Strange how things change, even as regards such a traditional pleasure as Champagne.
Many years ago, and I'm talking about the early part of the last century and before, champagne tended to be sweeter than it is today. A sweeter style may have been used to mask the defaults of less than average wines, or it may have been the genuine preference of the consumers of that time.
Whichever is the case. sometime around the middle of 20th century what is known as 'Brut' champagne became more and more popular.
Brut is a dryer style of champagne and, I understand, was first introduced into the British market where something a little less sweet went down better with champagne lovers. ( if anyone can come up with some concrete evidence to prove or disprove this, I'd love to hear from you E-mail jiles@madaboutbubbly.com
Over the last couple of years however, a few, even drier, champagnes have been launched. Is this the start of a widespread trend, or just an interesting aside? We'll have to wait and see; in the meantime I certainly recommend you give one of these champagnes a try, for reasearch if for nothing else.
The picture above shows Royale Réserve by Champagne Philipponat ( 40- 50% Pinot Noir, 30-35% Chardonnay with the balance Pinot Meunier)
As you can probably read, it is ' Non Dosé ' meaning that no sugar at all is added at the end of the production process.
Interest in this very dry style was revived a few years ago by Laurent Perrier with the promotion of their 'Ultra Brut' ( 55% Pinot Noir, 45% Chardonnay - see below)
I remember that there was talk of it being good if you were on a diet because of the lower sugar content. That's an ingeniuous marketing hook, but you'd have to be drinking gallons per day, or at least per week, for it to make any appreciable diference to your waistline.
Be that as it may, if you like your wine dry and crisp, then the chances are you'll enjoy these two champagnes, although there are others available. If you're tempted, then look for any of these words, on the label: they're all drier than 'brut'
Extra Brut, Brut Nature, Ultra Brut, Brut Sauvage, Brut 0 or Non Dosé
By the way, if you'd like to know more about the many styles of champagne, including the role played by ' Dosage' (adding sugar), then please visit www.madaboutbubbly.com and grab a copy of my e-book The Insider's Guide To Champagne
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