I first learnt about sparkling wine in the 1980’s. Vintage fizz was from a single year and non-vintage (which has always been the industry standard) has always been a blend of several different vintages.
So which is better?
Well, it just depends.
In Champagne most wines are non-vintage. Vintage wines are produced in exceptional years when the season provides grapes that are rich and ripe and worthy of vinifying separately to reveal all the terroir and seasonality that we love in French wine.
I remember being very confused shortly after we arrived in the Loire. We’d be sitting with winemaker friends drinking a glass of non-vintage Crémant de Loire and they’d say ‘oh this is the 2007 or the 2010’.
‘What? I’d reply, ‘this is a non-vintage wine’. And the reply would come back;
‘Ah yes, but in fact I know it’s the 2007 that’s in the bottle’. How confusing.
Essentially, in order to maintain a consistent style, it’s essential to blend wines from several years. Blending wines from different years gives balance and interest. The style of wine from one year to another varies (particularly in a cool climate situation such as the Loire or Champagne).
The volumes of wine produced in Champagne are much bigger than those produced here in the Loire. So, it’s not unusual to find a single vintage wine in a bottle labelled as non-vintage and you may find variation in the bottle from one year to the next.
This week I popped over to see Arnaud Herivault of Domaine d’Orfeuilles in Chancay. His wines are some of our favourite Vouvrays and his Brut Non Vintage is tasting absolutely amazing at the moment.
It’s a blend of wines from 2017, 2016 and 2015 with 3 years ageing sur lattes before disgorging.
Absolutely delicious. You can find in in the States pretty easily and in London from The Winery in London (Maida Vale and Fulham).
