A. Margaine Champagne Traditionelle Demi-Sec NV 750ml

The NV Cuvée Le Demi-Sec is a very pretty, attractive Champagne. Even with 32 grams of residual sugar, the Demi-Sec is not an especially obvious wine. If anything, I am surprised – positively – by its restraint. Readers will find a Demi-Sec that is all class and understatement. The higher dosage of 32 grams per liter brings out lovely toasted and spice character to the white orchard fruit flavors. This release is 90% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Noir, mostly 2017 and 2016, plus reserve wines. Disgorged: November, 2019.

• Country: France
• Region: Champagne
• Size: 750ml
• Alcohol by Vol: 12.0%

Varietal

Champagne Blend

The sparkling wines of Champagne have been revered by wine drinkers for hundreds of years, and even today they maintain their reputation for excellence of flavor and character, and are consistently associated with quality, decadence, and a cause for celebration. Their unique characteristics are partly due to the careful blending of a small number of selected grape varietals, most commonly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. These grapes, blended in fairly equal quantities, give the wines of Champagne their wonderful flavors and aromas, with the Pinot Noir offering length and backbone, and the Chardonnay varietal giving its acidity and dry, biscuity nature. It isn’t unusual to sometimes see Champagne labeled as ‘blanc de blanc’, meaning it is made using only Chardonnay varietal grapes, or ‘blanc de noir’, which is made solely with Pinot Noir.