Non Vintage Champagne
This is the most important category and flagship wine for any Champagne house. Champagne is the most prestigious sparkling wine in the world, made only from grapes grown on the chalky soils in Champagne, the most northerly of France’s wine regions. It is because of the region’s marginal climate, where the grapes have historically struggled to ripen, that blending is necessary as there is wide vintage variation. Approximately 80% of total Champagne production is non-vintage or NV which means it is a blend of several vintages. Champagne houses blend for consistency which enables them to produce their house style year after year. NV Champagnes are subjected to a minimum of 15-month aging requirement in contact with the lees (dead yeast cells) but most houses exceed this minimum to develop the delicious signature biscuity brioche notes. An NV can be consumed on release but many benefit from a couple of extra years aging in the bottle as they can further develop more complex flavours.
