Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru Champagne, explained

Blanc de Blancs, Blanc de Noirs or rosé: what is the difference?

A Blanc de Blancs is made only from white grapes, almost always chardonnay. A Blanc de Noirs comes from black grapes (pinot noir, meunier) made into white wine. A rosé usually blends white wine with a little red.

On the palate, Blanc de Blancs is the most taut of the three: white flowers, citrus, chalky notes and an acidity that gives length. Blanc de Noirs is rounder and more vinous, with red fruit and a broader texture. Rosé adds small red-berry aromas.

None is simply better: Blanc de Blancs suits aperitifs, seafood and delicate dishes best; Blanc de Noirs stands up better to richer food.

How do you recognise a good Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru?

Read the label: it should state Blanc de Blancs, Premier Cru or Grand Cru when the grapes come from classified villages, and the dosage (Brut, Extra Brut…).

In Champagne, villages are ranked by the quality of their vineyards. Grands Crus are the top tier, Premier Cru the second. The term may only be used if every grape in the cuvée comes from Premier Cru or Grand Cru villages.

Other clues help: the names of the villages, the disgorgement date (a sign of how fresh the bottle is), time on lees, and a low dosage that does not mask the wine. A serious producer gives this information on the back label or technical sheet.

Extra Brut, Brut Nature, zero dosage: how do they taste?

Dosage is the sugar added just before corking. The lower it is, the drier the champagne tastes and the more it shows the wine as it is.

The terms are regulated: Brut Nature (zero dosage) 0 to 3 g/L with no added sugar, Extra Brut 0 to 6 g/L, Brut up to 12 g/L. Zero dosage can be superb with very ripe wine, but can feel harsh when the wine lacks body.

Extra Brut is often the best balance: very dry, with just enough dosage to round off the acidity.

Pure chardonnay or a blend: what changes?

Most champagnes blend chardonnay, pinot noir and meunier. A Blanc de Blancs uses chardonnay alone.

Blending aims for harmony: the roundness of meunier, the structure of pinot noir, the freshness of chardonnay. A 100% chardonnay focuses on finesse: fine bubbles, floral and citrus notes, a straighter finish.

It is also a style that shows its terroir clearly, because nothing softens what the soil gives.

What do “chalk terroir” and “minerality” mean?

Much of Champagne's subsoil is chalk. It holds water and releases it slowly to the vines, which helps keep freshness in the grapes.

In the glass, chalk is often linked to taut wines with a saline finish and notes of wet chalk or flint. Tasters call this minerality: an impression of freshness and length rather than a precise aroma.

Chardonnay, very sensitive to its soil, expresses these terroirs particularly well.

Small house or large house: what is the difference?

Large houses blend grapes from many villages to keep a consistent taste from year to year. A small house works with limited volumes, often from just a few villages.

Small production usually means you can say exactly where the grapes come from, disgorge in small batches and so offer fresher bottles, and talk directly with the people who make the wine.

The trade-off is volume: you often need to reserve, and some cuvées are allocated among customers each year.

What food goes with a Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut?

Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut is made for seafood and delicate flavours.

Oysters, shellfish, scallop carpaccio, sashimi, raw or lightly seared fish: the wine's acidity and salinity answer the iodine. It also works very well with fresh goat's cheese and refined cooking based on beurre blanc, citrus or herbs.

As an aperitif, its dry, floral style opens the appetite without weighing it down. Avoid sweet desserts, which would make it taste sharp.

How should you serve and store Blanc de Blancs?

Serve it at 8 to 10 °C, in a tulip glass or white-wine glass rather than a narrow flute.

Chill the bottle for three to four hours in the fridge, or twenty minutes in a bucket of ice and water. Too cold and the wine closes up; a wider glass lets the aromas open.

Store bottles lying down, somewhere cool (10 to 14 °C), dark and free of vibration. A non-vintage Blanc de Blancs is usually best within a few years of disgorgement.

Which champagne to give a demanding wine lover?

For a wine lover, a Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru from a small house is a safe choice: a precise style, a clear origin, and a bottle they rarely know already.

If you can, include the technical sheet: villages, dosage, disgorgement date. A wine lover will enjoy knowing exactly what is in the glass.

Where can you buy Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru directly from the producer?

The simplest way is to contact the house directly. At G. Wanner you can write to us with no intermediary, whether you are a private buyer or a professional.

Our volumes are limited and part of each year's production is reserved for regular customers. Tell us your country and the quantities you have in mind: we reply personally with availability and terms.