Should Champagne houses list disgorgement dates on bottles?

Should Champagne houses and sparkling wine list disgorgement dates on their bottles?

Most Champagne houses don’t put disgorgement dates on their bottles, however, Bruno Paillard have been putting disgorgement dates on their bottles for nearly 30 years and were the first to do so. Other Champagne houses that also list disgorgement dates include: Lanson, Krug, Dom Perignon, Bollinger, Tarlent, Charles Heidsieck, Philipponnat, Ayala and some small growers. Taittinger has  a code on it’s back label that you can find out the base vintage when you scan it with your phone.

What is disgorement? Disgorgement is the process where the dead yeast cells that fall to the bottom of the bottle following the bubble-inducing second fermentation, are frozen and removed before sealing it with a cork and sending it to market.

Why is the disgorgement date important? The simplest reason is that bottles disgorged at different times are, in effect, different wines. Each cuvee whether vintage or non-vintage will have several disgorgements over time.

Critics argue that putting disgorgement dates on bottles will simply be more consuming to the average buyer.

Just recently, Nyetimber has become the first English sparkling wine to announce they too will be releasing bottling, riddling and disgorgement dates on its bottles.

What are your opinions are you for or against disgorgement dates and why?