The chalky soils and rolling hills of the Epernay region provide natural advantages for producing grapes that yield light, delicate wines. However, because chalk is such an austere medium it has to be fortified and constantly replenished by cendres noires (black cinders) quarried from the Montagne de Reims. Françoise can still remember as a girl watching her mother carry sacks of cendres noires from the path to the vineyard so that the men could distribute it as only they seemed to know how.

The Champagne area is the most northerly of the French wine growing regions. Whilst Champagne’s cool climate plays a significant part in the success of its product there is still enough sunshine in the year to ripen the grapes.

To protect the vines against early spring frosts they are sprayed with water when the weather turns cold. Ice then forms and insulates the young and vulnerable buds.

The vines need plenty of attention throughout the year.  Rains in May or June can wash pollen away from the flowers, while rain in July and August can set mildew and rot among the grapes.  Sunshine is important, too. If there isn’t enough sun, then the sugar levels in the grapes will be low. Michel can never rest upon his laurels as a producer of fine wines.

Each year brings its own different situation and as the passionate artist he is, Michel must respond with all the experience and knowledge at his disposal to create the unique and distinctive Champagnes of Mathieu-Princet.

Champagne production is closely controlled. Only 2,666 litres of newly pressed juice (musk) is permitted from every 4,000 kg of grapes.

After pressing, the musk undergoes its first fermentation, during which the sweet grape juice becomes dry wine. Following fermentation, the wines rest for some months during which time they become slightly smoother and fuller in taste compared with their original sharp and acidic taste.

Throughout the winter, Michel will “rack” the wines periodically, transferring them from tank to tank to separate them from the yeast deposits they leave behind.

In February the most critical moment in Michel’s year arrives, assemblage or blending. This is when all the wines that Michel wishes to use for a commercial blend are brought together and bottled.  It is a time of decisions. Once the wine is blended and bottled there is no turning back and Michel's reputation will stand or fall based on the choices he makes during the blending process.

Imagine the work involved. The base wines are acid, loose knit and unappealing. Michel must constantly think ahead, what will the wines taste like when charged with carbon dioxide gas, when slightly higher in alcohol, when a little sweeter, when aged further and enriched by the yeasty deposits of the second fermentation.

There is a lot for Michel to weigh-up and balance. He has a number of varieties of Champagnes to create and each is a different challenge, each year is a new challenge, but as you can see in his photograph it is a challenge he so obviously enjoys!

After assemblage Michel cold stabilises his wines and then bottles them. To each bottle is added a liqueur de triage, a mixture of young wine, along with 17 to 24 grams of sugar and yeast. This will induce the second fermentation in the bottle.

Each bottle is then sealed and stacked horizontally underground. In Michel’s cellar the second fermentation takes place. In a process known as the Prise de Mousse (Capturing the Sparkle) the yeast slowly consumes the sugar which raises the alcohol level. This consumption of the sugar also raises the carbon dioxide levels to between five and six atmospheres. The leisurely pace of the yeast’s work is due to the cool underground climate and it is thought to be crucial to the creation of Champagne’s small bubbles and creamy foam.

When the yeast has done its work it has nothing to live on and dies. It is deposited on the side of the bottle.

Yet these lees, as the dead yeast is known, still have an important part to play in the development of Michel’s fine champagne. The wine acquires depth and complexity of flavour from their presence. As the yeast undergoes its slow break down, this process becomes a key factor in champagne’s superiority over other sparkling wines.

The longer the process can be sustained the finer the wine. The minimum period is sixty days, but Michel will always allow three years, and for his Réserve Brut five years.  For his very special Millésimé Brut, Michel will allow it to develop for up to seven years in the bottle.