition as it doesn’t stand out amongst its competitors. Roger Legros needs to be more of the focal point but the  rest of the label is good and the bottle is ‘classical’.

CW: Please comment on the colour of the champagne.

W: A little darker than we expected but this doesn’t detract from the flavour.

CW: (This champagne is aged for longer – hence the more golden colour)

CW: What about the bubbles? Lots or a fine stream?

W: This was very lively when we opened it (it had been in an ice bucket for half an hour). Lots of bubbles.

CW: Can you detect any aromas?

W: A crisp orchard, summer smell. Light fruit vanilla but not too strong.

CW: What about the initial taste and intensity of bubbles in the mouth?

W: Crisp and bubbly. We left a glass for twenty minutes before drinking, this wasn’t as lively and the taste had changed from when we first opened it. We liked it best straight after opening, when it was lively.

CW: (This is likely to have been the chardonnay coming through as the champagne warmed up. Incidentally some growers prefer to drink Blanc de Blanc champagne -100% chardonnay- warmer at around 10-11°C)

CW: Does the champagne fill our mouth with flavour?

W: The flavour is very subtle and rather than a full flood is more a aftertaste experience we found.

CW: Is the aftertaste long or short?

W: The aftertaste was in our view pleasant but not long lasting (so we were encouraged to go back for more)

CW: Any other flavours coming through after a few sips?

W: After a few sips we remarked there was very light ‘appley’ vanilla taste- which was very pleasant.

CW: Please rate the champagne out of 10 (1 being the lowest and 10 the highest)

W: We would give this champagne 8 out of 10

CW: When would you like to drink this champagne? As an aperitif, with food or for a special celebration?

W: We would purchase as an aperitif, and serve maybe with fresh fruit or just  to drink while we sit by the sea at our home in the Mediterranean and enjoy! However we may need two bottles as one is not enough to share!

CW: Our thanks to Mr Wilkins and his family for taking the time to taste the Roger Legros Cuvée Spéciale for us.

I’m still learning lots about the Champagne region and champagne and the methods used in the champagne making process. Malolactic fermentation is favoured by some and not others but there appears to be a general consensus over the advantages and disadvantages. Its use or not, does impact on the style of the champagne as we will see below.

Malolactic fermentation is known as malo or MLF  for short. It isn’t really a fermentation in the true sense of the word but is a biological process using bacteria instead of yeasts. The process converts the harsh malic acid to softer lactic acid.  A by product of this process is carbon dioxide, which causes the wine to bubble – so it ’s easy to see why MLF can be interpreted as a fermentation.

In the past the  MLF process was haphazard, starting just after the alcoholic fermentation, halting naturally when the winter chill arrived and commencing again in line with temperature rises (usually in Spring).  It’s different nowadays – Gauthier Legros (of Champagne Roger Legros) told me that by adding ‘bacterial inoculations’ and maintaining the temperature of the wine between 18-20°C  MLF is carried out under much more controlled conditions. The process  usually lasts about a month. Susan Hulme MW highlights the importance of  getting the process right, as a slow MLF can produce aromas and flavours of yoghurt and cheese.

If a champagne maker wants to avoid MLF they transfer the wine to another tank, leaving the sediment behind, (racking) and then chill the wine to around 11-12°C to prevent the process occurring.

Some champagne makers – Roederer in particular- blend both MLF and non-MLF wines, Lanson don’t use MLF, while Pol Roger use MLF for some of their champagnes.

So what difference does it make? Last year in a blind tasting hosted by Lanson the two were compared. It became clear that champagnes that don’t undergo MLF can be markedly different in style to those that do. The non malo champagnes in general were found to be zestier, more intense in flavour and scored well on complexity and length. Malo champagnes on the other and tend to have ‘buttery’ notes and can have a ‘creamier mouthfeel’ than no malo. Tom Mansell explains this really well in his fascinating article.

There are benefits to MLF – as Gauthier Legros points out:

This fermentation results in less acidity, more suppleness, refined aromas and a greater stability.

Gauthier acknowledges that with no MLF wines tend to be more acidic and fruitier. Arnaud Ellner the wine maker at Champagne Charles Ellner has stopped using MLF as he wants  the aromas and flavours of Ellner champagnes to be closer to the still wines. Arnaud accepts that using MLF means having to add fewer sulfites and that there is a small chance in non malo champagnes that MLF can occur naturally in the bottle but he prefers a zesty, fruitier style of Champagne.

