The influence of time on Champagne

▲ A vintage Champagne ageing in the cellar

Time can, as with all other wines, influence the aromas, taste and structure of Champagne. Fresh and fruity aromas, often found in younger Champagnes, can develop into more complex aromas of honey, nuts, dried fruit and toast. The liveliness of the mousse diminishes the longer a Champagne ages, and the colour can grow ever deeper as well. The process is slow and subtle, but over time the flavours and aromas can develop beautifully and lead to an unrivalled experience.

But take note: not all Champagnes can develop in this way. The influence of time is varied and depends on several factors.

A misconception is that Champagne in the bottle always ages more gracefully and gets better with time. In most cases that is not necessarily so. Once the yeast is out of the bottle and it has been given a cork, the ageing process is essentially over. Until then the Champagne is aged to perfection in the producer's cellar. Assume that a Champagne is only released when the house is convinced it has truly reached perfection.

Of course, taste is highly personal. What the house considers perfect need not mean perfection for everyone. We personally have experienced a number of times that a non-vintage Champagne tasted too young, in our opinion, right after purchase. Naturally, you never know whether such a Champagne will develop favourably if you let it rest, but in many cases it did for us. After six months (or sometimes a year), the fresh and sometimes slightly sour aromas had developed into softer notes. Although the changes are often minimal, they can still make for a different taste experience.

How do you know which Champagne you can lay down and which you cannot?
That is a tricky question and depends on various factors. Below are a few important ones.

Vintage vs. Non-Vintage

Non-vintage Champagnes often have less potential to develop over time, whereas vintages can age beautifully.

How is that possible? A vintage Champagne is composed from the grape harvest of a single year. Often an exceptional year, made from high-quality grapes. With quality and perfection in mind, the producer can let the ageing proceed as optimally as possible to develop the desired characteristics within a Champagne. A non-vintage Champagne, by contrast, is composed from grapes harvested in different years. This diversity makes it difficult to find the optimal ageing procedure.

If you would like to keep your bottle of Champagne: non-vintage Champagnes can be kept for roughly 2 to 3 years and vintage Champagnes 5 to 10 years, provided all conditions are optimal. Better still is to ask how long the Champagne in question aged in the cellars before the cork went in. As a general rule, a Champagne can be kept for about as long as it aged in the cellar.

But there are also plenty of exceptions. Truly special Champagnes of exceptional quality sometimes last decades and unfold into superior Champagnes. That is why it is always handy to ask what kind of Champagne you have in hand and when it is best to drink it. A few extra years in the cellar can lead to a completely different taste experience.

Grape variety

Is your Champagne made up of more than one third Pinot Meunier? This grape variety develops faster and has a short peak, which makes it less suitable for long keeping. So not really suited to ageing for a number of years. Champagnes made from Pinot Noir grapes or Chardonnay grapes keep longer. The very best blanc de blancs (100% Chardonnay), for instance, can be kept for up to 25 years after dégorgement. Many consider it a shame to drink this kind of Champagne within the first 10 years after dégorgement. Simply because that is when the development is only just beginning.

Quality

It comes down to both the quality of the grapes and of the entire process.
The quality of the grapes is determined in part by the weather. If the weather in a particular year was optimal, it could well produce a vintage Champagne. But the location of the vineyards also determines the quality of the grapes.

There are, in fact, a number of superior villages within the Champagne region, divided into the categories Premier Cru and Grand Cru. The vineyards in these villages have, in every respect, the most ideal conditions (geographical among others) for the grapes. The Cru villages score lowest and have less favourable conditions.

Fancy trying a Grand Cru Champagne?

More important is what is done with the grapes. Some producers, for example, use a slower production method by letting fermentation take place at a very low temperature. Such an elaborate production method can lead to a high-quality Champagne and better preservation of the Champagne.

Prestige Champagnes are generally the best Champagnes of the house. Only the finest plots and most precious grapes are selected, usually coming from the Grand Cru or Premier Cru villages. In addition, some Prestige Champagnes are produced from a single harvest, so vintages. Naturally, more time and effort also go into the production process of such Champagnes. The production process is mapped out with the utmost care, takes longer, and the Champagne is often aged in the cellar for a longer period (more than five years).

Fancy trying a Prestige (Premier Cru)?

Bottle size

Champagne is available in various bottles, from 185 cl to as much as 30 litres per bottle! The bottle size plays an important role in the ageing process and the shelf life of Champagne. The regular 0.75 litre bottle keeps well under the right conditions. Bottles smaller than the regular one are meant for immediate consumption. The best-keeping bottle is the magnum of 1.5 litres. The ratio between Champagne and air is optimal; a magnum bottle contains twice as much wine as a normal 0.75 litre bottle, but about the same amount of air.

Oxygen breaks down molecules in the Champagne as soon as they come into contact with each other. With a little oxidation the Champagne can develop just a bit more nicely and complexly. Too much can ruin the Champagne.

Why not even larger bottles, then? These are usually composed from several magnums. While filling the larger bottles, the Champagne briefly comes into contact with oxygen. The risk of oxidation is therefore greater. This way of producing oversized bottles is not always used, by the way. There are also producers who do let the ageing process take place in a large bottle. Again, it is wise to ask which type you have in hand.

Date of dégorgement

Have no idea how old the Champagne is that you are about to buy? Then take a look at the back of the label. Nowadays many Champagne producers put the date of dégorgement on the label. This date indicates when the bottle was taken out of the cellar and corked. Ready for consumption.

Was the bottle corked recently? Then it is probably still fresh and young. Is the dégorgement date longer ago? The Champagne may have developed somewhat. It is important to pay extra attention to the conditions in which the bottle has been kept. The longer a bottle lies, the greater the chance that it has been affected by environmental influences.

Read more here about the influence of temperature, vibration, light and humidity on Champagne.
Why you should NEVER display a bottle of Champagne in the living room.

So it is extremely important to know your bottle. What exactly is in it? What kind of Champagne is it? How big is the bottle? When was the dégorgement? And what has happened to the bottle between that date and now? Under what conditions has the Champagne been kept, and how have you stored the bottle yourself?

Conclusion:

Every Champagne is different, and so the influence of time is highly varied too. Champagne is essentially ready to drink as soon as it leaves the cellar. Vintages and Premium Champagnes (such as the Prestige) can be kept longer and may potentially develop into finer Champagnes, provided all conditions are optimal (and have been). Try to find out the date of dégorgement and take the grape composition and size of the bottle into account, as this influences the ageing process.

Everything described above is merely a guideline. Every Champagne is different and there are plenty of exceptions. So get well informed and taste. That is the only way to learn more about the influence of time on Champagne and to discover your own taste.