The Umami of Champagne

8/21/15 -

Champagne's stylistic range is born, in part, from an appellation with nearly 34,000 hectares under vine and from the potential to blend many of those myriad terroirs. However, an important part of the breadth and the particularities of these wines comes from a pivotal step in the Méthode Champenoise : long lees aging.

The same yeast cells that create the limelight bubbles of Champagne also play a role in the less appreciated, but more complex process of sur lie (on the lees) bottle aging. Two to four months after the period of the Prise de Mousse (bubble-forming), the yeast cells begin autolysis, a slow breakdown with absolutely magical effects for the eventual Champagne.

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From this crucial stage of bottle aging, which lasts a minimum of 15 months for non-vintage Champagne and at least 3 years for vintage Champagne, arise so many of Champagne’s hallmark aromas and flavors. Among the most characteristic is the fifth primary taste, umami.

Etymologically derived from the Japanese word, umai translated as “delicious”, and mi, translated as “taste”, this fifth taste is closely associated with the savory stock, dashi, delivered from kombu (edible kelp) and kezurikatsuo (large, thick shavings of dried and fermented skipjack tuna). As a flavor and as a descriptor, umami can be closely linked to several savory stocks and broths (as shown below).

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Umami has been defined, in peer-reviewed articles, as the specific taste of glutamates and certain nucleotides. Champagne fans are quite correct in finding umami flavors in their wines because naturally occurring glutamic acid and certain nucleotides are released from degrading yeast cell walls during the critical stage of lees-aging.

It should be noted that all Champagne’s characteristic autolytic aromas (biscuits, fresh dough, acacia, baguette, umami) remain finely moderated by the cool temperatures of Champenois cellars and by the relatively low pH of most of Champagne’s base wines (eventual Champagne, prior to the Prise de Mousse and lees-aging). This means that autolysis happens at a noticeably slower rate than under ideal conditions and autolytic aromas develop slowly and in balance with more floral and fruity aromas of the wine. They can be thought of as the savory notes that provide a foil and breathe life into sweeter tones.

Each of the following Champagnes offer the fantastically delicious, savory, umami filigree that has made Champagne a wine of great food-pairing possibilities and attractive to many, nuanced and varied palates.

- David Salinas