Table of Contents
What does RM mean on champagne?
RM : Récoltant manipulant. A grower who makes and markets Champagne under their own label, from grapes exclusively sourced from their own vineyards and processed on their own premises.
What does MV Champagne mean?
Unlike still wines, most Champagnes are a blend of several different vintages. You might see “NV” or “MV” on a label, which stands for “Non-Vintage” and “Multi-Vintage,” respectively.
What are the most prized vineyard sites in champagne?
The most prestigious vineyards to own are the Grand Cru Vineyards, of which there are 17 all located exclusively in the Côte De Blancs (Chardonnay) and Motagnes de Reims (Pinot Noir).
How do you read a Champagne label?
The Wine Label
- The Champagne House. The name of the Champagne house will appear on the label.
- The Location. The label will contain the location of the Champagne house.
- The Brand Name.
- The Word “Champagne”
- Sweetness/Dryness Level.
- The Year.
- The Small Letters.
- Bottle Size.
Who owns most of the Champagne vineyard area?
Independent farmers own 90% of the vineyards in France’s Champagne region — the only source of grapes for bona fide bubbly — and LVMH is the biggest buyer of their grapes. LVMH is also the single largest owner of vineyards in Champagne, possessing 4,077 acres, or 5%, of the fields available.
What year is my champagne?
The bottling code laser-etched on every cuvée is the disgorgement date. Disgorgement dates are printed on every back label and every cork. The first two digits are the month and the second two are the year.
How do I know if my champagne is vintage?
It just means that it’s made from grapes from one single year. Non-vintage Champagne, on the other hand, is a blend of grapes from harvests from different years. So if you see a year stamped on your bottle of bubbles, then it’s a vintage.
How do I know what year my Champagne is?
Look for an alphanumeric code starting with the letter “R.” The digits that follow correspond to the wine’s vintage. For instance, “R08” indicates that the Champagne is from the excellent 2008 vintage. In truth, it usually doesn’t really matter how old your non-vintage Champagne is.
How long is unopened champagne good for?
As a rule, non-vintage Champagnes can be kept unopened for three to four years, and vintage cuvées for five to ten years. Champagnes will change as they age – most will become a deeper, golden colour and loose some of their effervescence.
What is a nice expensive Champagne?
1959 Dom Perignon – $42,350. 1841 Veuve Clicquot – $34,000. 1928 Krug – $21,200. Louis Roederer, Cristal Brut 1990 Millennium Cuvee Methuselah – $18,800. Shipwrecked Champagne – average of $14,181.81 per bottle.
How can I tell how old my Champagne is?
You can easily find out what type you have by checking the label to see if it has a year listed — if it does, this indicates the year that the grapes used in the making of the champagne were grown and picked. If there is no date listed, you’ve almost certainly got a non-vintage bottle.