The revival of the Champagne hillsides

It's a little forgotten, but Champagne produced wines without bubbles before it made champagnes. The coronation of Louis XV in Reims in 1722 was celebrated with bubble-free Champagne (over 20 barrels of red and 12 of white). At the time, the region rivaled Burgundy in the production of fine wines for the aristocracy. It had only just begun to produce sparkling wines, which was often considered a flaw at the time.

Once bubbles had been mastered, the growth of champagne in the 19th century was such that it reduced the production of still wines to a trickle. However, some winegrowers, particularly in certain villages, remained true to their tradition. These "coteaux-champenois", produced in the same appellation area as champagne, only gained AOC status in 1974. Today, a younger generation is taking an interest: coteaux-champenois is back on the rise!

Know-how

Coteaux-Champenois can be produced in three colors: white, red or rosé, although the latter has all but disappeared. The appellation may be followed by the name of the village from which it comes. We therefore find coteaux-champenois from Bouzy, Ambonnay, Sillery, Verzenay... There are two ways of making this wine. Either the winegrower dedicates a particular vineyard and looks after it specifically to produce a coteaux, or the blend of vins clairs is preserved without champagnization. Red coteaux are made from the red grapes pinot noir and pinot meunier, while white coteaux are made from white grapes (mainly chardonnay), but can also be made from the white juice of the aforementioned black grapes. To make a good coteaux, you need ripe grapes, expertise in winemaking and a specific mastery of wine ageing. Only a few of Champagne's finest estates produce very good coteaux. It's logical: they have the best levels of grape maturity, thanks to careful viticulture. They are the most curious and often the most attached to their terroir and, last but not least, they already have the sales network for the few hundred bottles produced each year. As a result, some of the greatest houses also produce coteaux, such as Bollinger and its historic "Côte aux Enfants", or Charles Heidsieck, which is once again producing white and red coteaux-champenois.

Specific motivations

The primary motivation for starting to produce wines without bubbles is to perpetuate a tradition. Even if the wines are no longer necessarily made in the same way or with the same ambition. Added to this is the desire to vinify differently. For a Champagne producer, the vinification of clear wines always anticipates the foaming phase in the bottle. For Champagne, we aim to make white wines that retain freshness and tension. Fatness and richness will come with the second fermentation in the bottle. For coteaux, we're looking directly for a ready-to-drink wine with ripe fruit and good fullness.

Another motivation is the desire to show that we know how to make wine, a question of legitimacy. For too many consumers, champagne isn't wine, it's champagne, (too) simply! Making wines without bubbles is a way for winemakers to prove that they know how to make "real" wine. This revival of hillside winegrowing is also a reflection of the influence of neighboring Burgundy. Plot development, no blending of vintages or crus, micro-vinification and single-vineyard wines are all characteristics that have made Côte-d'Or famous and embody terroir wines.

Saving time

For young winemakers setting up or taking over an operation with no stock, making coteaux-champenois rather than bubbles has another major advantage: they sell them much more quickly. Because it's time that determines the quality of champagne. Time in the cellar, during which the beverage remains on its lees in the bottle. Good winemakers leave their champagnes in the cellar for at least two or three years. Slopes, on the other hand, can be sold after just one year. This saves time and money, especially as the selling price is more or less the same.

What about global warming?

It's a question worth asking, since we're starting to hear a little music in the vineyards: "With global warming, champenois vins clairs rise too much in alcohol before the second fermentation in the bottle and lose acidity, champagnes risk losing the freshness that has made their reputation. That'swhy winemakers make hillsides."Yes... and no. The vast majority of winegrowers pick their grapes while the alcohol content is still low. For them, global warming is more about avoiding chaptalization (adding sugar to the must) than having wines with too much alcohol. A winegrower from Bouzy recently confided to us:"I'm bringing in grapes with good alcohol potential, but the acidity isn't dropping. As a result, my champagnes are higher in alcohol, but with a lot of freshness, which allows me to release them without dosage. I make hillsides out of desire, not necessity."

Terrific white and red wines

We tasted around a hundred wines, in both colors and of all types (blended, single-vineyard, plot-based, aged in wood or vat), and all were at least good, if not very good, and above all very different from one another. More or less tense or fat, aromatic or reserved, woody or frankly fruity. Depending on the terroirs and crus, the age of the vines and the way in which they are tended, each winemaker produces a wine that is uniquely his or her own, and that doesn't resemble that of their neighbor. Further proof, if proof were needed, of the diversity of Champagne.