Arnaud Ellner

It would seem that there is no straightforward answer to MLF or non MLF. The whole process of méthode champenoise is complex with the raw materials dictating the process from the outset. Grape acidity levels are decreasing – over the last 30 years there has been a 2 gram per litre drop in Champagne acidity as the warmer weather increases sugar levels in the grapes. In the future there might be less need for Malolactic Fermentation.

I’ve enjoyed finding out about this subject- hope you’ve enjoyed reading about it. Any questions or comments please post below or if you have any burning questions for the champagne producers themselves, let us know.

I referred to several articles to write this piece some have links to them in the article, the others are below.

Cheers from Helen

Pass the Bolly

Fine Wine Journal

A ‘very elegant’ champagne ‘perfect with food’.

Champagne Charles Ellner received 88/100 marks for it’s Rosé champagne; in a Valentine’s tasting for Good Housekeeping Magazine. The pink champagnes were tasted by Richard Ehrlich the resident wine expert at Good Housekeeping. Mr Ehrlich declared the Rosé from Ellner to be ‘perfect with food’ and described it thus:

Medium-pink, delicate mousse, ripe berry and cherry flavours and aromas, and it’s crisp and long-lasting. Very elegant, and with enough substance to make it perfect with food.

Charles Ellner used 50% Chardonnay and 50% Pinot Noir to make this Rosé. The Chardonnay giving it crispness and the Pinot Noir delivering those lovely fruit flavours.

We’re pleased Champagne Charles Ellner are being recognised for their wonderful champagnes. This fabulous champagne, can be found at Marks and Spencer- either online http://tinyurl.com/yflswlj or in selected stores. Please contact them directly for details. This Rosé comes beautifully gift boxed in store.

The Rose resting in Ellner's cellars. Sediment clearly visible.

It was a cold, clear day in December, when Tony and I paid a visit to the Forget-Brimont vineyard. Mr Forget is a quiet, unassuming chap but we can give you a few insights into the man behind Forget-Brimont; including his disciplined lifestyle- a healthy diet and no alcohol during the week!

A rare photograph of Mr Forget

We asked Mr Forget what he thought made a good champagne. His reply was that he would prefer to make oak aged champagnes, he did this when he started out and this is his true passion. However, he explained that he has had to listen to his customers and now makes what they like to drink, which is easy drinking, fruity, mouth filling champagne with wide appeal.

When it comes to talking to customers about his champagnes he doesn’t like to say too much before they taste. He simply pours them a glass and asks them to be open minded instead. Eva who works for Mr Forget told us that his eyes sparkle with joy to see his champagnes enjoyed and appreciated.

It is probably fair to say that Mr Forget is more of a farmer than a business man and he is passionate in his belief that the raw materials – the grapes – are the most important single factor in producing good champagne. He is very proud of his premier cru champagnes.

It is true to say that his champagnes are as much his babies and his pride and joy as his daughters were when they were young….

Helen conducts the second part of her interview with Gauthier Legros pictured above. Gauthier runs Champagne Roger Legros an award winning house based in Prouilly in the northerly reaches of the Champagne region.

H:It’s great to talk to you again. Can you tell me what you say to people trying Legros champagnes for the first time.

G: The first thing I do is listen to their personal experience of champagne, in order to define what they will most enjoy. Do they like it sweet or dry, old and rich or young and fresh? When I determine the purpose of the tasting I will then suggest one of our six champagnes.

H: Okay, and what are your feelings about the 2009 harvest and its potential?

G: 2009 and was a very good year for the health of our grapes, no boytris was reported. The natural degrees of sugar were good with no excess; our winery’s average was 10. So it is not a surprise that we will bottle some vintage in January 2010, using only the best cuvées from 2009. The blending will be 50% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir and 5% Pinot Meunier. We will also bottle some Cuvée Spéciale using some Chardonnay from 2008 and some of the best cuvées from 2009. The final blending will be 70% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Noir and 5% Pinot Meunier. Our Brut will be a standard blending of the three grapes 40% Pinot Noir, 40% Pinot Meunier and 20% Chardonnay with up to 30% reserve wines from the 2007 and 2008 harvests.

