Crisp, elegant and mysterious, Blanc de Blancs is the Champagne world’s bright- mineral-driven star. But what is it, where does it come from and which ones should you try?
There’s nothing quite like the pop of a Champagne cork. In fact, it’s one of Christina’s all-time favourite sounds. It’s a signifier of good times, celebrations and delicious sparkling wine that bubbles on the tongue and tickles the nose.
But when it comes to choosing a bottle of bubbly, which one do you go for?
More often than not it’ll be a Brut. This means it’s made from a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes, and is the most common style.
There are other styles you can find though that offer different flavour profiles well worth exploring.
What is Blanc de Blancs?
You’ve probably seen ‘Blanc de Blancs’ on labels and wine lists, but what does it mean?
Blanc de Blancs means literally (and possibly a little problematically) ‘white of whites’ and it describes the grapes that went into making this wine.
As we’ve mentioned, sparkling wine usually has three grape varieties in it: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and the unpronounceable Pinot Meunier. The last two are red and black grapes respectively, though when the winemaker is crushing the fruit, they don’t allow any skin contact with the juice, which comes out clear — or at least not red.
With Blanc de Blancs, the only variety in the wine is the white Chardonnay grape.
How is Blanc de Blancs different to regular sparkling?
Because Blanc de Blancs is 100% Chardonnay, it usually has a crisper, more minerally flavour than Brut. The two Pinots in Brut are used to ‘soften’ and add sweetness to the Chardonnay, as well as balance out other flavours and give more body.
Blanc de Blancs is usually harder to make because it only has one variety of grape. The winemaker is relying on all the flavour from one fruit. For this reason, Blanc de Blancs tend to be more expensive than ‘regular’ sparkling. But not necessarily.
Interestingly, Prosecco — the often lower priced sparkling from Italy — is technically a Blanc de Blancs as it’s made solely with Glera grapes, which are white.
The difference is the second ferment — where the bubbles come from — happens in steel tanks with Prosecco, whereas with traditional methods, this stage happens in the bottle, which tends to give softer, smaller bubbles.
But there are plenty of other single-variety sparkling white wines that are not made with Chardonnay grapes. For example, the delicious Pipsqueak Sparkling from Dream Birds Winery in the Margaret River, WA uses only Chenin Blanc grapes, which technically makes this a Blanc de Blancs as well.
You can read more about this wine here.
Where can you find Blanc de Blancs?
Pretty much anywhere you find Chardonnay growing, you‘ll probably find Blanc de Blancs. In the Champagne region of France, this is still called Champagne, though it’ll be marked as Blanc de Blancs instead of Brut.
Everywhere else in the world, it’s simply Blanc de Blancs, though we did find a BdB at a little winery in the NSW South Coast called Wombat Crossing who modestly named theirs ‘Sparkling Chardonnay’.
Three Blanc de Blancs, Three Aussie States
Australia is a wonderful country for Chardonnay, and the quality of Blanc de Blancs here reflect that.
These three Blanc de Blancs — from three different states — are great examples of the variety that you can find in Australia.
The Lane Vineyards Lois Blanc de Blancs NV $25.00
Proof that you don’t have to spend a fortune to try a Blanc de Blancs, the Lois from The Lane Vineyards in Adelaide Hills, SA has all the crisp apple and gentle citrus you’d expect from this style.
Winemark Wines Biosis Blanc de Blancs 2023 $65.00
Winmark Wines is in the Broke-Fordwich region, a subregion of the Hunter Valley in NSW.
The Hunter has a reputation for its remarkable Chardonnays and Broke-Fordwich even more so. Winmark has taken this reputation to its conclusion, and only grows and makes Chardonnay wine, so it stands to reason it would make a Blanc de Blancs.
This is the first release of Winmark Blanc de Blancs, but it’s got all the hallmarks of a classic. Aromas of white flowers and citrus come through in the flavour too, accompanied by white peach and nectarine, and underlying notes of nuts and honey.
This sparkling is clean and fresh, and has a wonderfully balanced acidity.
For more on Winmark Wines and also our stay in their lovely ‘tiny house’, click here.
Marnong Estate Reserve Blanc de Blancs 2022 $80.00
From the unsung winemaking region of Sunbury, just half an hour northwest of Melbourne with views out over the Macedon Ranges, Marnong Estate sits in the middle of one of Victoria’s oldest wine regions.
Aiming to produce the best possible Blanc de Blancs, Marnong only release this elegant sparkling wine on exceptional vintages, hand-picking the best fruit, pressing whole bunch and taking only the free-run fraction. This discerning, scrupulous practice bears outstanding results.
With aromas of intense ripe citrus and green apple, and a palate reflecting the nose, this Blanc de Blancs also features complex toast and brioche notes thanks to extended time on lees.
Its medium body and fine bead make this a sparkling wine for special occasions.
So keep an eye out for Blanc de Blancs the next time you’re hunting down a good sparkling, whether you’re off to a party or just fancy some bubbles to watch the sun go down with.
