Drappier Champagne has released the first unsulfured bubbly from the region - Brut Nature Zéro Dosage Sans Souffre NV, a Blanc de Noirs.
The new Champagne means the Drappier family – all of whom are allergic to the preservative – can now freely drink their own product.
‘When I taste sulfur I really feel it, which is why we limit it in all our wines,’ winemaker and director Michel Drappier told decanter.com.
Sulfur has been added to wines for centuries but Drappier believes it is not necessary if the fruit is very high-quality and certain vinification techniques are used.
‘It has been very difficult to create a pure and fresh unsulfured Champagne. First, vinifications failed due to uneven quality of the grapes and different levels of oxidation during the process,’ he said.
Unsulfured Champagne costs more to make and doesn’t last as long as sulfured versions, raising a question of commercial viability but Drappier isn’t concerned.
‘Demand is outstripping supply for our new Champagne. We could sell three or four times as much.’
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Written by Carolyn Evans Hammond
