Champagne is usually reserved for special occasions along with being the drink of the elite classes. However there is a slight but subtle change happening in this often times narrowed field. .More emphasis is placed on where the grapes are grown now as opposed to luxury vintner methods. The result is a more varied drink coming from small artisan wineries.
This is the subject of today's New York Times Pour column in their Wednesday Dining section. The article, written by Pour columnist , Eric Asimov, tells of a new trend hitting French vintners.It seems that where the grapes originate are much more important than who turns them into a vintage. This means the Aube section, long a supplier, is now in the spotlight.This area is directly south of Reims, the champagne capital of France where there was always a snobbery for this section, even granting it only second class status.
The champagnes from Aube are earthy and multilayered both in taste and body. Since the grapes are excellent in making pinot noirs, the champagnes have the same smoky taste as the wines. Some such as a Recolte Blanc has both floral and mineral notes, giving the drink a lighter than light flavor. Why do so many Aube based champagnes have many layers? Probably the soil has something to do with it. There have been tiny fossilized shells which result in chalky deposits. Chablis has the same sort of earth and has always given the world the best wines full bodied with many notes.
A new breed of champagne is bubbling up.It doesn't rely on the house that creates it. It's the earth - the terroir that now is taking credit and it is producing some amazing bottles of bubbly
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