It is more than common to hear wine connoisseurs shout about the 03 grapes allowed in the region, chanting almost like a mantra Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. Even after a visit to a Grande Casa in the region, the idea of using only these 03 grapes will be reinforced – behold, it will be clearly stated that they are the only ones used to make their labels.
In many wine courses the experience will be no different and we will learn about the three grape varieties as unique to producing a wine in Champagne. The first two are well known to consumers in general, while the last one suffers from the rarity of having a still wine vinified only with it – or have you ever drunk any 100% Pinot Meunier red wine? (We already...) In fact, we were warned by a Ruinart employee about his denomination: “Only Meunier,” he said. "Recent studies show that she has no familiarity with Pinot Noir." Well, from now on, let's follow what he said. In addition to these 03 strains, there are 04 other grapes authorized in champagne, all white: Arbane, Petit Meslier, Pinot Blanc (or Blanc Vrai) and Pinot Gris (also called Fromenteau or Enfume). Such grapes lost considerable space in Champagne over the years, representing today for less than 1% of the cultivated area. And this happened for a very simple reason: its low yield in the vineyards. In the days when Champagne was still a producer of still wines, Pinot Gris came to account for 50% of the planted area... However, after achieving success and having significantly increased its demand, producers opted for higher yielding varieties. In Champagne, we are in the land of wine dealers – large houses that buy grapes to vinify and sell under their own labels, on a scale superior to any other region in the world. As payment is made per kilo of grapes, the higher the yield, the higher the producer's billing. We are also in the land of blends and expedition liqueurs, strong instruments for correcting grape maturation problems – thus, producers can harvest their less mature grapes and, consequently, with higher yields. Again, higher yield is higher revenue. And so the other 04 varieties were forgotten – to the point of not even being mentioned on the official website of the Comite Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne, the main regulator of the local market. But that doesn't mean they are inferior quality grapes! It is well known that Chardonnay imparts acidity and structure to the wine, while Pinot Noir gives elegance, aromas and body, leaving Meunier to add the fruit itself. The other forgotten grape varieties provide a more exotic range of fruit and vegetable aromas, making quite peculiar wines - some producers even mention a crunchy acidity, with more lively and intense wines.
Pinot Blanc, typical of Alsace, comes with floral tones and fresh honey. A good example of champagne of this strain is La Bolorre, by Cedric Bouchard, on the Côte des Bar. Another one, also from there, is Unique, a cuvée by Pierre Gerbais, which can be found in Brazil. The Petit Meslier – which still struggles in the Vallee de la Marne – is a strain of great acidity, with vegetable aromas reminiscent of Sauvignon Blanc. It is difficult to vinify it alone in champagne, but Duval Leroy had success in 1998 and 2005. In turn, Pinot Gris acts in the wine very similarly to Meunier, adding ripe fruit and body. Finally, we have Arbane, a variety typical of Aube, on the Cote de Bar, which finds enthusiastic producers there: Moutard and Olivier Horiot have the audacity to produce cuvées entirely from Arbane.
It has a very peculiar, rustic character, leaving an almost metallic finish at times. The most common is that we have producers using them in blends, as does Moutard in its 6 Cepages, Oliver Horiot in its 5 Sens, and Drappier, on the Quattuor label, a Blanc de Blancs that only does not include Pinot Gris among the permitted whites.
With global warming, producers have noticed a better maturation of these strains, bringing them back to the spotlight in Champagne, especially in the Cote de Bar. The surprise to learn about these other 04 varieties is general – comparable only to the surprise to know that there are other types of wines with AOC within Champagne, AOC Coteaux Champenois and AOC Rosé des Riceys, but that is already a topic for another conversation.
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