Aging in traditional caves

Our winery is home to a remarkable network of traditional caves. Some date back to the 18th century.

The prise de mousse

Sugar and yeast cause a second alcoholic fermentation in the bottle during which the bubbles appear. The yeast consume the sugar over several weeks during this “prise demousse"and then expire, leaving sediment or “lees” and an effervescent wine thanks to the CO2 trapped in the bottle.

Aging

The wine continues to mature “on lees” in stacked bottles for:
- 2 to 3 years for non-vintage Champagnes;
- 6 to 10 years for vintages.

Riddling

Through a series of gentle turning and inclining motions, riddling (le remuage) concentrates the sediment in the neck of the bottle. This makes it easier to remove during disgorging. We use traditional wooden riddling racks as well as modern gyropalettes.

	Pupitre	Gyro-palette
Riddling	6 weeks	7 days
Rotation: fraction of complete turn	1/4 to 1/8 turn	1/4 to 1/16 turn
Rest on racks before riddling begins	10 days	3 weeks
Total rotations	20 rotations	60 rotations

After this, the bottles are stored neck-down to await disgorging.