Winery Jean-Claude RobertChampagne Brut

The region’s trade share slumped to an historic low of 37.7% in 2021 after failing to keep pace with the broader market. It was the first time Bordeaux’s market share had ever fallen below 40%. At the time of writing, it has slipped to 32%, according to Liv-ex. The company divides its main index into a series of sub-indices. Over the past year, the Bordeaux sub-index increased by a modest 11.5%, compared to 43.8% for Burgundy and 51.2% for Champagne. The main challenger to Bordeaux’s throne is B ...

Frost returned to French vineyards early this month as France recorded its coldest April night since 1947. Temperatures plunged to minus nine degrees Celsius in some parts of the Champagne region on the night between 3 and 4 April, with minus seven reported in areas around Bordeaux and minus six in Chablis. Some winemakers lit candles and fires between vineyard rows to help protect young buds. Yet while scenes were reminiscent of the devastating frosts that struck French vineyards in April 2021, ...

St Hilaire is the patron saint of Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, the pretty Champagne village which is famous for scoring 99 on the Echelle des Crus. (This classification of Champagne vineyards was developed in the mid-20th century as a means of setting the price of grapes grown through the villages of the Champagne wine region.) Prime territory That the village missed out on grand cru status by one point is generally agreed to be an injustice – all the more so as it is home not only to the superlative Clos de ...