From: Aube, Champagne, France

Blend: 100% Chardonnay

Taste: The Dumont Solera Reserve is a unique Champagne made using the solera method, now more commonly known as “perpetual reserve” (and for about 20 vintages!).  This means that this Champagne is the result of adding young wine to a tank containing older wine (⅓ of which is removed for bottling each year), which gives it an evolving complexity but renewed freshness.  It is toasty and savory with bright notes of citrus custard and lemon confit brioche richness, with only a very tiny amount of dosage. It has a gorgeous palate with energetic, tiny bubbles that taper into a lengthy, refined finish where all those citrus and toast notes linger majestically. 

Pairing: Enjoy this champagne with sunrise, sunset & anytime in between. You don't necessarily need food, but anything that pairs well with Champagne pairs well with Solera Champagne – fried chicken, caviar and potato chips, oysters. The acidity and bubbles balance out rich foods with grace.

With that said, we had to share this recipe from Sawako Okochi and Aaron Israel, adapted by Sam Sifton for Okonomi-Latke.

About. Champagne Dumont is based in the village of Champignol-lez-Mondeville, in the southern Champagne region of the Aube, about 90 miles southeast of Reims and Epernay.  The Dumont brothers have 23 hectares of vineyards in the Côte des Bar, planted predominantly with Pinot Noir but also with Chardonnay and other grape varieties.  The Kimmeridgian chalky clay soils here are more similar to those in Chablis than the rest of Champagne.   Bernard Dumont’s comments are insightful, “We grow grapes on the same soils as the vine growers in the Chablis region. There, they produce white wine from white grapes, and here we produce white wine from red grapes.”

Solera Reserve: “Dumont is one of the very few Champagne producers who produces a champagne using the solera method.  Bernard Dumont has dedicated one stainless steel tank to the project, which was first filled in 1991. He works exclusively with Chardonnay for this cuvée and has been adding to the tank every year, making it a single-varietal blend of approximately 20 vintages.  This solera system produced its first release in 2010. One of the most striking features of this champagne is the different effect created by producing a champagne from aged wine (the aging occurs after the first fermentation) followed by the typical duration of two years ‘sur lattes’ as contrasted with a champagne produced from relatively young wines which are aged for a long time after the secondary fermentation and thus remain in contact with the lees “sur lattes” for an extended period.  The dosage is 6 grams.  Production is about 400 cases annually.”  — Wine Traditions

The article below expands on this style of champagne, now more commonly referred to as Perpetual Reserve, in a recent report by Lauren Mowery.

Looking For a New Take on Champagne? Try Perpetual Reserve.
By Lauren Mowery of Wine Enthusiast, last updated May 5th, 2023.