🍾 Alfred Gratien Blanc de Blancs Grands Crus

Alfred Gratien Blanc de Blancs Grands Crus is a non-vintage white Champagne from the house Alfred Gratien in Épernay (Marne).

According to the house, 100 % Chardonnay exclusively from grands crus; the wine is fermented in oak, like the whole range.

Alfred Gratien is a family house from Épernay founded in 1864; according to the house, its wines have been fermented in oak from the start, and the cellar holds close to a thousand barrels.

The boundaries of the Champagne area were set by a law of 6 May 1919: parts of the Marne, Aube, Aisne, Haute-Marne and Seine-et-Marne departments. The designation’s specification allows seven grape varieties, dominated by Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier; grapes are picked as whole bunches, that is by hand, and the yield is limited to 10,400 kg per hectare.

According to the Comité Champagne, Champagne is served chilled to 8–10 °C, and bottles are kept in the dark at a steady 10–15 °C, without vibration. An opened bottle is best closed with a sparkling-wine stopper and kept cold.

It is sold under the protected designation of origin Champagne: the bubbles come only from a second fermentation in the bottle, and the wine is aged for at least 15 months before sale (36 for vintage). Check the label for the sugar term (brut, extra brut and so on): the house does not state it on the wine's page.

Why it matters to you. No year on the label means it is not a vintage wine: the house may blend wines from different harvests. Blanc de blancs on the label means a wine made only from white grapes. The WHO reminds: there is no safe level of alcohol.