🍾 Drappier Clarevallis

Drappier Clarevallis is a non-vintage white Champagne from the house Drappier in Urville (Aube).

According to the house, the name comes from Clarevallis, Saint Bernard's name for the abbey of Clairvaux; the grapes come from organically farmed Urville hillsides; the dosage is 4 g/l.

According to the house, the Drappier family has farmed vineyards in Urville, on the limestone soils of the Côte des Bar, since 1808; the estate covers 70 hectares and its cellars date from the 12th century.

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