Everything about Blanc de Noirs Champagne
Short answer: Blanc de Noirs literally means 'white of blacks': a white champagne made exclusively from black grapes (Pinot Noir and/or Pinot Meunier). The juice is colourless, so the champagne stays light but gains more body and structure than a Blanc de Blancs. Taste the difference in our Blanc de Noirs collection.
▲ Blanc de Noirs Champagne, what exactly is it?
A term you often find on a Champagne label. What does Blanc de Noirs Champagne actually mean?
Literally 'white of blacks', in other words, white juice from black grapes.
In 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 black grapes. Whether a grape is called black or white is determined by the colour of the skin. After all, the juice of all three varieties is colourless!
Back to the Blanc de Noirs. A Blanc de Noirs Champagne consists 100% of the juices of black grapes. So it can be a blend of Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, but also just the juice of, for example, Pinot Noir.
So how is a Blanc de Noirs made? Actually just 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, at the moment of pressing. That is too short to eventually give the juice a pink or red colour.
Did you know...
A rosé Champagne can also be a Blanc de Noirs?
Still, the juice that comes out of the press is not necessarily 'white'. The harder the press squeezes, the more colour the juice contains. The juice shown in the photo below, for instance, comes from a single press.
On the left it is the clearest. This comes from the first, gentle pressing.
In the second bottle you can already see a darker coloured juice, due to the harder pressing. Oddly enough, the juice does not keep this colour. In the end, after blending and after the entire production process, the Champagne is 'white'.
On the far right is a sample of the Taille. This is the last 500 litres of juice, where the press squeezes hard. The Taille is not always used in Champagnes.
▲ Different colours of must from a single press.