Disgorging

After this long rest period, the wine gets its brightness by removing the residue that has been formed during the "prise de mousse". This is called the “remuage”, whereby sediments (yeast and remuage additives) are collected in the neck of the bottle, and then removed during the phase of 'disgorgement'. To this end, the bottles are gradually brought from their horizontal position into a nearly vertical one, with the neck down. This way the residue falls into the bottle neck. At Champagne Doyard Mahé this operation is still partially manual on wooden tables (‘pupitres') . The bottles are regularly turned 1/8 or 1/4, and at the same time gradually placed vertically. The residue falls and the wine becomes very bright. This phase is followed by the disgorgement: the residue is removed from the bottle neck. The neck is immersed in an ice-cold solution (-27 ° C), so that in the neck of the bottle an ice pack is produced which retains the sediment. As soon as we open the bottle, the internal pressure causes removal of the plug, losing only a limited amount of champagne and pressure. During this operation a small amount of oxygen will flow into the bottle; it will – together with the liqueur de dosage which is now added - contribute to the evolution of the aromatic characteristics of the wine. The added liquid, which is also known as 'shipping liqueur', is usually composed of candy dissolved in older champagne. Check the specifications of our champagnes in order to know the exact quantities that we use. The dosage is the last operation of the wine before the bottle is finally sealed with a cork.