Traditional method brut
A second fermentation in the sealed bottle, then months or years on the lees, then disgorging. Around six atmospheres of pressure, which is why the bottle and the closure are not optional.
The numbers
Each bar drawn against all 30 styles
Alcohol
11.5-13%
11.5% - 13%
Titratable acidity
6.5-9 g/L
6.5 - 9
pH
2.9-3.2
2.9 - 3.2
Residual sugar
0-12 g/L
0 - 12
Serve at
6-9 C
Worth opening after
1 years
and it keeps improving to roughly 10 years
Sulphite at pH 3.05
15 mg/L
free SO2, for 0.8 mg/L molecular
What goes wrong
The wrong bottle. A still-wine bottle at six atmospheres is a fragmentation device. Use proper Champagne bottles, crown caps and a face shield when disgorging.
Usually made from
At least one of these figures is set by an appellation or labelling rule somewhere. The rest are typical published analyses of commercial examples.
Make it
A recipe on this site made to this style
Every figure below is computed from the ingredients and checked against the ranges above before the page is built.