Overview
A house style is what the chef de cave is trying to maintain each and every year. The house style is a consistent style that the consumer expects when they by a bottle of champagne from a certain house. As the NV Brut is between 89 -90 % of a houses sales it is imperative for the chef de cave to maintain consistency each year.
Characteristics of House Style
The blend is a key factor in determining house style. Is the house a Pinot Noir or Chardonnay driven house or is the house style an even blend of all three grapes (Meunier, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay ex Pol Roger and Pommery)? The addition of Meunier adds a fruit forward or pumpernickel note to the blend. The origin of the grapes themselves Chardonnay from the Cote des Blancs or Sezanne or Vitryat or Montguex? Pinot Noir from Montagne de Reims or Cote des Bar?
The age and percentage of reserve wines
The use of oak - how old is the oak ? How long is the wine aged in oak? How large is the oak - barrel?
The use of Malolactic Fermentation
How long is the wine spent Sur Lie?
The Dosage Levels - 9 gram liter for Brut is the norm. Small yields mean riper fruits - less dosage for most growers.
Oxidative vs. Reductive House Style
An oxidative house style allows oxygen into the wine making process, whereas a reductive style wants to reduce the amount of oxygen in the winemaking. An oxidative style is a style that wants more oxidative notes whereas a reductive house style is striving for freshness and fruity flavors. Oxidative houses use oak to achieve different levels of oxidation. Bollinger uses old oak barrels to achieve oxidation without the oak flavors. A reductive style is Laurent Perrier who uses all stainless steel throughout the winemaking process.
