Carte d'Or

Drappier Champagne Brut – Carte d'Or

The Drappier Champagne Brut Carte d'Or is the prestige cuvée of the Drappier house from Urville in Champagne, first produced in 1952.

The Drappier Champagne Brut Carte d'Or is a cuvée of 80% Pinot Noir, 15% Chardonnay, and 5% Pinot Meunier. The lightly copper-colored cuvée, which is almost a Blanc de Noir, has a lively mousse with fine bubbles, enticing with aromas of white peach, subtle notes of red berries, lemon zest, and hazelnuts, and a delicate rose scent. The champagne is harmonious, complex, and has a good length, ending in a mineral, chalk-influenced finish.

Drappier Champagne Brut – Lots of Pinot Noir, Little Sulfur

Since 1808, the Drappier family has lived and worked in the south of Champagne in the Côte des Bar region. They cultivate around 100 hectares of this special terroir, which is characterized by a unique cool climate, chalky soils infused with Kimmeridgian marl, and optimal slope orientations (South-Southeast).

After harvesting the grapes, Champagne Drappier takes great care to produce the most elegant and aromatic wines as naturally as possible. Upon arrival at the winery, the grapes are gently pressed using mechanical low-pressure presses. Only the cuvée, the first pressing, is used for the champagne. The grape must is handled with great care to avoid oxidation, and further processed without pumps, using only gravity. The base wine is fermented with natural yeasts and aged in stainless steel tanks; 5% matures for one year in French oak barrels. To make the champagne more complex, 40% of this cuvée comes from reserve wines of older vintages – a special technique with a significant tradition in Champagne. The Cuvée Carte d'Or has naturally undergone malolactic fermentation, meaning the malic acid in the wine has been converted into the milder lactic acid. This provides a special mouthfeel with a slightly creamy structure and further complexity to the Champagne Cuvée.

To perform one of the most important steps in producing good champagne: the blending, i.e., bringing together the various base wines for the second fermentation, three generations come together at Drappier and contribute their taste and experience: grandfather André Nicolas, father Michel, and grandchildren Charline, who heads sales and marketing, Hugo, who is currently Drappier's cellar master, and Antoine Drappier, who again cultivates the vineyards with the help of horses.

Naturally, Drappier Champagne Brut undergoes its second fermentation in traditional bottle fermentation: according to the Méthode Champenoise. After three years of bottle aging, Drappier Champagne Carte d'Or is released to the market. The champagne is unfiltered and uncolored. And Michel Drappier is known for using as little sulfur as necessary (less than 30mg/l).

Carte d'Or – a Sparkling Wine and its Values

• Côte des Bar
• 80% Pinot Noir
• 15% Chardonnay
• 5% Pinot Meunier
  
• Dosage 5.5g/l
• Brut
• 12% vol. Alcohol