non-vintage or o N.V.
This style of champagne represents by far the largest portion of the French noble drink, and by the way, it can only be made from grapes from certain French growing areas and according to strict rules. In this style, wines from multiple vintages are blended each year to provide as consistent a flavor profile as possible. Experts also speak of a so-called house style based on well-known champagne houses such as Moët & Chandon or Laurent-Perrier.
Nostalgic
The term refers to old champagne, where the grapes must come only from the vintage indicated on the label. Unlike non-vintage champagnes, vintage champagnes reflect the characteristics of a particular vintage champagne. Although the wines are not mixed with other vintages, care is taken to create a recognizable home style here too. Old champagnes are only made in good to very good vintages and often cost more than older champagnes.
Rose
You can recognize this champagne style by its salmon or pink color. It is created by mixing a small amount of red wine from the dark grape varieties Pinot Noir or Pinot Meunier. However, there are champagne houses like Laurent-Perrier, which leave the skins of black grapes in contact with the must for a short time during production to reach the red color pigments.
Blanc de Noirs
These champagnes are only made from dark grape varieties Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, but not pink champagnes. Because the white grape variety does without Chardonnay, these types of champagnes are usually a bit fruitier and fuller, but they don’t keep as long as other champagnes.
Blanc de Blancs
Unlike Blanc de Noirs, these champagnes are made exclusively from white grape varieties, mostly Chardonnay. In addition to Chardonnay, four more white grape varieties are allowed in Champagne: Pinot Blanc, Petit Meslier, Fromenteau and Arbanne. Another difference from Blanc de Noirs is that Blanc de Blancs champagnes are less fruity and full bodied but have more storage potential.
Premier Cru and Grand Cru
The classification of individual regions by grape quality dates back to 1927. Across the Champagne region, 257 settlements are unclassified, 42 have Premier Cru status, and only 17 have rare Grand Cru status. While Premier Cru champagne can theoretically also contain Grand Cru grapes, champagnes that are declared Grand Cru only allow grapes from Grand Cru locations like Oger. Premier Cru and Grand Cru champagnes tend to be more elegant and of higher quality, but are also more expensive than other champagnes.
Prestige Bathtub
Almost every champagne house has a prestige tub that uses the largest possible grape selection and winemaking techniques with the utmost care. The result is complex, elegant and impressive champagne. Due to their high quality and small quantity, such champagnes are among the most expensive, such as Cristal by Louis Roederer or La Grande Dame by Veuve Clicquot. Prestige Cuvée Champagnes can be made from a single vintage, but they don’t have to be.
late version
Most champagnes spend twelve months in sediments during the second fermentation in the bottle to absorb the leavened flavors of, for example, brioche or toast. However, sometimes there are champagnes that are stored in fine sediments for more than a decade. In the case of the rare P2 cuvée from Dom Pérignon, that’s even 17 years. Late-release champagnes are special and expensive, but should be drunk quickly, as they do not benefit much from additional storage in the bottle after sale.
sugar content
In addition to the styles mentioned, different champagnes have different levels of residual sugar, measured in grams of residual sugar per liter. These range from zero to three grams (Brut Nature/Zéro dosage) from zero to twelve grams (Brut) and semi-sweet or sweet styles with up to 50 grams per liter or more of residual sugar.