Appellation: Champagne, France
Grade: Grand Cru
Varietal: 100% Chardonnay
Vintage: 2007
ALC%: 12.5%
 
“Ficelage” is the ancestral method of tying the cork on the bottle with a thread, a know-how “à la Française” which goes back to the early 18th century.
 
In 1735, by royal statute, the “ficeleur” had to use three-stranded hemp thread for this purpose and even up to the First World War, the corks of champagne bottles were attached with hemp thread and only, subsequently, with wire.
 
The craft-man ties the intricate knots whilst the thread is still attached to the ball and then cuts both ends; this process is repeated twice, forming a cross on the top of the cork.
 
This age-old tradition requires great dexterity, concentration, accuracy and time. While a machine can close more than four thousand bottles per hour with a wire cage, even an expert only completes 50 corks in an hour with a thread.
 
This skilled process is reserved for our finest grand cru vintage champagnes : Grand Vintage, Family Reserve and Prestige.