How Long Should You Keep Champagne: Can Store For Unopened?
Updated
How long should you keep Champagne? You can keep it for several years beyond its release, provided you store it under optimal conditions. Champagne is ready for drinking upon purchase, according to Comité Champagne. The wine has already spent a minimum of 15 months aging in the producer's cellars. Even so, you can preserve its attributes for longer. For optimal preservation, store bottles in a cool place at a constant temperature between 10 and 15°C. Comité Champagne also advises high and constant humidity ranging from 60% to 80% (Comité Champagne). Protection from light, vibrations, and odors in a well-ventilated area is also crucial (Comité Champagne). Vintage Champagne, made from exceptional harvests, requires at least three years of maturation. Our data provides specific release-to-peak windows for many fine wines, including Champagne.
How should you store Champagne to maximize its longevity?
To maximize Champagne's longevity, Comité Champagne recommends a cool place at a constant temperature between 10 and 15°C. Keep humidity high and constant, between 60% and 80% (Comité Champagne). It is also important to protect the bottle from light, vibrations, and odors, ensuring the storage place is well ventilated (Comité Champagne).
Temperature control is paramount. Excessive storage temperatures will significantly affect the shelf life of bottled wine (AWRI; TN09). Marais (1986) observed the development of faulty flavors and decreasing overall quality after 12 months of wine storage at 30°C (AWRI; TN09). Temperatures exceeding 40°C can induce visual and sensory changes in a wine in only a matter of days (Ough 1986, AWRI; TN09). The AWRI states that any storage place where the temperature exceeds 25°C for long periods and 40°C for short periods can affect wine quality (Ough 1992, AWRI; TN09). You should also avoid thermal cycling, where the temperature varies significantly. The AWRI warns this can lead to wine leakage or cork movement due to thermal expansion (AWRI).
Humidity is important for wines with natural closures. Dry air can cause corks to dry out and lead to leakage (AWRI). Alexis Lichine contends that low humidity can be detrimental to premium wine quality due to the risk of the cork drying out. Light exposure can also impact wine quality by producing volatile sulfur compounds, known as "lightstruck" flavor (AWRI; TN09). Dozon and Noble (1989) found that still and sparkling white wines in green glass developed a statistically significant lightstruck flavor after 31.1 hours and 18 hours of exposure to fluorescent lamps, respectively. Wines in clear glass developed this flavor in only 3.3 hours and 3.4 hours (TN09). Direct sunlight provides significantly more UV-A radiation than fluorescent lamps and is likely more deleterious to wine quality (TN09).
Regarding bottle orientation, Comité Champagne states that you can store bottles upright or on their sides. The Comité Champagne website further recommends storing Champagne on its side, in a cool, dark, draft-free place with generous humidity. It advises no direct exposure to sunlight, noise, or excessive vibration. Champagne is often recommended to be stored upright. It also highlights a Caterer Magazine claim about side storage. On that claim, the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne (CIVC) found Champagne stored on its side aged more quickly, because corks lost elasticity. However, we then quote the CIVC website, which recommends side storage.
Minimizing vibration is also advised. A study showed that vibration could accelerate wine aging, but that it often leads to negative effects on wine quality. Chung et al. suggest vibrations should be minimized for red wines to limit changes in physicochemical properties (Chung et al.). You can find more comprehensive guidance on proper storage in our guide on how to store wine.
What is the difference between vintage and non-vintage Champagne, and how does it affect aging?
Non-vintage Champagne is a blend of grapes from multiple vintages, whereas vintage Champagne is produced entirely from grapes of a single, exceptional harvest. This distinction significantly influences their aging potential and style.
Non-vintage Champagne typically forms the majority of a producer's output. Most of the base wine comes from a single year. Producers blend in anywhere from 10% to 15% (and sometimes as high as 40%) of wine from older vintages. This blending ensures a consistent style that consumers expect from non-vintage Champagne. That style requires a minimum of 15 months to fully develop its flavors.
Vintage Champagne is only declared when harvest conditions are truly outstanding (Comité Champagne). These wines must mature for at least three years. Champagne houses that produce both vintage and non-vintage wines are permitted to use no more than 80% of a particular vintage's harvest for vintage Champagne production. At least 20% is reserved for non-vintage blends. This practice helps maintain consistency for their non-vintage offerings.
For specific insights into how different Champagne houses approach aging, you can explore Dom Pérignon and Cristal release-to-peak windows in our data.
How do sweetness levels impact Champagne's characteristics?
The "dosage" liqueur, added at the final stage of its elaboration, determines the sweetness level of Champagne. It significantly influences the profile and can contribute to aging potential.
Dosage is a mixture of sugar and wine (Comité Champagne). Benoît Gouez, cellar master of Moët & Chandon, notes that sugar helps Champagne recover from the oxidative shock of disgorgement and contributes to the wine's aging potential. It also protects the wine from oxidation by including a small amount of SO2 and acting as a preservative. Caroline Latrive, cellar master of Ayala, describes dosage as the final touch in Champagne making. It must be as subtle as possible to achieve the right balance.
