Behind the Style

Champagne Style
Winemaking
Heritage

Champagne Style

What makes a vintage?

A vintage champagne is produced from grapes harvested in a single year. Which is why our maisons will only release a vintage champagne in years of absolutely ideal weather and growing conditions and after conducting rigorous tastings both during the harvest and after fermentation.

Winemaking

Extensive ageing adds complexity

Vintage cuvées are more complex than non-vintages and must be aged on lees for at least three years, though our maisons typically cellar theirs for seven years. Dom Pérignon only releases a champagne when it has reached its plénitude, or its ideal expression.

Heritage

A mark of purity

Madame Clicquot broke new ground in 1810, creating Champagne’s first vintage. Since this moment vintage champagne has been synonymous with the exceptional – the product of grapes harvested in one premium year, reflecting years of dedication and craftsmanship.