Cuvée

Where the word came from

Literally, cuvée means the contents of a cuve, a vat. In the 19th century, Champagne houses adopted the term to describe the highest quality juice from the first pressing, as distinct from the second pressing (taille) and the third pressing (rebeche). The first pressing was softer, lower in phenolics and the basis of prestige wines. Over time, cuvée evolved into a marketing term for a special bottling, often more expensive than the entry-level wine.

Today, cuvée is used around the world, with or without a strict technical meaning. In the UK, it appears on labels for premium sparkling and still wines, usually to signal the wine the producer is most proud of.

Cuvée in English sparkling wine

Every major English producer has a cuvée. The names vary: Nyetimber has the 1086, Gusbourne has the Fifty One, Hambledon has the Première Cuvée, Ridgeview has the Cavendish, Chapel Down has the Kit's Coty. These are usually single-vintage, single-blend wines, made from the best parcels of fruit and given longer lees ageing than the entry-level Brut.

Some cuvées are also single-vineyard, drawn from a specific block of vines that the winemaker has identified as exceptional. This is the closest English wine comes to the Burgundian concept of a climat. As the UK industry matures, single-vineyard cuvées are likely to become a more important part of the story.

Still wine cuvées

Still wine cuvées exist too. A producer might bottle a Cuvée of the best barrels of Chardonnay, a Cuvée of old-vine Pinot Noir, or a special blend that doesn't fit the standard range. These are typically made in small volumes and sold at a premium. Chapel Down's The Grower's Selection, Balfour's Hush Heath Skye's Cuvée and Gusbourne's The Wine Society's Forty Hall are all examples of cuvées that go beyond the everyday range.

Some cuvées are tied to a vineyard event, a vintage, or a special release. Hambledon's Première Cuvée is the result of a specific blending exercise that the winemaker considers the purest expression of the house style. Sugrue South Downs' The Trouble with Dreams is a single-vineyard Pinot Noir. These wines are the heartbeat of the producer's identity.

Reading a cuvée label

A typical English cuvée label will show the cuvée name, the producer, the vintage, the PDO designation, the dryness descriptor, and the technical details. The back label often has the full tasting note, the lees ageing time, the disgorgement date and the dosage. For the trade, that back label is the most important part of the bottle.

For consumers, the practical advice is to look at the disgorgement date. A cuvée disgorged recently (within the last 12 months) is fresh and fruit-forward. A cuvée disgorged two or three years ago has had more time to integrate. Both are valid; they are just different expressions of the same wine.