Champagne is not a monolith. Under the same AOC sit eight recognisable styles, set by three variables: grape, blend and dosage. Once you know the styles, a label reads like a map.
Dosage: the sugar scale
After dégorgement every bottle receives a liqueur d’expédition, a mix of wine and sugar. The grams per litre define the official style.
| Style on the label | Dosage in grams of sugar per litre | What you taste in the glass |
|---|---|---|
| Brut Nature, also Pas Dosé or Zero Dosage | 0 to 3 grams per litre, no added sugar | Taut and mineral, brutally honest about the base wine |
| Extra Brut | 0 to 6 grams per litre | A touch more roundness, still very dry |
| Brut | Up to 12 grams per litre | The de-facto standard, around 95 percent of all champagne; balance between freshness and fruit |
| Extra Sec | 12 to 17 grams per litre | Light sweetness, uncommon on the market |
| Sec | 17 to 32 grams per litre | Off-dry, classic with dessert |
| Demi-Sec | 32 to 50 grams per litre | Clearly sweet, dessert range |
| Doux | Over 50 grams per litre | Almost extinct, occasionally revived |
Source: Comité Champagne, dosage and style.
Colour and grape choice
Blanc de Blancs is made exclusively from white grapes, in practice always Chardonnay. Vertical, chalky, ages for decades. Côte des Blancs is its spiritual home.
Blanc de Noirs comes from black grapes only, Pinot Noir and/or Meunier. Fuller in body, often riper fruit, light red-fruit core. Vallée de la Marne and Montagne de Reims carry this style.
Rosé has two production routes. Rosé d’assemblage is made by blending white champagne with still red Champagne wine (the only French region where AOC rules allow it). Rosé de saignée comes from a short maceration with black-grape skins, an approach that gives more colour and tannin. The second is rarer and often more food-friendly.
Prestige Cuvée
The prestige cuvée is a house’s top tier: Dom Pérignon at Moët, Cristal at Roederer, La Grande Année at Bollinger. No legal definition, more a marketing convention. Usually vintage, usually longer autolysis, usually selected from Grand Cru parcels. Price scales accordingly.
How to read this on a label
A bottle like “Champagne X Grand Cru, Blanc de Blancs, Extra Brut, 2018” tells you:
- Grape: 100 percent Chardonnay
- Dosage: 0 to 6 g/l, dry style
- Origin: only grapes from Grand Cru villages
- Vintage: 2018, so at least 36 months on the lees
For non-vintage there is no year and the baseline ageing of fifteen months applies, of which twelve on the lees.
Which style when
- Aperitif, oysters, sushi: Blanc de Blancs, Brut Nature or Extra Brut.
- Chicken, veal, creamy sauces: Brut or Blanc de Noirs.
- Red meat, duck, mushrooms: Rosé de saignée or aged vintage.
- Dessert, foie gras: Demi-Sec.