At A Glance
- Field
- Detail
- Region
- Champagne
- House
- Delamotte
- Cuvées
- Brut, Blanc de Blancs and Rosé
- Chardonnay wine
- Blanc de Blancs from Grand Cru Chardonnay
- Defining feature
- Low, extra brut dosage style and extended lees maturation
The Producer
Delamotte's range is built around three named cuvées: Brut, Blanc de Blancs and Rosé. The Blanc de Blancs is made from 100% Grand Cru Chardonnay and vinified in stainless steel tanks. In Champagne, Grand Cru identifies the highest village classification, while Blanc de Blancs identifies a white Champagne made from white grapes.
The cuvée's chalky character is sustained through careful blending and the selection of reserve wines. Brut follows a different path, receiving a light dosage after 36 months on the lees. Rosé brings a separate colour and aromatic profile, with slightly smoky notes.
Place
Champagne enters Delamotte's wines through chalk and the Grand Cru category. Chalk is a limestone ground that drains water while retaining reserves for vines, and in sparkling wine it can contribute a firm mineral feel. Delamotte's Blanc de Blancs carries that chalky character through blending and reserve wine selection.
The label also sets the wine's category before the bottle is opened. Grand Cru names the village classification, while Blanc de Blancs names the grape colour relationship. Delamotte combines both on a Chardonnay cuvée with a mineral driven profile.
Story
Didier Depond has led Delamotte since 1997 and advocates a low dosage style as a matter of principle. Delamotte wines use 6g/l, placing them in a low, extra brut style. Dosage is the small addition made after disgorgement, and its level changes the finished wine's sweetness and balance.
Depond prefers the wine's age and history to remain visible, with dosage used as a final adjustment instead of a covering layer. That approach runs through the house's Brut, Blanc de Blancs and Rosé range.
Vineyards And Cellar
Delamotte Blanc de Blancs is vinified in stainless steel tanks, where the vessel keeps the fermentation environment neutral. Careful blending and reserve wine selection preserve the cuvée's chalky character across its composition.
Lees ageing keeps the wine in contact with yeast sediment after the second fermentation. That time can add creaminess and complexity. Delamotte Brut spends 36 months on the lees before light dosage is added, while the Blanc de Blancs matures for four to five years before disgorgement. Ageing after disgorgement continues to refine the cuvée.
Wines
Brut is the house's fresh, round Champagne, with a clean fruity finish and well balanced length. Blanc de Blancs is the Chardonnay cuvée, made from Grand Cru fruit and shaped by mineral character, careful blending and reserve wines. Rosé adds a separate expression to the range, with sophisticated character and slightly smoky notes.
The bottles also differ in their ageing paths. Brut receives 36 months on the lees, while Blanc de Blancs spends four to five years there before disgorgement. The longer period gives the Chardonnay cuvée a different place within the range, with further ageing after disgorgement.
In The Glass
Delamotte Brut opens with an extremely pure nose of citrus, white flowers, lemon rind and moss. The palate enters generous and clean, while delicate effervescence gives a creamy freshness. Freshness and roundness meet in a clean, fruity finish with well balanced length.
Blanc de Blancs can feel austere when young, reflecting Chardonnay's nature. Its fine mineral character gains intensity with air, revealing complexity from extended lees ageing. Mature Chardonnay can develop mushroom, truffle and forest floor notes. Rosé brings slightly smoky notes and a sophisticated aromatic profile.
A Bottle To Understand It
Choose Delamotte Brut. Its cellar sequence is clear: lees maturation followed by disgorgement and light dosage. The bottle presents the house's low dosage approach in its Brut cuvée, before the range moves into the Grand Cru Chardonnay of Blanc de Blancs and the smoky profile of Rosé.
Anecdote
Didier Depond compares dosage with salt in a chef's recipe, a final touch added after the cooking is done. He says too much dosage is like too much make up on an old lady, covering the lines that show age. His preference is to celebrate a wine's age and history instead of hiding them beneath sweetness. Delamotte's low, extra brut style follows that principle, with 6g/l dosage for the house's wines.
Final Word
Delamotte combines low dosage with extended lees ageing across a range of Brut, Grand Cru Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs and Rosé. The Blanc de Blancs carries the house's chalky mineral character, while Brut gives that approach a fresh, creamy expression.