Champagne grapes - the story of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay
There are so many factors that make champagne special. Grape variety is one of them. As by law, producers can only use a small selection of grape varieties to produce champagne. Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay (Chardonnyay!) are the most common ones, but there’s more to the story. In this article, you’ll learn all the ins and outs of champagne grapes.
Not three but seven varieties
Many people think champagne can be made from three grape grape varieties, but the truth is that there are seven. Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay are the ones most commonly used, and then there are four less-used, ancestral varieties:
Pinot Blanc
Pinot Gris
Petit Meslier
Arbane
These last four varieties come from older vines, and are much less common. In fact, together they form a mere 0.4% of all vines. More and more champagne producers experiment with the ancestral grape varieties, so you might say we’re reliving old days.
Grape mixing - or not
Most champagnes are a blend of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay. On the bottle, it will simply say:
Pinot Noir 33%
Pinot Meunier 33%
Chardonnay 33%
However, these percentages may vary, and sometimes, producers choose to work with one or two varieties exclusively. This means there are blends of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, etc. etc. To make it even more interesting, sometimes champagne producers choose to work with one grape variety exclusively, which means there’s also champagne made with only Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier or Pinot Noir.
When it comes to mixing grape varieties, the sky is the limit.
Blanc de blancs versus blanc de noirs
Champagne grapes either have dark skin (Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier) or light skin (Chardonnay). Yet, if we forget about rosé champagne for a moment, all champagne is light-coloured - even if the champagne is made from dark grapes. This is because after pressing the grapes, producers quickly separate the juice from the skins, minimising contact with the pigments in the grape skins that give red wine its dark colour.
If a champagne is made from grapes with light-coloured skin, like Chardonnay (but also Arbane, Pinot Blanc and Petit Meslier!), we speak of a ‘blanc de blancs’ which translates as ‘white of whites’, hence: light-coloured wine made by light-coloured grapes. On the opposite side, we have ‘blanc de noirs’ which translates to ‘white of darks’, hence: light-coloured wine made by dark-coloured grapes. Champagne made with 100% Pinor Noir or Pinot Meunier are called blanc de noirs, but it can also be a blend of several dark-coloured grape varieties.
Which champagne grape variety is the best?
When it comes to champagne grape varieties, there’s no right or wrong. Each variety brings different characteristics to the table, which is one of the reasons why champagne is so damn interesting! Below, you’ll find a short description of the most widely used grape varieties.
Pinot Noir adds structure and body, provides a strong backbone and adds depth. You can recognise Pinot Noir by its red fruit flavours, such as cherries and strawberries.
Pinot Meunier is the most approachable and friendly grape variety of all, adding roundness, softness and balance. You can recognise Pinot Meunier by stone fruit flavours like peaches, and by floral notes.
Chardonnay brings elegance and finesse, adds acidity and develops complexity over time. You can recognise Chardonnay by its citrusy flavours, green apple and floral notes.
Now the question is: how can you tell them apart? The answer is practice. There’s nothing better than simply trying a lot of different champagnes and making notes. Over time, you’ll learn to tell the difference - I promise.
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