Cuvée vs taille

The two press fractions of Champagne

In Champagne the first juice from a 4,000 kg press load (marc) is the cuvée, 2,050 L, and the next is the taille, 500 L.1,2 The two fractions are kept apart and vinified separately.3

The numbers

Champagne presses whole grapes in units called a marc, 4,000 kg.1,2 The juice is taken in fractions:

FractionVolume per 4,000 kg marc
Cuvée2,050 L, from three successive pressings of 10.25, 6.15 and 4.1 hL
Taille500 L
Total2,550 L

Sources: Comité Champagne and Union des Maisons de Champagne.1,2,4

The legal limit is written as a ratio: at most 102 litres of settled must per 160 kg of grapes.3,2 It is the same ratio as 2,550 L per 4,000 kg.

Two characters

The AOC specification describes the cuvée as rich in acidity and the taille as fruitier, with more tannic richness. The fractions are vinified separately.3 A producer can then decide how much taille, if any, to use in each blend at assemblage. Labels do not have to say which fractions were used.

The rebêche

Any juice pressed beyond the permitted maximum is the rebêche. The specification sets it at 0-10% of settled musts, and it must be distilled or used to make a liqueur within the area; it cannot become Champagne wine.3,2

Two meanings of "cuvée"

The word also has a wider sense. In EU law a cuvée is the must, wine or blend prepared for a specific type of sparkling wine,5 and producers use it for a blend or a named wine, as in prestige cuvée. On this page it means only the first press fraction. For the pressing process see pressing.

See also

PressingMethodsCuvéeGlossaryTailleGlossaryRebêcheGlossaryMarcGlossaryAssemblage and reserve winesMethods

Sources

  1. Comité Champagne (champagne.education). Factsheet: Champagne making process (EN) (2024-05)
  2. Union des Maisons de Champagne. Pressing
  3. Cahier des charges de l'AOP « Champagne » - modifications approved by the INAO national committee on 11 September 2024 (national opposition procedure text) (2024-09-11)
  4. Comité Champagne / champagne.education. L'élaboration du Champagne (fiche) (2024)
  5. legislation.gov.uk (copy of EU OJ text). Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, Annex II Part IV (terms used in the wine sector), original version as adopted (2013-12-17)

Facts checked on 2026-10-19