Grape
Pinot Blanc
White mutation of Pinot Noir, less than 0.3 percent of Champagne's vineyard area. Concentrated in the Aube. Mostly a minor partner in sept-cépages cuvées.
What it is
Pinot Blanc is not a separate species but a white mutation of Pinot Noir. Genetically identical to its parent, but a mutation switched off anthocyanin production in the skins. Recent molecular research shows that Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris arose from Pinot Noir in parallel, not sequentially as long assumed.
Where it grows
About 82 hectares in all of Champagne, less than 0.3 percent of plantings. Most of that area is in the Aube, on limestone soils comparable to Chablis. Pierre Gerbais farms four hectares of Pinot Blanc on an eighteen-hectare estate and bottles 100 percent Pinot Blanc Extra Brut cuvées. Tarlant, Drappier and Laherte Frères also carry Pinot Blanc in their portfolios. New plantings have been banned since 1939; existing vines remain legal to harvest.
Ripening and risk
Early budbreak, early ripening, much like Pinot Noir without the colour. Lower acidity than Chardonnay. Susceptibility to fungus sits somewhere between Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The age of the surviving vines is a bigger worry than disease: most plots are old bush vines, and replanting is not allowed.
In the glass
Young: green apple, pear, white peach, lemon peel, sometimes a smoky hint. Less fruit volume than Chardonnay, rounder than Arbane or Petit Meslier. Pairs poorly with high dosage. The best Pinot Blanc Champagnes come as Brut Nature or Extra Brut.
Role in the blend
Small percentage in sept-cépages cuvées (Aubry, Laherte’s Les 7, Drappier’s Quattuor). Mono-varietal at Pierre Gerbais and Tarlant. Unlike Pinot Blanc from Alsace (often blended with Auxerrois and rounder) or Italy (Pinot Bianco), the Champagne version is more vertical, more mineral and less fruit-driven.
Grows in