Over a lunch menu designed to complement Louis Roederer’s champagnes, the conversation turns rather informative. As Thierry Wallaert, export area manager, waxes eloquent about the brand, I am compelled to take notes. Soon, he starts rattling off facts and figures — of the 32,000 hectares in France’s Champagne village, Louis Roederer owns 240 hectares, growing 54 per cent of Grand Cru. When he pauses briefly, I give my wrist a break, thinking just how much this is like scribbling notes in a class. Except, classes hardly take place at the Taj Coromandel in Chennai, and never, I can pretty much guarantee, are you allowed sips of Champagne in between.
Eight sheets of notes, two and a half glasses of Louis Roederer’s Brut Premier and one excellent risotto later, I leave only slightly buzzed and a lot wiser.
People have been drinking Champagne since the reign of Louis XIV, as Wallaert tells me, but the bubbly was not pioneered by Dom Perignon as popularly believed. That distinction is laid at the doors of Benedictine monks, although much later Dom Perignon was the first to blend wines of different vintages to make champagne.
The Champagne region has chalky soil, which retains moisture, and experiences extreme temperatures round the year. The vintage depends heavily on the conditions during the year, as well as the weather during harvest season.
Champagne grows the pinot noir, pinot meunier and chardonnay varieties of grape. The first two are black-skinned; the pinot noir lends structure, body and character, meunier, the freshness, and the white-skinned chardonnay, the elegance. Champagne is usually a blend of all three varieties, except for the rare Blanc de blanc, which uses only chardonnay.
The methode champenoise refers to the manufacture of aerated wines exclusively in the Champagne region. Sparkling wines from elsewhere are prominently marked method traditionelle on the label, to differentiate them from original champagne.
To turn wine into its bubbly counterpart, a second fermentation takes place in the bottle with the addition of sugar and yeast. Regulations dictate ageing the wine for 15 months, but vintage champagnes are often aged for four to eight years.
At the end of this period, the bottles are opened, the sediment removed and more wine and sugar added to make up for the loss of sediment. The bottles are then labelled and brands such as Louis Roederer wait an extra six months or so to allow the bottle to ‘relax’.
The sugar added varies from 6-12gm for a brut and 32-50gm for a demi sec.
For the gorgeous pale-pink champagne rosé (never ‘rosé champagne’, Wallaert admonishes), traditionally the Skin Contact (or maceration) method is used where the wine remains in contact with the grape skin for a few hours; a second method, called Blend, involves blending still red wine with brut to achieve the delightful light salmon pink.
Family-owned and in business since the 18th century, Louis Roederer is among the few remaining independent champagne houses. The product is vinous, with a complexity derived from ageing in old, unique wooden casks, says Wallaert.
Unlike most wines, Champagne comes with a specific reputation — almost entirely related to celebration. What is it about this drink that instantly conjures images of festivity? Wallaert believes it’s the bubbles.
More than cheers
“The cork going pop when it opens, the necklace of foam, the tiny, delicate bubbles that go straight to your head — the drink is magical and romantic at once,” insists Wallaert.
Although popularly served as an aperitif at the very beginning of a meal before moving on to other wines, I am told that champagne is essentially a wine that lends itself to food pairing. The bubbles convey the aromas faster, he says.
In India, the company commands 14 per cent of the Champagne market — compared to 9-10 per cent worldwide.
While the UK, the US and Germany are the three biggest markets for Champagne, India is at a respectable 36. Naturally Wallaert anticipates a sparkling future ahead in this country.
“People who love wine and can afford it in India, the food lovers and gastronomes, they are the ones picking up champagne — they are the target audience for us. And the drinking population of India will [soon] nearly equal that of a small country like Belgium!” he says.