Blanc de blancs is often touted as a delicate, aperitif-style Champagne. This tasting told a more complex story, however: there were broad, food-friendly examples incorporating smart oak use; sleek, long-aged wines to linger over; and creamy, approachable non-vintage wines, too.The wines that impressed most in this tasting showed the refreshing, often chalky focus that Champagne’s greatest Chardonnay is known for: ‘Depth of flavour,complexity, fine acidity and the potential for positive development in bottle,’ said fellow judge Shane Jones.
The question mark that hung over the tasting, though, was around style: with warmer vintages bringing ever riper characters to Chardonnay, is blanc de blancs undergoing an image change? The quality of the vintage seems to play an important role, not only in vintage Champagnes but also for the base vintage in non-vintage wines. ‘We can see how producers are trying to adapt to a new reality of ripe and warm years,’ said Alan Bednarski, who remarked that the 2015 vintage wines – a year marked by extreme heat and drought – were often ‘mediocre’.
Individual wines from Ruinart (2010) and Charles Heidsieck (2007) proved that lesser Champagne vintages can yield terrific blanc de blancs, while 2016 wines from ABergère, Ayala and Henriot suggested that this conservatively rated year may yield some delicious prestige cuvées and vintage blanc de blancs.
The non-vintage field was a little flatterthan anticipated, though. ‘The most disappointing examples were found in the NV category – most of these were rich and round and lacked that vibrant acidity I was hoping for,’ said Jones. Bednarski agreed: ‘The trend I saw during this year’s Decanter World Wine Awards judging was confirmed – we will be seeing more interesting vintage wines than
