Fernand Lemaire Tradition Champagne Brut NV

Made from 100% Premier Cru grapes (34% Chardonnay, 33% Pinot Noir, 33% Pinot Meunier) from Hauvillers, the light, lovely, and deliciously dry Fernand Lemaire Tradition Champagne Brut NV (non-vintage, as most champagnes are a blend of multiple years’ wines) shines in the glass with a light golden yellow color and bubbles with a fresh and delicate mousse. To the delight of the nose, the wine’s soft fruity notes redolent of freshly picked mountain apples and ripe white peach are carried on the wine’s refined effervescence. In the mouth, Fernand Lemaire’s Tradition Brut graces the palate with delicate apricot and peach flavors along with hints of brioche and a delightful touch of Champagne’s chalky, limestone-rich soil, which makes for a graceful, mouthwatering exit. Fernand Lemaire’s Tradition Brut, like all champagne, should be well chilled prior to opening (35°-38° F). Once in the glass, allow the wine to slowly reach a more ambient temperature. Anticipated maturity: 2024-2028. Enjoy!

Fernand Lemaire’s Tradition Champagne Brut makes a splendid aperitif, yet this elegant, refreshing champagne is equally adept at table where it shines with fish, scallops, crab, lobster, oysters, salmon, and even sushi and sashimi. A delightful seafood salad or smoked salmon rounds with capers, cream cheese, and a touch of onion provide tasty starters. As a main course, steamed lobster and Alaskan king crab legs served with warm drawn butter provide tasty accompaniments. Fresh garden vegetables and light leafy salads offer equally satisfying accompaniments. For those among us for whom less is more, a simple plate of freshly cut slices of apple and pear with creamy cow’s milk cheeses such as Muenster, Neufchatel, and Port Salut make fine complements, too. Brut Champagne (dry Champagne) such as Fernand Lemaire’s Tradition Brut are best enjoyed before or with a meal, not afterwards nor with dessert when palates are fatigued or craving something sweet. For a real treat, enjoy the lithe and lovely Fernand Lemaire Tradition Champagne Brut early and often for the pure pleasure of it. Bon Appétit!

Champagne is a wine that is under pressure. It should always be well chilled before opening. Always exercise caution when opening a bottle of sparkling wine. Never use a corkscrew. Point the bottle away from people and objects. Use a clean towel or cloth to firmly grip the bottle. Gently remove the wire stopper while firmly holding the cork in place. Then with thumb and forefinger, remove the cork slowly from the bottle. Do not let the cork fly. Enjoy!

The venerable family-owned Champagne house of Fernand Lemaire dates to 1903. It lies tucked away in the tiny village of Hautvillers (meaning High Village), which is home to both the Fernand Lemaire Champagne house and the home of the legendary Dom Pérignon, Champagne’s most historic personage. Four generations of winemaking have made Fernand Lemaire what it is today, renowned for an enviable portfolio of champagnes as well as its extraordinary hospitality.

From all estate grapes, the family cultivates the three classic grapes of Champagne – Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier – on 15 acres of vineyards in Hautvillers. Each grape variety is vinified separately before assembled for the second fermentation in the bottle, where the wine ages on its lees for a minimum of 30 months. Rich in tradition and laser-focused on quality at every step of the process from vineyard to bottle, Fernand Lemaire pays tribute to Hauvillers’ esteemed terroir and the family’s skilled vineyard and cellar practices, which result in classic, high definition champagnes. In keeping with Champagne’s hands-on approach, Fernand Lemaire is one of the last few Champagne houses to riddle each of its bottles by hand. We invite you to enjoy Fernand Lemaire’s classic Tradition Champagne Brut NV (this month’s feature).

Champagne is an ancient province of France, a pastoral land of meadows and streams and, most importantly, chalk hills upon which some of the world’s choicest grapes are grown. Champagne’s boundaries are delimited by law and its wines strictly regulated by the laws of Appellation Contrôlée as to permitted grape varieties (primarily Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier), yield, production, and quality. Yet, Champagne is more than a place; it is also a wine. In fact, champagne is several different wines – only the most recognizable of which is white and bubbly.

Although champagne can be still or sparkling, white or red, and even rosé, the wine the world has come to know best as champagne is always sparkling. So synonymous now is the name champagne with sparkling wine that the nomenclature has been applied generically and indiscriminately to any wine that bubbles, much to the regret of the champagne producers. Authentic champagne comes only from the Champagne district of France and meets all the approved legal requirements and standards of production, including absolute adherence to the painstaking Méthode Champenoise, which requires that secondary fermentation take place in the bottle for sparkling champagne.

The magic of champagne (the bubbly kind, at least, that now encompasses the overwhelming majority of wine produced in Champagne) comes from encapsulating the bubbles in the very bottle in which the wine starts its life. In the old days, long before the advent of technical wine equipment, temperature control, and central heating, the slow fermentation of grapes in the cool Champagne autumn was often interrupted by the chill of winter. At the onset of winter, fermentation would stop completely or at least appear to cease, so the wine was bottled and prepared for distribution. However, the following spring temperatures would rise and the fermentation process would begin anew. This delayed completion of fermentation is known as secondary fermentation. Secondary fermentation produces the beautiful bubbles and tiny streams of carbon dioxide that have come to enchant several centuries of well-wishers and hedonists. What began as serendipity is now one of the wine world’s highest art forms.

Since the 17th century several historical personages have contributed to the development of champagne, including the renowned Dom Pérignon (the legendary blind monk and cellar master of the Champagne Abbey of Hautvillers), Frère Oudart and, later, the widow Clicquot. Thanks to centuries of improvements and some of the first true brand name marketing, champagne enjoys today a special place in western culture. Champagne has been called the Belle of the Ball and has come to symbolize conviviality, hope, and all that is good in life and love. What would a wedding or any other festivity be without champagne? But why wait for such an occasion? Champagne is the perfect way to start an evening, so pop the cork and join in the fun.