{"id":201719,"date":"2017-05-05T14:51:01","date_gmt":"2017-05-05T18:51:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/metroactive.org\/wordpress\/?p=201719"},"modified":"2021-02-07T20:48:38","modified_gmt":"2021-02-08T01:48:38","slug":"champagne-affected-by-chardonnay-shortage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metroactive.org\/wordpress\/2017\/05\/05\/champagne-affected-by-chardonnay-shortage\/","title":{"rendered":"CHAMPAGNE AFFECTED BY CHARDONNAY SHORTAGE"},"content":{"rendered":"

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During the London launch last week of Dom Ruinart 2006 and Dom Ruinart Ros\u00e9 2004, Ruinart\u2019s Chef de Cave, Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Pana\u00efotis said that supply was now being constrained by the amount of Chardonnay grapes it could source for the house \u2013 a specialist in Blanc de Blancs Champagnes.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything is going well but my boss would be happier if we could get more Chardonnay grapes,\u201d he began.<\/p>\n

\u201cChardonnay is still less than 30% of the planted area in Champagne, and the price is not cheap for Chardonnay grapes, while buying vineyards is not easy, so we have to grow slowly: demand is faster than the growth we could have, but we are used to it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Dufour, the president & CEO of Ruinart, said that the supply of Chardonnay was limiting growth for the house, describing the grape as a \u201cprecious raw material\u201d in Champagne.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe hardest grape to get is Chardonnay, because even if you have Pinot Noir, you need Chardonnay, and Chardonnay is the least planted grape [in Champagne],\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He then commented, \u201cAnd for great Chardonnay you need chalk, and certain slopes, and the quantities of Chardonnay produced can be tricky \u2013 the grape is fragile because it blossoms early; so great Chardonnay is the most challenging to get.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also recorded that, despite the shortage, no more Chardonnay is being planted in Champagne, commenting, \u201cEverything that can be planted to make good Chardonnay has been planted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having observed\u00a0that \u201ceveryone is after good Chardonnay,\u201d he stated, \u201cGood Chardonnay is the most precious raw material in Champagne today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of the 34,000 hectares of vineyards in Champagne today, approximately 10,000ha are planted with Chardonnay, an area that has gradually risen almost 30% over the past 20 years.<\/p>\n

Chardonnay is the least planted grape in Champagne, with more than 13,000ha devoted to Pinot Noir, and around 11,000ha given over to Meunier.<\/p>\n

Ruinart is a specialist in Champagnes made from Chardonnay: Its \u2018R\u2019 de Ruinart NV\u00a0contains a minimum of 40% Chardonnay; its Ruinart Blanc de Blancs\u00a0is 100% Chardonnay, sourced predominantly\u00a0from Premier Cru vineyards, while\u00a0the Ruinart Brut Ros\u00e9\u00a0is typically 45% Chardonnay and 55% Pinot, of which 18% is red wine.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the prestige cuv\u00e9e Dom Ruinart is made entirely with\u00a0Grand Cru Chardonnay, predominantly from the C\u00f4te des Blancs (70%) and the remainder from the Montagne de Reims. And the Dom Ruinart Ros\u00e9 has the same basis as the blanc, to which 15%-20% red wine (Pinot Noir from Verzenay and Verzy) is added.<\/p>\n

The suggested retail prices for the current releases from Ruinart are as follows:<\/p>\n

Dom Ruinart Blanc 2006<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013\u00a0\u00a3140.00<\/p>\n

Dom Ruinart Ros\u00e9 2004 \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a3200.00<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During the London launch last week of Dom Ruinart 2006 and Dom Ruinart Ros\u00e9 2004, Ruinart\u2019s Chef de Cave, Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Pana\u00efotis said that supply was now being constrained by the amount of Chardonnay grapes it could source for the house \u2013 a specialist in Blanc de Blancs Champagnes. \u201cEverything is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-201719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t