Celebrating champagne
The worst is over. The Champagne economy is out of intensive care but needs a period of convalescence to return to full health.
Sales of Champagne grew by about 4% globally in 1995, though the main motor of this recovery (a miserable strike-bound December apart) was the buoyant French domestic market. In contrast, export markets struggle to match the gains won in 1994, owing to such factors as the strong French franc and the boycott of French goods in the wake of the Chirac government's nuclear tests in the South Pacific.
In 1995, the Champagne trade in the UK marked time. With sales of 16.9 million bottles, volume was down fractionally (-0.44%) though market value was up. Stagnation or stability? Most professional wine-buyers are cautiously optimistic.
Crucially, Champagne is widely perceived to be of much better quality than it was five years ago; a bright reflection of the reforms the Champenois have initiated in the vineyard, press-house and cellar since 1993. Lower yields from the grapes, more mature reserve wines in the blends and longer ageing on the cork all account for the leap in quality of most Champagnes now on the market.
The grandes marques have been the main beneficiaries of Champagne's renewed quality-first image, though they have a long way to go to regain the market dominance they enjoyed during the boom years of the late 1980s.
There is a trend back to brands, particularly premium brands. Both Veuve Clicquot and Bollinger had a good year in the UK in 1995. Clicquot's effective Champagne of the Season advertising campaign and the extensive publicity for Bollinger in the BBC's television comedy Absolutely Fabulous have boosted brand-recognition for each firm respectively.
The excellent quality of both houses' flagship non-vintage cuvées - Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label Brut and Bollinger Special Cuvée - live up to the expectation of their famous labels. Both Champagnes currently have a nice touch of maturity in balance with fresh, clean fruit definition.
Vintages in vogue
Vintage Champagnes are in demand again. The great intense 1985s are already disappearing fast from merchants' lists, but if you see top wines of the vintage such as Pol Roger Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill, Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame and Dom Pérignon Rosé, buy as much as you can afford as these Champagnes are approaching their prime and will provide your customers with some spectacular drinking over the next three years. The more backward but magnificent 1985 Krug Clos du Mesnil is one of the greatest pure Chardonnay Champagnes I have ever drunk.
Most Champagne houses are now on to younger vintages. Fortunately, those available - 1988, 1989, and 1990 - are that rarity, an uninterrupted run of three fine vintages, and now is the time to buy as no Champagne vintage has been declared between 1991 and 1994 and prices are certain to rise as stocks of the best wines dwindle in the run-up to the millennium.
Drink the fruit-laden 1989s (Joseph Perrier is especially good) before the still brooding but more complex 1988s, and keep the best superb 1990s for the longer term; it would be a shame to drink them now. London shipper Laytons (0171-386 4567) has an intriguing offer to purchase some 1990 Louis Roederer in advance. This wonderful Champagne will lie undisgorged on its sediment in Reims until late 1998, giving it extra weight, richness and maturity. The price for a six-bottle case, £190 ex-cellars, will look competitive on New Year's Eve 1999.
Back to reality and news of an excellent and affordable range of hand-made Champagnes especially suitable for restaurants. Founded in 1798, Jacquesson is a small family-owned firm based at Dizy, near êpernay. Joseph Krug learnt the art of blending at Jacquesson before establishing his own firm, so if you are looking for those rich, creamy Krug-like flavours at a fraction of the price, Jacquesson is the label to remember.
Brothers Jean-Hervé and Laurent Chiquet who run the business still insist on using an old vertical wooden press at harvest time, as they believe its gentle action produces the purest, least tainted juice from the grapes, a critical consideration in the making of great Champagne. And a good proportion of the still wines for the Champagne blends are first fermented in large oak casks; the gentle exchange of air, wine and wood gives real complexity to the finished Champagne without imparting an exaggerated oakiness to it.
The Jacquesson range is of stunning quality, as I discovered at a memorable tasting there in January. The non-vintage Perfection Brut has the colour of Welsh gold, tiny bubbles, an expressive scent of ripe black fruits touched with vanilla (oak), and a soft, creamy yet firmly persistent flavour - a classic Champagne and a snip at £139 a case.
Lively acidity
The Perfection Brut Rosé has a good punchy taste of Pinot Noir but is not heavy, thanks to lively acidity. The 1990 Blanc de Blancs, a pure Avize from Jacquesson's own vineyards, is outstanding, honeyed, sumptuous, no hint of asperity and an ideal partner for sea trout or bass in any guise. The Signature Prestige Cuvées, a white and a rosé made from 100% wood- fermented wines in the 1989 vintage, are complex Champagnes that defy accurate description but can be recommended without any reservation.
Champagne's newest merchant house is found in a sleek, modern winery on the main êpernay road out of Reims. Bruno Paillard, who founded the firm that bears his name in 1981, comes from a long line of Champenois growers and brokers. No one knows more about Champagne, and everything about his operation inspires confidence. The Champagnes age in an ideal light-free environment of 10-12ºC and, uniquely among the great houses, carry the date of disgorging as a consumer guide to optimal drinking.
Few non-vintage flagship cuvées are as carefully assembled as the Bruno Paillard Brut Première Cuvée. This wine has structure (20% wood fermentation) and elegance in equal measure; the "dosage" (addition of sugar) is kept low to produce as natural a wine as possible, based on highly rated grapes, including a good percentage of Chardonnay.
Paillard's love of art has led him to commission prominent artists to decorate the labels of his vintage Champagne. The pictures reflect the character of the wines and the shrewdness of a man who knows that a successful Champagne business is based on great wines, chic packaging and cutting out unnecessary costs in a traditionally labour-intensive trade.
Michael Edwards' award-winning Champagne Companion (1995 reprint - Apple Press) is available at most bookshops
