The Method Traditionelle requires a secondary fermentation within the closed bottle to create a fine natural mousse and generate the rich yeasty lees flavours enjoyed in the best sparkling wines. This is the method used to make Champagne, although it has long been the preferred method to create distinguished sparkling wines in many of France`s wine regions. The Languedoc`s Blanquette de Limoux claims to be the oldest, yet there is an established tradition of Method Traditionelle wines in the Loire Valley where the sparkling wines of Saumur and Cremant de Loire are also aged in natural chalk cellars. Other notable Method Traditionelle sparkling wines originate in Burgundy, Alsace and the south west.