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At Moët & Chandon's headquarters in the Champagne region, we toast to the complex process that goes into making a bottle of bubbly.
Moët & Chandon's headquarters in Epernay, about 130 km north-east of Paris
"When we say it’s ‘the world’s most loved champagne’, we really mean it – a bottle of Moët Imperial is popped every two seconds, making it the most consumed champagne in the world,” says Estelle, our private guide at the Moët & Chandon headquarters in Epernay, before taking us on a private cellar tour.
It’s a tidbit of trivia that’s impressive, and yet hardly surprising; Moët & Chandon has been associated with the upper crust of society for over two centuries and – celebrating its 270th anniversary this year – continues to be toasted at the most momentous of times. From glamorous dos and prestigious sporting events to endorsements from the likes of Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby, Scarlett Johansson and current ambassador Roger Federer, Moët & Chandon is often seen in a swath of light among beautiful jet-setters.
The champagne house was an early favourite among the kings and queens of Europe, counting King Louis XV, Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and Queen Victoria as fans and – by royal warrant of appointment – supplies champagne to Queen Elizabeth II.
It’s almost easy to forget that champagne is a wine; after all, how many other wines conjure up images of chic celebration, splendour and class? But as the lights get dimmer while we make our way to the underground cellar, we’re met with a heritage that outshines the glitz and glamour.
A Complex Creation
In the underground cellar, it is dark, damp and a chilly 10º Celsius. The chalky walls are cold to the touch and so soft that our fingernails easily leave a mark. As we wipe off our dusty fingers, Estelle tells us that this is the original site from the 1800s, where the Moët family used to walk along these dark, chilly corridors with only candles to light their path. From a modest 2 kilometres to its current 28-km underground labyrinth, Moët & Chandon now has the biggest champagne cellar in the world.
“The chalk is the reason we can grow vines in this region,” says Estelle, “because it keeps the roots warm and gives us a fine, elegant aroma for white wines. Warmer regions will give you heavy red wines.”
The vineyards of Epernay
Surprisingly though, two red wine grapes are used in making most champagnes – pinot noir and pinot meunier – with only one white wine grape, the chardonnay, included in the blend. The deceptively simple makeup of a bottle of champagne is in truth, a highly complex and laborious process, especially as each year brings a different harvest and each grape variety brings different characters to the wine.
Chardonnay brings the freshness of white flowers, a citrus aroma and slight acidity; pinot noir, the most powerful of the three grapes, adds structure and body; pinot meunier is the fruity link that binds all three together, imparting pear, peach and apricot flavours.
Moët & Chandon may have access to 1,200 hectares of its own vineyards plus an additional 3,000 hectres of grapes from other owners, but the tour de force of making champagne is the blending. “As a non-vintage champagne, the Moët Imperial has to taste the same every year, but each year the harvest changes as it depends on the weather,” explains Estelle, “so our chef de cave, Monsieur Benoit Gouez, blends from many of our reserve wines of previous years and wines from many other villages.”
Estelle charms us with more trivia, “The name Moët Imperial is actually an homage to Emperor Napoleon from his good friend Jean-Rémy Moët, the founder’s grandson.”
Moët & Chandon's Imperial and Grand Vintage 2004
The Moët Imperial, being a blend of different years, does not have a specific year written on the bottle. When it’s a particularly good harvest, the house releases a vintage under its Grand Vintage range.
Blending is done through meticulous tasting of hundreds of wines to re-produce the signature Moët Imperial taste. In Champagne’s cool climate, grapes need to be pruned and preened, unlike sunnier climates where they can be left relatively unattended to ripen. Grapes are picked by hand, with the juice stored in different vats according to its originating village.
Estelle puts it into perspective for us, “One kilogram of grapes costs over 6 Euros. We need 1.6 kilograms to make one bottle of champagne. One plant in the vineyard makes approximately one bottle. If we have 800 vats, that means we have 800 wines. After the first fermentation, our winemakers will taste each wine and then blend until they find the perfect taste.”
The second fermentation is where the magic happens: yeast and sugar are added to the mix, creating carbon dioxide that then creates champagne’s trademark bubbles.
“After the second fermentation, the yeast remains in the bottle to age the wines. The sediment ‘feeds’ the champagne, causing it to develop its aromas over time. The sediment is like the heart of a champagne; it lets us keep champagne for decades,” says Estelle, with a knowing smile.
To remove the yeast, riddling is done where bottles are gradually turned from horizontal to vertical to bring the sediment into the neck of the bottle. The neck is then placed in freezing brine, so the frozen lees can be easily removed.
Today a machine turns about 500 bottles at a time; for the Grand Vintage, riddling is still done manually – a dedicated person turns the bottle a few degrees each day by hand until all of the sediment reaches the neck of the bottle.
Time Is An Ally
Non-vintage champagnes like the Moët Imperial are legally required to age for a minimum of 15 months; Moët & Chandon’s ageing on the lees is done for two to three years.
Likewise, vintage champagnes are required by law to age for a minimum of three years; Moët & Chandon’s Grand Vintage champagnes spend seven years ageing on the lees plus an additional six months of ageing after disgorgement.
Each Grand Vintage is a reflection of that year’s grapes, as interpreted by the cellar master. The most recent Grand Vintage 2004 showcases one of the best harvests in recent times, marked by its toastiness and the chardonnay’s mature flavours like brioche and aromas of dried flowers.
Racks of bottles that have been aging in the cellar for over 20 years
We come across racks of bottles that seem to be buried in blankets of dust. Estelle is quick to notice what has caught our attention and points out, “You know, those bottles have been in this cellar for 20 years. That’s mould growing there, because of the humidity and alcohol in the air.”
At the end of our insightful tour, we gaze into a flute of champagne with greater respect and admiration than when we first arrived. Watching the steady stream of bubbles flowing from the centre of the stem to the surface, it’s awe-inspiring to think about the intensive labour, time and thought – not to mention, blending through taste alone – that goes into a bottle of champagne; even more so for a Grand Vintage (riddling by hand is surely for the infinitely patient).
The name Moët Imperial is actually an homage to Emperor Napoleon from his good friend Jean-Rémy Moët, the founder’s grandson
As we raise a flute of Grand Vintage 2004 to the splendour and beauty of Champagne, both the region and the bubbly, our endearing guide Estelle leaves us with thoughts from a longtime friend of Moët & Chandon.
“Napoleon said it best: ‘Champagne! In victory one deserves it; in defeat one needs it.’”
We’ll toast to that.
