What is a vintage champagne?

Non-vintage brut champagne, Maison Mumm’s calling card 

It is customary in Champagne for producers to create a signature cuvée from a blend of reserve wines from various years. This means each champagne house has its own style, revealed in what is known as a “non-vintage brut”. The cellar master’s skill, olfactory memory and finesse ensure that great care and infinite precision is taken over the cuvée. He or she meticulously blends grape varieties, terroirs, and wines from different years to ensure consistent quality and outstanding flavor, whatever the weather conditions that year.  

At Maison Mumm, these are our non-vintage cuvées, like Cordon Rouge, which is blended from a range of 120 crus from different years, and which unites the diversity of Champagne’s terroirs in the iconic House style. 

Vintage champagne, the expression of an exceptional year 

Unlike a non-vintage brut, a vintage champagne is the reflection of a single year with an exceptional harvest. The decision to create this unique cuvée is made by the cellar master following a tasting of the still wines. Produced in smaller quantities, without using the usual reserve wines, each vintage is the result of a combination of unrepeatable weather conditions. Just as no two years are alike, each vintage is unique. It is this singularity that makes them all the more exceptional and rare.

The French term for vintage champagne is “millésimé,” and its roots can be traced back to “mille”, the French word for “thousand.” Vintage champagnes must be aged for a minimum of three years – approximately 1,000 days. As it happens, most of Mumm’s vintage champagnes are actually aged for around five years, giving the wines time to reveal their full aromatic complexity. 

Mumm Millésimé 2013 tasting notes 

Aging brings Mumm Millésimé 2013 more developed aromas. Turn after turn, iIt reveals butter, brioche, and vanilla notes in an ensemble as rich as it is delicious. It is a truly gourmet champagne. 

The floral dimension of the nose comes from the Chardonnay grown in Cramant and Avize. This is also responsible for the delicate aromas of hazelnut and the beautiful freshness on the palate. For its part, the Pinot Noir embodies and enhances the House’s style, contributing yellow fruit, body, and complexity. The cuvée is elegant, and the finish long and expressive. 

Mumm Millésimé 2013 

Mumm Millésimé 2013 is a cuvée which has already been aged for several years in cellars, with magnificent aging potential. 

This cuvée is elegance transmuted into a singular vintage champagne.