Duval Leroy is one of the last remaining family owned Champagne houses. This rare and insightful footage brings us inside the production facility and it gives us just a glimpse of the kind of work that goes into making the wine of Kings. For more on Duval-Leroy, click here.

The Methods

There are three main methods that can be used when making sparkling wine. The first is to carbonate a still wine by injecting carbon dioxide. This is done for a lot of cheap sparkling wine and results in wines that have big bubbles and can’t hold their fizz for too long. The second method is carrying out a secondary fermentation in large tanks and bottling under pressure.

The most expensive method, and the one that gets the best results, is the traditional Champagne method (méthode champenoise), the practice of which is not exclusive to Champagne. After primary fermentation and bottling, a second alcoholic fermentation occurs in the bottle. This second fermentation is induced by adding yeast a little rock sugar.

The bottle is capped and then adjusted (riddled) consistently over a number of weeks forcing the lees to settle in the neck of the bottle. The neck is then frozen and the cap removed allowing the pressure in the bottle to force out the lees, and the bottle is then quickly corked to maintain the carbon dioxide.

As you can gather, it’s not the most simple process and there’s a lot of investment in terms of cost, labour and time.

The Grape Varieties at Duval Leroy

Chardonnay represents 27% of total Champagne vineyard production. This white grape produces a white juice and a colourless pulp, and it’s well known for its subtlety and elegance. When young, its aromas are made up of floral notes, acacia, hawthorn, almond, green apple, lemon and grapefruit. When mature, it has the scent of brioche, toasted bread and mocha.

Pinot Noir represents 38% of the Champagne vineyard production. This black grape with a white juice and colourless pulp yields a robust, structured wine, with good length on the palate and aromas of red fruits.

Meunier totals 35% of the Champagne vineyard production. It has similar visual characteristics to Pinot Noir, but it yields a wine with a well-balanced assemblage; fruity and supple, with a strong bouquet and the aromas of pear and apple.

Our Champagnes from Duval-Leroy