🍾 De Castellane Demi-Sec

De Castellane Demi-Sec is a non-vintage white Champagne in the Demi-Sec style from the house De Castellane in Épernay (Marne).

According to the house, the dosage, made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, is much higher than for the Brut; the dosage is 38 g/l; the wine is bottled after 5 months in vats and matures 24 months in the cellars at 10 °C.

The house De Castellane was founded in 1895 in Épernay by Viscount Florens de Castellane; since 1999 it has belonged to the Laurent-Perrier group.

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). Demi-Sec on the label is an EU sugar term: 32 to 50 g of sugar per litre.

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. The WHO reminds: there is no safe level of alcohol.