I’m calling it now, the 2016 vintage of the Mumm Millésimé Champagne will be divisive.

That’s because this release, from an ultra-low-yielding and challenging vintage (punctuated by early frosts and late warmth), is just a bit vinous. Pinot-dominant and phenolic, it’s something that will age well, but the red apple angularity doesn’t scream ‘aperitif Champagne’.

But the real highlight of a lineup of Mumm Champagne tasted recently wasn’t that new at all – it was a dead serious back-vintage RSRV Blanc de Noirs.

I shouldn’t be surprised by this – Mumm is a red grape-focused Champagne house (a large house too, with 218 hectares under vine), with a history based around Verzanay (a Grand Cru Village planted to 85%+ Pinot Noir) on the Montagne de Reims (prime Pinot country).

Speaking of Verzenay, Mumm was one of the first to set up a press house in the vineyard (which helps process fruit faster and make fresher Champagne), on their Verzenay property back in the 1840s.

Another Mumm fun fact – G.H. Mumm famously travelled the world peddling his family’s Champagne, with twenty markets set up (including Australia and New Zealand) before the end of the 19th century. It all ended in tears, however, as the Mumm Champagne house was seized by the French government in 1914 during World War I, with only a portion of the business returned to the Mumm family post-war.

Before we look at some Champagne, it’s worth checking in with this 30-year vertical of Mumm Millésimé for some context. Then let’s dive in!