Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir is the most-planted variety in Champagne, around thirty-eight percent of the AOC. Its homelands are the Montagne de Reims (Aÿ, Ambonnay, Bouzy, Verzenay) and the Aube, where the warmer climate and Kimmeridgian soils give it weight and ripeness.

Vinified white, it brings power, red-berry intensity and the broad backbone of most prestige cuvées. Vinified pink, it produces rosé — either by short skin contact (saignée) or by adding still red wine to the blend. A Blanc de Noirs from Pinot Noir alone is the muscular counterpart to a Blanc de Blancs.