What goes better with a special occasion, be it a birthday, a great night out with friends or a romantic sunset with your loved one, than a bottle of Rosé Champagne?
Rosé Champagne is of course also a great gift that everyone is happy about! However, the Champagne often sits on the shelf a little longer because people want to save it for the absolute right moment. Here comes the question: How long does a Champagne stay delicious and how long can it be stored?
Champagne should be stored lying flat in a quiet place without light, with constant temperatures. The absolute temperature is less important than that it remains as constant as possible.
"Non-Vintage" Champagnes are those without a year on the label and are the most common on the market. For example, the Ruinart Rosé, the Nicolas Feuillatte Reserve Exclusive Rosé, the Bollinger Rosé or the Favori Rosé Champagne Grand Cru. These Champagnes can usually be stored up to three years. Afterwards the fine fruit goes away and oxidative possibly even musty aromas can develop. Furthermore, you can recognize old Champagnes that are past their zenith because the bubbles decrease and they taste stale. The fresh and elegant citric acid turns into an acetic “vinegary” acid.
With Vintage Champagnes such as the Roederer Rosé, Roederer Rosé Cristal or the Pol Roger Rosé, a significantly longer maturation of more than 10 years is not a problem if stored correctly. Some of the Champagnes here only come onto the market after many years of aging in the bottle. The current vintage for the Cristal Rosé, for example, is 2013. Only perfect grapes from a great vintage are used for these Vintage Champagnes. So there is not a Vintage Champagne from every vintage...
Another important factor is how old the Champagne already is when you buy it. If you don't have a year on the label and the labels are often not changed for many years, it is difficult to estimate the age of the Champagne when buying it. An important recommendation: If a certain Champagne is sold by a wine dealer stationary or online, on Ebay or on Amazon at a significantly lower price than at other dealers, caution is advised! These are often old Champagnes or some left over bottles, some of which are no longer enjoyable. This is legally permitted, as there is no best-before date for Champagne, but of course it is annoying, and not just for the buyer! Other dealers with perfect "fresh" goods, which are more expensive as a result, have a disadvantage here. The Champagne houses also try to avoid this by all means, because of course they do not want their Champagne to end up with the consumer in a bad quality. Not everyone immediately recognizes a deficiency due to old age and may then no longer buy this Champagne brand.
So buy from your trusted retailer and enjoy the Rosé Champagne as early as possible. There's always something to celebrate. Here's to life!
Cheers,
Julian
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