The carafon: The story behind the shape of RSRV bottles

The particularity of the RSRV bottle plays an important role. Its thin and elongated neck slows down the oxidation process of the wine, which allows the champagne to age more gently and for a longer time. A particularly relevant asset for the RSRV vintages, whose aging varies from three to ten years, or even more.

The astonishing and singular silhouette of the RSRV bottle is inspired by the style of an old bottle called a carafe which dates back to the origin of champagne in the 18th century.

The original model of the carafe appeared for the first time in a royal edict dated 1735. Its capacity was then equal to that of a French pint of champagne (i.e. 95.2 cl at the time, then 80 cl later). Until then, champagne, which was only at the beginning of the path that would lead it to the status of a wine of all superlatives, was produced and distributed in wine barrels. The carafe made it easier to transport and sell it in bottles.
These first hand-blown glass bottles caused many incidents, due to the irregularity of the thickness of their walls. When they could not withstand the pressure of the champagne they contained, they exploded. A defective bottle could trigger a domino effect on its neighbors, the cellars then generally lost 30 to 50% of their production.

It was not until the 1840s that new glassmaking techniques made it possible to produce thicker, stronger, and more consistent molded bottles. The carafe’s popularity waned as the proportions of the Champagne bottle as we know it today became more established.

Thanks to these modern manufacturing techniques, RSRV has been able to return to its origins with this elegant bottle that comes to us from the past. It is a form of homage to the exceptional historical plots from which the RSRV vintages come.