Glossary
Saignée
A rosé production method where colour is drawn from black grape skins by a short maceration before pressing. Less common in champagne than the blended rosé method.
Champagne recognises two methods for rosé:
- Rosé d’assemblage — the more common route: a small quantity of still red wine is added to the white base before bottling. Uniquely in France, this blending of red and white is permitted in Champagne AOC.
- Rosé de saignée — the rarer route: black grapes macerate on their skins for a few hours so the juice takes on colour, then the cellarer “bleeds” (saigne) the rosé-hued juice off for vinification.
The saignée method produces darker, more structured rosés with pronounced red-fruit character. Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé is the best-known commercial saignée, released in 1968 and widely imitated since.
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