Vintage 1998
This year's harvest is the largest the region has ever seen. Every corner of the appellation has managed to achieve the maximum authorized harvest yield of 10,400 kilos of grapes per hectare. Producers were also allowed to harvest an additional 2,600 kg which was allocated to the Champagne reserve, called blocking. This led to 330 million bottles of champagne being made in total. The lock-in system (which allows more production than necessary to meet demand) was the main tool for maintaining a stable price level in the 1990s.
