Méthode Champenoise
Once the grapes arrive at the award-winning Chapel Down winery, one of the oldest and best-equipped wineries in the UK, the grapes are treated exactly as they would be in Champagne.
The grapes are loaded into a gentle air-bag membrane press which operates at very low pressures programmed to follow the classic ‘Champagne' pressing cycle. The grapes are not crushed or de-stalked before they go into the press - an essential part of the process to ensure the highest quality wine.
12,100kgs of grapes on their way to Chapel Down, September 2004.
Testing and tasting for Balfour Brut Rosé vintage 2004, Summer 2006.
A row of vines, Summer 2006
Pressing
After discarding the first part of the juice, only the middle section of around 500-550 litres per tonne of fruit - considered to have the best balance of sugars, acids and flavours - is taken. This is known as the ‘free run' juice or cuvée. As the pressing cycle progresses, the juice becomes lower in both sugar (up to 0.5% lower) and acidity and higher in phenolic compounds which can cause bitterness in the final wine. The winemaker must know when to stop the pressing cycle so that only the finest juice is retained. With Owen Elias, the McAlpine ‘Winemaker of the year' at the helm, Balfour-Lynn's grapes are in safe hands. The remainder of the press juice, a further 200 litres per tonne, is not used in Balfour Brut Rosé.
Fermentation and tasting
After 12 hours cold settling, the juice is inoculated using a yeast strain selected for its ability to give clean neutral flavours and the sugar balance adjusted to give a potential alcohol of 11%. After around 21 days fermentation at 15°C, the wines are retained on their gros lees (the yeast deposits left after primary fermentation) for 2 months. This starts yeast autolysis which increases mouth-feel and body by helping increase glycerol levels and introduce a slight yeasty tone to the young wine. The wine is then clarified by settling, followed by gentle filtration. Once in this state, the wine is tasted and blended before the final stage of the méthode Champenoise can begin.
Pink Sparkle
At this stage, a small amount of red wine, produced by fermenting some of the Pinot Noir on their skins, is used to adjust the colour to achieve a delicate shade of salmon pink. After blending to achieve a suitable balance of flavours, a small amount of grape-based liquid sugar, together with yeast, are added. The wine is immediately transferred into clear glass Champagne bottles, sealed with a crown cap and laid on its side. Over the next few weeks, the secondary fermentation takes place in the bottle, increasing the alcohol content by around 1.5% and naturally introducing the carbon dioxide - the hallmark of all classic Champagnes.
Ageing ‘sur lie’
The next phase of the wine's development is by far the most important and the most time consuming - ageing ‘sur lie'. During this phase, the wines remain untouched in a cool dark store, where the lees (the dead yeast cells), now lying in a long, neat line along the side of the bottle, start to work their magic, turning the wine from a young, crisp, perhaps slightly acidic drink into Balfour Brut Rosé - a creamy, fruit-infused wine with a brisk sparkle and a gorgeous light toasty nose and palate.