A vintage (or millésime in French) is declared by a champagne house when the growth from a particular year is considered exceptional. The vintage champagne will only contain grapes grown in that year and will be matured for 5 or 6 years. The Blanc de Blancs millésime is made only from the white Chardonnay grapes. The creation of a vintage is fairly rare and it depends to a large extent on the weather. I have only had 4 in the last 10 years. My vintage champagne costs only 30% more than the non vintage so it is a good buy and makes an excellent gift.

The great vintages, such as the years 1985, 1988 and 1990 are exceptional and can be kept for 10-15 years. Non vintage is carefully blended from grapes from several different years. It is sometimes called multi-vintage.