Champagne wines are classified based on their sugar levels:
| Sweetness Level | Sugar per Litre (grams) |
|---|---|
| Extra brut | 0 to 6 |
| Brut | Less than 12 |
| Extra dry | 12 to 17 |
| Sec | 17 to 32 |
| Demi-sec | 32 to 50 |
| Doux | More than 50 |
| Brut is the most common style today. Historically, Champagne was much sweeter, often consumed as a dessert wine rather than with a meal. For example, "Goût russe" (Russian taste) Champagne contained between 200 and 300 grams of sugar per litre. |
What are the different types of Champagne and their aging potential?
Beyond the distinction between vintage and non-vintage, Champagne types include Blanc de Blancs, Blanc de Noirs, and Rosé. Each offers a distinct profile that can evolve with age. The grape varieties used in the blend provide indications of the Champagne's profile (Comité Champagne).
- Blanc de Blancs: This French term means "white from whites". It designates Champagnes made exclusively from white grape varieties, mainly Chardonnay. Chardonnay contributes liveliness, minerality, and notes of citrus fruits and white flowers (Comité Champagne).
- Blanc de Noirs: Meaning "white from blacks," this term refers to Champagnes made solely from red grape varieties, typically Pinot Noir and/or Meunier. Pinot Noir provides body, structure, and notes of red fruits, violets, and roses. Meunier offers fruity notes, roundness, and hints of apples, pears, and yellow fruits, according to Comité Champagne (Comité Champagne).
- Rosé Champagne: Characterized by its distinctive blush color, fruity aroma, and earthy flavor. The saignée method can produce Rosé Champagne, with clear juice macerating briefly with dark grape skins. More commonly, the d'assemblage method blends a small amount of still red wine into a sparkling wine cuvée. This method allows winemakers to achieve a consistent rosé appearance year after year.
Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, and Chardonnay are the primary grapes. Small amounts of other varieties like Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris (Fromenteau), Arbane, and Petit Meslier are also vinified.
Additionally, some producers create Prestige Cuvées, which are proprietary blended wines considered the top of a producer's range. Famous examples include Louis Roederer's Cristal and Moët & Chandon's Dom Pérignon. These are often presented in non-standard bottle shapes.
You can learn more about the specific regions and grape varieties in the Champagne producer atlas.
How do bottle sizes affect Champagne aging?
Champagne is primarily fermented in two bottle sizes: standard (750 millilitres) and magnum (1.5 litres). Magnums are generally thought to be of higher quality for aging. They contain less oxygen relative to the volume of wine. That is believed to favor the creation of appropriately sized bubbles. However there is no hard evidence to definitively support this view.
Other bottle sizes, often named after Biblical figures, are generally filled with Champagne that has been fermented in standard bottles or magnums. An exception is Gosset, which bottles its Grande Réserve in Jeroboam from the beginning of its second fermentation.
Here is a comparison of common Champagne bottle sizes:
| Bottle Name | Volume (Litres) |
|---|---|
| Quarter | 0.1875 |
| Half | 0.375 |
| Standard | 0.75 |
| Magnum | 1.5 |
| Jeroboam | 3 |
| Methuselah | 6 |
| Salmanazar | 9 |
| Balthazar | 12 |
| Primat | 27 |
| Melchizedek | 30 |
| Sizes larger than Jeroboam are rare. The House Drappier exclusively offered Primat (27 L) and Melchizedek (30 L) bottles as of 2002. |
What are the signs of a well-aged or damaged Champagne?
Champagne is designed for immediate enjoyment upon release, but well-aged examples can develop complex notes. Improper storage can lead to specific faults (Comité Champagne; AWRI). Recognizing these signs is crucial for collectors.
Signs of well-aged Champagne can be subtle. Guinness World Records recognized an 1825 Perrier-Jouët Champagne as the oldest bottle of Champagne. That bottle was found to be drinkable, with notes of truffles and caramel. Chemical analyses of 170-year-old Champagne found in a shipwreck revealed higher sugar levels and less alcohol. They also showed higher concentrations of minerals like iron, copper, and table salt compared to modern Champagne. Those results reflect tastes of the 19th century.
Conversely, signs of damage from improper storage are more distinct:
- Heat Damage: Exposure to excessive temperatures can cause rapid aging and significant deterioration (AWRI; TN09). The AWRI reports that wines exposed to extreme heat tend to lose their fresh fruity characters and develop more oxidized or "cooked" characteristics (AWRI). Visual signs include leakage of wine and/or movement of cork stoppers due to thermal expansion (AWRI; TN09). You might also observe increased ullage, which is the empty space between the wine and the cork, and label damage (AWRI).
- Light Damage: Exposure to light can lead to "lightstruck" flavor, characterized by the formation of volatile sulfur compounds (AWRI; TN09). Sensory assessment of affected wines indicates a decrease in "citrus" aromas. It also shows an increase in undesirable notes like "cooked cabbage," "corn," "wet wool/wet dog," and "soy/marmite" (Dozon and Noble, TN09).
- Cork Condition: The physical state of the cork can offer clues about a bottle's history. The longer a cork has been in the bottle, the less it will return to its original cylindrical shape upon removal. Increased ullage can also be a sign of closure damage (AWRI). You can learn more about fill levels in our guide to wine ullage levels explained.
To accurately assess damage, the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) recommends comparing the alleged damaged wine to "hold back samples" of the same wine. Those samples have been stored under known, ideal conditions (AWRI; TN09).
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