How to read a Champagne label
Brut, Extra Brut, Doux. Vintage vs NV. Grower vs House. Three letters in the corner that tell you whether it's farmer-grown or sourced. A walkthrough.
Dosage — the sweetness scale
After the second fermentation, Champagne gets disgorged (the yeast plug ejected) and topped up with a small amount of wine + sugar called the dosage. The dosage level dictates the final dryness:
- Brut Nature / Zero Dosage — under 3 g/L sugar. Bone-dry.
- Extra Brut — 0-6 g/L. Very dry.
- Brut — under 12 g/L. Dry. The default.
- Extra Sec — 12-17 g/L. Off-dry — confusingly named, given "sec" means dry.
- Sec — 17-32 g/L. Lightly sweet.
- Demi-Sec — 32-50 g/L. Sweet.
- Doux — 50+ g/L. Properly sweet.
For 95% of meals, you want Brut or Extra Brut. Demi-Sec and Doux exist mostly for dessert.
Grower vs House — the three letters
Look in the small print on the label for two letters. They tell you the production model:
- RM (Récoltant-Manipulant) — grower-producer. The same family farmed the grapes and made the wine. ~7% of all Champagne. Where the most distinct, terroir-driven wines come from.
- NM (Négociant-Manipulant) — a Champagne house that buys grapes (or wine) and blends. Includes nearly every famous brand: Moët, Veuve, Bollinger, Krug.
- CM (Coopérative-Manipulant) — a co-op of growers selling under one label.
- RC, SR, ND — rarer formats. Each tells a slightly different story.
Grower Champagne (RM) is where the geek interest lives. A bottle from a grower in a single village often runs $50-80 and outdrinks a $200 grand-marque house bottle.
Vintage vs NV
Most Champagne is non-vintage (NV) — a blend across multiple harvests. Houses do this to keep their style consistent year over year. NV is most of what you see on shelves.
Vintage Champagne is from a single year, only declared in years strong enough to merit it. More expensive, more intense, and ages beautifully — a great vintage Champagne at 15-20 years is a different beast.
Grape varieties
Three primary grapes: Chardonnay (white, brings elegance and acidity), Pinot Noir (red, brings body and red-fruit), Pinot Meunier (red, brings approachable fruit). Blanc de Blancs = 100% Chardonnay. Blanc de Noirs = made from red grapes only. The blend on the back label is a strong hint at the wine's shape.