The first immersion in the magical world of the world’s best-loved bubble wines should always start with Champagne Brut Sans Année. The non-vintage (this is the meaning of “Sans Année” in French) expresses more than 80% of the region’s production, but above all it is the visiting card with which each Maison opens up to the general public. The Champagne Brut Sans Année is a tale of style, as well as a skill test each chef de cave has been called to compete with the identity of the Maison, as its first spokesman. Regardless of how a vintage ended or the climate developed, Champagnes Brut Sans Année can never fail. It must preserve its timeless concept, “correcting” any excess or lack of the base vintage when necessary, through the skilful dosage of vin de réserve from previous vintages. “Constancy”, then, is the watchword when it comes to Champagne Brut Sans Année, peremptorily repeated at the moment of the fateful birth of a new blend, at the beginning of each spring. If, therefore, the Sans Année is by definition universal Champagne, the choice of Brut in terms of dosage (i.e. with a value of less than 12 g/l in residual sugars) makes it the ideal companion throughout the course of a meal: a sort of passepartout.
Boizel’s style for Champagne Brut Réserve is based on more than 180 years of history and the art of blending. This is the result of a selection of the most classic trio, from the Champagne region, of which only the must flower, or the noblest first pressing of the grapes, is used for a seductive, fresh, round result.
Strict selection is the keyword for Ayala’s Champagne Brut Majeur: a true representative of the Maison in Aÿ, which translates the elegance of each extraordinary chosen cru (and the list long) into a cuvée to represent the best of the best as concerns Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Meunier.
Champagne Brut Souverain by Henriot is a treatise that tells a lot about the history of one of the most famous faces in Champagne, in an endless game that looks to the Côte des Blancs for the white grapes, while turning to the Montagne de Reims for the Pinot Noir.
But talking about History with a capital letter, it is impossible not to mention the Maison which literally invented the first Brut in 1874: Pommery Champagne Brut Apanage is now at the top of the non-vintage range of the house made great by the late “Madame Louise”, with its blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier, in which vin de réserve takes the lead, giving shape to a fresh Sans Année with great character.
Elegance and style, but above all softness that reflects the harmony in the vineyards, is what Vilmart Champagne Brut Grande Réserve strives for year after year.
Diebolt-Vallois Champagne Brut Tradition, as its name suggests, is the ABC of the Champagnes Brut Sans Année. A delight for the palate, this masterpiece revolves around the balance that a traditional cuvée must maintain, vintage after vintage, by a family that has always played a leading role in Côte des Blancs, starting with the vinification of Chardonnay. Moving on to Basileux-sous-Châtillon, in the heart of the Vallée de la Marne.
Eric Taillet Brut Égali't Champagne is next in line. This cuvée is dominated by Meunier - the Maison’s speciality that bases its work on a heritage of knowledge handed down from father to son.
The same wisdom can be found in the last protagonist of our sparkling journey: Nicolas Maillart Champagne Brut Platine. A narrative with deep roots, telling the story of nine generations of Vigneron and a well-known family in the Montagne de Reims, blending only Premier and Grand Cru from Bouzy, Ecueil, and Villers Allerand. This rule gives their Champagnes Brut Sans Année richness and above all great finesse.
Discover the selection of GLUGULP's Brut Sans Année here!