Everything about Blanc de Noirs Champagne
Blanc de Noirs Champagne, what is it exactly?
A term often found on Champagne labels. What does Blanc de Noirs Champagne actually mean?
Literally 'white of blacks' or, white juice from blue grapes .
Within Champagne, the three main grape varieties are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. Chardonnay is a white grape, while Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier are red grapes. The color blue or white is determined by the color of the skins. The juice of all three grape varieties is colorless!
Back to Blanc de Noirs. A Blanc de Noirs Champagne is made entirely from the juices of red grapes. It can be a blend of Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier , or just the juices of, for example, Pinot Noir.
So how is a Blanc de Noirs made? It's essentially like any other Champagne. The grapes are pressed, and the juice is collected in a tank. The juice only comes into contact with the skins, in the press, during the pressing process. This is too short a time to give the juice its final pink or red color.
Did you know that...
Can a rosé Champagne also be a Blanc de Noirs?
However, the juice doesn't necessarily come out of the press "white." The harder the press squeezes, the more color the juice will have. For example, the juice shown in the photo below comes from a single press.
The left is the brightest. This comes from the first soft press.
In the second bottle, a darker-colored juice is already visible, due to the harder pressing. Oddly enough, the juice doesn't retain this color. Ultimately, after blending and the entire production process, the Champagne is "white."
On the far right is a sample of the Taille . This is the last 500 liters of juice, where the press is pressing hard. The Taille is not always used in Champagne.
▲ Different colours of must from one press.