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CHAMPAGNE ISSUE Small Production Champagne—Elden Style Champagne Special Offer Canapés Wine Pairing: Champagne |
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If you have ever been to the Champagne region, chances are you have visited one of the famous production houses. Moët et Chandon, Veuve Cliquot, Perrier-Jouët, Mumm, the names are evocative. Opulence, sophistication, celebration. They make wines for the special moments in our lives. And when you visit one of these hallowed establishments, they inevitably take you underground to see the miles and miles of cellars, and the millions…no, millions upon millions of bottles being prepared for festivities around the world. But does anyone ever ask where all this wine comes from? Think about it. Moët alone makes 2 million cases a year. That’s a lot of juice! Check out the numbers. Fewer than a hundred houses produce nearly all of the negociant Champagne. Yet they own only 12% of the vineyards. So where does the rest come from? Turns out there are 15,000 growers in the region, and traditionally most all of them sell their production to these big houses. This has allowed these brands (the ‘grandes marques’ as they are known) to pretty much define Champagne. And how do you define Champagne? We would not be surprised to hear you say that a good Champagne has fine bubbles, a yeasty, toasty nose and a sort of creaminess on the tongue. Sound about right? That’s certainly what the big houses would want you to say. But wait a minute. What about the things you might expect to find, given that champagne comes from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay? Careful. That is the one question you are not supposed to ask. The myth says that Champagne is different. That the base wine has to be acidic to allow the formation of quality bubbles. And so the fruit needs to be picked under-ripe. The truth is that most of those 15000 growers are paid by the weight of their harvest…and grapes weigh more under-ripe. And because that poses no real problem to the production houses (who can legally add sugar to get their potential alcohol levels up), the whole system has been codified. The local government sets the date that harvest can begin and the price paid per pound of must weight. And voila! That is how most Champagne is made. Quantity over quality. But not always. There are, of course, purists out there. Of those 15000 growers, 4000 have turned to domain bottling. And many of them are outstanding, producing wines from ripe fruit showing the vinous notes you’d expect from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. At Elden, we think a good champagne should taste a lot like a good Chablis... but with bubbles! |
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Bertrand Brigandat has known all along that he had what it takes to make great domain-bottled Champagne. He aimed high right from the moment he took over the reins of his parents' domain in the Barrois in 1993. Building a new winery was a necessary gamble. He needed these tools to achieve the potential that he knew his vineyards had always shown. It was only then that he could chisel the style that has brought him so much recent attention of late. Although it has taken the rest of the world a long time to look, and even longer to see what can be done here at the southern extremities of the Champagne region, these days eyes are wide open, and young producers like Bertrand are in the forefront of a small-production revolution. |
N/V Champagne$45.00 Bottle | $540.00 Case |
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SPECIAL OFFER Four Bottles of Pierre Brigandat Brut Tradition Champagne $140 ($180 value) + Free Shipping 
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CANAPÉS DE FOIE GRAS AU CASSIS ET A L’ANETH FOR YOUR HOLIDAY GATHERINGS  Here we combine several Burgundian flavors—the sweet fruit of the blackcurrant jelly, the exotic spices of the pain d’épices and the richness of the foie gras—for a surprising burst on the palate. Look for foie gras called ‘entier mi-cuit’, which is the entire fattened liver, molded and partially cooked to give it a creamy, sliceable, pâté-like consistency. 
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