At the top of this new post, I just want to briefly touch upon the horrendous fire that destroyed Champagne Moussé’s winery, storage and cellar last Sunday, as several people have asked me if I had news. A traumatic experience, as the one Cédric and his family experienced last weekend, takes time to digest, and like for all loss, there are several stages of grief to get through. There has been a huge outpour of support, thoughts and prayers on Instagram, but for us to really help the Moussé family, we need to add actions to the heart-felt words posted on Instagram or other socials. Today, there are 101 different problems the family has to face, and so far, Cédric has been resilient and kept a positive approach, taking this terrible drama as an opportunity to build back better and even more ecological. Cédric has long been one of Champagne’s greatest eco-warriors, he has pushed innovations on so many different fronts, so if the past is anything to go by, he will bounce back stronger. It is up to us to support him every step of the way, not only today or tomorrow, but also next week, next month and next year. If you are looking for a Champagne to celebrate the full moon with, please buy Champagne Moussé, and share how much you enjoyed it. I am sure it will be a much-needed balm for Cédric and his family.
With August just around the corner, Champagne seems to be emptying out faster than the shop shelves on Black Friday. Winemakers are rushing off to their holiday homes in the South of France, Normandy and Brittany a week earlier than normal to try and cram in their three weeks of holiday before the start of harvest. In the meantime, heatwave number four has descended upon the region, with no or very little rainfall between the consecutive hot spells. We were supposed to have 5 mm of rain on Sunday afternoon, but instead we got a little drizzle (less than 1 mm) during 30 minutes in the evening, and yesterday just under 2 mm fell here in Hautvillers. Rain forecasts seem to change by the hour and even when rain is likely to fall it is not really enough to make up for the accelerated leaf evaporation in days with temperature above 30°C, which has been the norm more than the exception this year.
Rainfall has been particularly sparse since the middle of June, which has resulted in very thirsty vines that have started to slowly shut down all non-essential processes – including veraison and fruit ripening. In other words, the little available water is being used for self-preservation rather than plumping up the berries. This in turn will likely reduce yields at harvest.
At flowering, the Comité Champagne (CIVC)’s Research, Development and Innovation team estimated the appellation’s harvest potential at 8,200 kg/ha based on airborne pollen concentrations, a rather accurate early yield forecast model. Severe spring frosts that cause a nearly 40% yield loss and uneven flowering, resulting in hen and chicken, are the main culprits for the lower yield potential in the appellation in 2026. At the press conference announcing the (commercial) appellation yield – Champagne’s yearly decision of what actually can be sold – a few weeks ago, Maxime Toubart, president of the Syndicat Général des Vignerons (SGV) and co-president of the CIVC, noted that the agronomic yield (what is actually in the vines) would likely be between 7,000 and 8,000 kg/ha, but without significant rain, the agronomic yield was likely to drop under 7,000 kg/ha and could even drop as low as 6,000 kg/ha. To add some context, the last time the agronomic yield fell below 7,000 kg/ha was in 1985 (6,871 kg/ha), a time before the appellation embraced the current reserve individuelle (RI) system.
The continuing hot weather also holds an increased risk of thunderstorms paired with hail, which could be disastrous. At the end of May, a local hailstorm wiped out up to 100% of some grower’s vineyards in the Vallée du Petit Morins; yet on appellation level the damages so far have been negligible. Still, Meteo France is predicting elevated thunderstorm risks for the next few days, and besides the hail risk they also come with higher humidity, which in turn will enhance powdery mildew conditions. So far this season, powdery mildew outbreaks have occurred frequently, and when the grapes become infected with the disease, they need to be discarded, which could further reduce the agronomic yield potential.
In light of the above, it is absolutely mindboggling, at least in my opinion, that the Bureau Executive of the appellation has opted for a relatively high commercial yield, set at 8,800 kg/ha. Especially when one takes the stagnating sales (June’s MAT remains at 267.4 million bottles) and the high stock ratio (1.3 billion bottles) into consideration. It appears the appellation prefers to draw upon its reserve (RI), currently sitting at roughly 7,200 kg/ha, rather than reduce its stocks, even though the latter amount to almost 5 years, significantly exceeding the ideal stock ratio of 3.5 years.
The official explanation is that this decision protects the livelihood of growers while it eases some of the stock pressure for the houses, and thus it preserves the tried and tested champagne equilibrium system. However, wanting to hang on to a likely expired economic reality may ultimately cause more harm than it does good.
In previous articles, both here and on Wine-Searcher, I have argued that setting one commercial appellation that needs to be met by everyone, does not work anymore in today’s changed sparkling marketplace. Calculating demand on appellation level discards the needs of individual producers and has led both to stock shortages and surpluses.
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.