G.H. MUMM: A Visit of the Champagne House

Ahead my departure to the G.H. MUMM Explorer Experience for a gastronomic lunch in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia, I have taken the time to visit the brand’s prestigious Champagne House. Below is a recollection of the fascinating preparation from vinification to maturation of one of the most sought after champagnes in the world.

At about 120km East of Paris, are located the vineyards of the Champagne region, where vines have been grown since the third century AD. G.H. Mumm looks closely after its 218 vineyards in the region where the grapes are picked and pressed in the most traditional ways. At the house itself, comes the process of the Vinification and Maturation, which is what I discovered at Mumm’s cellars in Champagne’s capital city, Reims.

Once the Must is sourced from the vineyards, it is first stored in vats to go through two fermentations over several weeks, after which the wines are “clarified”: a process through which any remaining yeast or solids that could affect the taste are removed. At this stage the drinks remain ‘still wines’ and have yet to be given their special sparkle.

Blending is the most creative stage as it involves the chef de cave’s selection among around 2,000 samples every year to find the ‘signature’ recipe of the year. If the year is particularly good, the chef de cave may decide to create a vintage champagne for that year. The stocked bottles in the pictures below are selected vintage champagnes from particularly successful previous years, dating all the way back to an impressive 1895!

The still wine becomes champagne through a fermentation in G.H. MUMM’s impressive cellars. Located 7 meters and 14 meters below ground level, these cellars possess exceptional natural conditions all year round, both in terms of humidity and temperature, which are ideal for fermentation. Over a period of a month underground, the wine becomes sparkling and the alcoholic strength increases from 11% to 12%.

During the Maturation process, a total quantity of 25 million bottles are stored throughout as much as 25km of galleries. This is where over many months, the wines gain their unique richness of taste and complexity. This process is much longer than average at the brand’s house as it can last easily two and a half years for the Cordon Rouge champagne (while average is 18 months in the industry) and up to five years for G.H. MUMM’s vintage wines.

The bottles are then riddled, a process of turning them around over days to remove any natural deposits. This initially handmade process is judiciously replicated today with sophisticated, computer-controlled gyropalettes. The removal of that deposit is called Disgorging, after which the cork is held in place on every bottle, as well as its decoration and packaging.

The House of G.H.MUMM offers champagnes with a passionate sense of tradition and a natural, all encompassing sense of refinement. G.H. MUMM is one of the largest producers of champagne in the world. These achievements come from a long lived spirit and taste at MUMM for extreme adventures. We will be sharing our very own MUMM Explorer Experience starting tomorrow as we head with MUMM to a gastronomic lunch made with natural resources in the Gobi Desert with renowned adventurer Mike Horn and exceptional Chef Alain Passard.