2022 harvest has begun: the 22 of August was the official starting date established by the Comité Champagne CIVC, with the grape harvest (divided by vine) started in the Aube, in the municipalities of Balnot-Sur-Laignes, Buxeuil, Celles- Sur-Ource, Merrey-Sur-Arce, Neuville-Sur-Seine, Polisot and Polisy; which will be followed by the other municipalities of the Region based on the assigned date.
As can be seen from the press release of the Comité Champagne, this is an early harvest which was necessary due to the anomalous heat wave of the summer months which accelerated the ripening process of the grapes. Waiting for further updates from producers, the first news on the harvest are positive and anticipate a promising 2022 millesime, comparable to the 2018-2019-2020 trilogy, after a 2021 wine campaign halved by frost, mold and hail.
Furthermore, every single producer is urged to take samples and monitor the state of maturity of their vines in order to guarantee the best yield and quality of the grapes.
The yield for the 2022 harvest was established at 12,000 kg/ha by a mutual agreement between the producers within the Comité Champagne. This is the highest level in the last 15 years. The reasons for this choice are strategic for the sector and are aimed at strengthening the "Champagne Reserve", that is the reserve made up of wines from previous years that allows to compensate for a particularly difficult harvest compared to a product demand on the market in a continuous growth.
Furthermore, to support this positive sector trend, the “Deferred-release reserve credit” has been introduced, which producers can use when the collected quantities and the reserve are insufficient to reach the available yield set for the year. This credit, managed by the Comité Champagne, can be used in the following three years, until the reserve is replenished. The aim is to provide the means necessary to reach the available yield set each year, thus guaranteeing market equilibrium.
Compared to a 2020 in which the pandemic had a negative impact on sales and a 2021 characterized by a particularly difficult harvest, the Comité Champagne today more than ever aims to strengthen all the actions necessary to support producers and address the challenges of the sector to be in line with the prestigious denomination.
While the 2022 harvest continues and we can't wait to know how it will end, below we present our selection of Champagne among some of the best vintages from the 2000s to today.
1) Dom Pérignon Champagne Plénitude 2 Vintage 2002, reflects the intensity, complexity, depth that only time can bring. Witness to a vintage that will mark the history of Champagne, P2 is Dom Pérignon's Deuxième Plénitude, the result of 16 years of elaboration. Thanks to its power and richness this cuvée reaches the peak of its energy and vitality and the Maison confirms its uniqueness over the time.
2) Piper-Heidsieck / Rare Champagne Rare Millésime Vintage 2008, is a tribute to the exceptional conditions from which the first Cuvée was born in 1976, when an unrelenting heat wave and drought hit France, damaging the vineyards throughout the Region. Since then, this Champagne is created only in the best vintages or rather "RARE" vintages, including 2008 (the other vintages are 1976, 1979, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1998, 1999, 2002 and 2006, 2007). Blending of the best grapes and aging for over 11 years on the yeasts for this opulent, rich and highly concentrated Millésime.
3) Salon Champagne Salon 2012, reflects the Champagne with an eternal charm, in this case fully expressed by the 2012 vintage and by a prodigious refinement. Its energy is dictated by an austere minerality, purity, generosity and the progression of the sip that make it an infinite Champagne.
4) Bollinger Champagne Extra Brut Bollinger B13, is the result of a singular year, 2013 precisely, characterized by snow, frost and a late harvest, but which overall gave good results. Champagne B13 embodies the excellence of the Bollinger de la Montagne de Reims vineyards and is a tribute to the Maison's oenological values, able of creating wonderful wines no matter how arduous some vintages may be.
5) Salima & Alain Cordeuil Champagne Brut Nature Altitude 320 M 2015, is an enveloping and seductive Champagne that comes from a parcel facing south at 320 meters above sea level in the Côte des Bar. This Champagne is the result of the 2015 harvest which gave great satisfaction in terms of health of the vines, quality, maturity and acidity of the grapes.
6) R. Pouillon & Fils Champagne Le Montgruguet 2018, is the result of the 2018 harvest, remembered for having returned incredible volumes. Expression of the calcareous terroir of Mareuil sur Ay, is an extraordinarily elegant, rich and enveloping Champagne, vinified in fût de chêne and aged on its yeasts for at least 4 years.
Discover here all GluGulp! Champagnes from the best vintages