White from white, white from black
Blanc de Blancs and Blanc de Noirs: what's the difference?
Blanc de Blancs is Champagne made only from white grapes, in practice almost always Chardonnay. Blanc de Noirs is made only from black grapes, meaning Pinot Noir and Meunier, pressed so gently that the juice stays pale. Both terms describe a style, not a level of quality.
How do black grapes become white Champagne?
In almost all black grape varieties, the color sits only in the skin. The flesh and juice are pale. Red wine is therefore fermented for days with the skins, so that alcohol and warmth draw out the pigments. For white Champagne made from black grapes, cellar masters do the opposite: they press whole, undamaged grapes immediately after picking, slowly and with very little pressure. The juice runs off before the skins can release much color.
In Champagne, this technique is standard practice. More than half the vineyard area there is planted with black varieties, and the vast majority of that fruit ends up in white Champagne. Pressing happens in stages: the first, finest juice is called the cuvée, the later juice the taille. Even a slight pink tinge in the must would be a problem, so the presses operate close to the vineyard, and the grapes must not burst on the way there. How the pressing works in detail is explained in the themed journey on production.
Blanc de Blancs: what does Champagne made from Chardonnay taste like?
A Blanc de Blancs tends to taste lean, taut and bright. Young wines are reminiscent of lemon, green apple and white blossom, with a cool, almost saline freshness that many connoisseurs associate with chalky soil. With longer aging on the lees, notes of hazelnut, butter and fresh bread emerge. Besides Chardonnay, the rare white varieties Pinot Blanc, Arbane and Petit Meslier are also permitted, though they play almost no role in practice.
The home of this style is the Côte des Blancs south of Épernay, with the Grand Cru villages of Avize, Cramant, Oger and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. Salon, a Champagne made only from Chardonnay and only in selected years, comes from Le Mesnil. Ruinart has bottled its Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs since the 1959 vintage. Krug has produced its own Blanc de Blancs since the 1979 vintage from the walled vineyard Clos du Mesnil, whose wall dates back to 1698.
Blanc de Noirs: What does Champagne made from Pinot Noir and Meunier taste like?
A Blanc de Noirs generally has more body. Pinot Noir brings structure, red berries and a certain breadth on the palate, while Meunier contributes juicy, early-accessible fruit reminiscent of pear or yellow apple. Sometimes the color shows a hint of gold or copper. That's why this style pairs well with poultry, mushroom dishes or cheese, where a Blanc de Blancs might seem too delicate.
Typical origins include the Montagne de Reims with Grand Crus such as Ambonnay, Bouzy and Verzenay, the Marne Valley with its abundance of Meunier, and the Côte des Bar in the south of the region. A well-known example from Ambonnay is Krug's Clos d'Ambonnay, a vineyard of just 0.68 hectares whose first vintage was 1995. More often, though, Blanc de Noirs comes from growers whose vineyards simply happen to be planted mainly with red varieties.
Blanc de Noirs outside Champagne
The term isn't reserved for Champagne. In Germany, wine regulations allow sparkling wine, Sekt and semi-sparkling wine to be labeled Blanc de Noirs if they're pressed from red grapes in the manner of white wine and show a color typical of white wine. Many grower Sekts made from Spätburgunder carry this designation. Crémant, Cava and Franciacorta can likewise appear as Blanc de Noirs or Blanc de Blancs, each using the varieties typical of their region.
What matters is keeping the categories straight. Classic Champagne is neither one nor the other, but a blend of white and red varieties that balances freshness and fullness. Rosé is a third path: here the color of the red grapes is meant to show, either through the addition of a little red wine before the second fermentation or through brief contact with the skins. Anyone wanting to taste the differences should set a Blanc de Blancs and a Blanc de Noirs from the same producer side by side.