H: What is the best moment so far in your champagne making career?

G: I joined the family business nearly 5 years ago and I have had lots of great moments. Off the top of my head I can think of our first medal at a wine competition in 2006, of our first ever exhibition at the prestigious London Wine Fair in May 2008 – a fantastic experience! and of the praises of our vintage 2002 in a famous French weekly magazine, VSD in December 2008. Then both my children were born while working in the family business. Therefore it is difficult to take out one single best moment.

I would however like to share with you the powerful feeling of well being that I have every year at the harvest. As tradition demands we offer champagne and cakes to the pickers at the end of each working day. I do not know whether the tasting sensations are reinforced by the lingering smell of grapes on our clothes or by the fact that we are physically exhausted, but there is a blissful feeling with that first glass that makes you feel at peace with yourself no matter what.

H: Gauthier I feel like I’m almost there. I feel awful breaking the moment by asking you another question! But from good to bad -have you any worst moments you can share with us?

G: The only worst moment so far that I can think of was just before Christmas 2009 when I was delivering champagne in a snowstorm. I had several deliveries to make but things went wrong due to the heavy snow and I ended up with my car in a ditch. Oh and another delivery nightmare a couple of years back involved my van roof stuck in a Parisian underground car park; I misjudged the height of my van and had to flat the tyres to get out!

H: On a brighter note Gauthier was is your favourite champagne at the moment?

G: Right now it is our Champagne Rosé. It is a blending of 15% Côteaux Champenois red wine and 85% champagne. It has a brut doasge and is mainly made from the harvest of 2006 – a very good year. We chose an old meunier vine nicknamed the ‘Peachtree’ (oddly enough there is a peachtree inside the vine) to make the red wine. The champagne has aged for more than three years and has a wonderful bouquet. It is really worth tasting.

H: And finally Gauthier, what inspires you?

G: Like everybody else I guess, I take inspiration from my various experiences in life. It is clear that my father is my primary source of inspiration as he is the one who built the infrastructure from scratch to make this champagne business in the 1970’s. His productive mind is definitely something to emulate if we want to take the business one step further. The location also inspires me; our house is next to the vines in this bucolic part of France. We have some projects in the pipeline, especially in the wine tourism field.

Gauthier Legros, (pictured above) following in his father’s footsteps now runs Champagne Roger Legros based in the village of Prouilly. Champagne Warehouse is proud to be able to bring these delightful Legros champagnes to the UK. Helen recently conducted an interview with Gauthier, this is part one.

H: Hello Gauthier and thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. Can I ask you what you think makes a good champagne?

G: Good champagne starts with good grapes. They’re the key factors here. Despite the very modern production facilities used to transform grape juice into champagne, we are still very much dependent on the weather conditions. In some ways this connects us to our ancestors and is a constant reminder of where we come from and how small we are. So I would say that a good champagne is not made but granted.

H: Gauthier can I ask you why people should drink Legros champagnes?

G: First of all our champagnes are unique as they come from our own specific vines, whose soil structure, sun exposition and exploitation are very individual. There is a certain exclusivity to drinking our champagnes, because you will not find their tasting characteristics anywhere else.  They are representative of the Northern part of the champagne appellation. We are based at the Northern edge of the champagne production area and as such, our grapes and wines have a different taste from those found elsewhere within the appellation boundaries. Our champagnes also enjoy good references from both our customers and wine experts. The often win medals at wine competitions and receive good reviews in the press. We have been producing and retailing champagne for almost forty years now and have some very loyal customers, some of whom have been buying since the business started! Our champagnes are consistent in quality and taste, year after year, as we use only grapes from our vineyard, that we have grown ourselves. Finally I would say that champagne making is a kind of art, that must be shared in society. Just like painting or music, there is a creation from raw elements and the end result can bring joy and wonder.

H: What do you try to express in your champagnes?

G:  A fulfilment of the senses. The ultimate objective is to fill the taster’s mouth and nose with as many sensations as possible. Given the specifics of each grape and ageing, we aim at creating wines that will release subtle aromas that will startle the drinker’s imagination. We can call a champagne a success when simple words cannot be found to describe it.

Next time Gauthier tells us what inspires  him, shares with us his highs and lows and gives his predictions for the outcome of the 2009 harvest.