In order to preserve freshness in its Collection cuvées, Roederer has installed large-sized tanks for keeping its new perpetual reserve (initiated in 2012) as fresh as possible. As each harvest base year is allowed to show its strengths in the blend, so each new cuvée now comes numbered. Collection 242 (based on the 2017 harvest) represents the 242nd time Louis Roederer has crafted a brut non-vintage since the house’s foundation in 1776.

Roederer was not the first to give a distinct identity to each brut non-vintage blend. That accolade goes to Charles Heidsieck, where former chef de cave Daniel Thibaut introduced the Mis en Cave concept for the house’s Brut Réserve back in the mid-1990s, whereby the front label revealed the year when the bottle was laid in the cellars for second fermentation and ageing. Thibaut, though, was way ahead of his time and the concept was deemed too complex to become the norm across the region.

That said, houses like Philipponnat and Bruno Paillard have long been looking to solve the problem of ‘agelessness’ and a lack of transparency in the brut non-vintages by communicating disgorgement dates or base years. But it was Jacquesson which, in 2000, crafted its Cuvée 700 series, allowing full transparency and a much greater stylistic freedom to every blend.

Since then, even multi-vintaged prestige cuvées such as Krug Grande Cuvée and Laurent-Perrier Grande Siècle have adopted this sensible policy. As a result, multi-vintages have attracted much more interest and accrued a heightened ‘collectability’ factor.

Even if brut non-vintages are Champagne’s classics, their recipes are constantly on the move. The most obvious recent example is probably that of Charles Heidsieck, where both the changing climate and the brand’s unprecedented commercial success have forced chef de cave Cyril Brun to rethink its classic recipe. To balance out the somewhat shortened lees-ageing time (which, due to sluggish sales, had at times crept up to over 60 months), Brun took the average age of the reserve wines down a touch; then, to compensate, he increased their share to as high as 46 per cent and also increased the use of oak ageing. Oak barrels or vats have also been reintroduced in the NV formula of, among others, Veuve Clicquot and Lanson, with the aim of adding complexity and textural touches.

READ MORE: THE CHAMPAGNE REPORT 2022

But perhaps the most noticeable change when it comes to brut non-vintages – for consumers, at least – has been in the dramatically lowered sugar levels. The acidity no longer needs masking and some phenolics are welcome in the wines for added freshness. As a result, sugar levels are dramatically lower than before, 8 to 9g/l dosage being typical today. Some of the lowest dosed brut non-vintages include Bollinger’s Special Cuvée at 7-8g/l and Drappier Carte d’Or at 6,5g/l. Even Moët & Chandon has reduced its dosage to 7g/l with chef de cave Benoît Gouez promising further lowering in the future.