| Winery Location: | Reims |
| Year Established: | 1772 |
Vineyard Holdings
303 ha
In the Montagne de Reims, Côte de Blancs, and the Aube.
Top Wines Produced
- La Grande Dame
- La Grande Dame Rosé
- Cave Privée
- Vintage Brut
- Vintage Rosé
Inaugural Vintages
- La Grande Dame, 1966 released in 1972
- La Grande Dame Rosé, 1988 released in 1996.
Average Total Production
- 12,000,000 bottles
Summary
The firm was founded by Philippe Clicqout in the second half of the eighteenth century. His son Francois married Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin in 1798. Upon Francois‘ death in 1805, the Veuve Clicqout (Barbe-Nicole) took over the business. She was the first woman to run a Champagne house and is attributed to spreading the popularity of Champagne to Russia. Clicqout and her cellar master Antoine Müller are accredited with creating the riddling table, opening Champagne to the possibility of mass production. In 1810 the Veuve oversaw the creation of one of the first vintage Champagnes. By the time of her death in 1866, Veuve Clicqout was one of the most recognizable brands in Champagne. The famous yellow label was trademarked in 1877. The firm went public in 1963 and merged with Louis-Vuitton-Moët-Hennessy in 1986. Today the Chef de Cave is Dominique Demarville.
Style & Vinification Techniques
All of the wines, from the Yellow Label to La Grande Dame, are Pinot Noir dominant. For the top wines, vineyard plots are fermented separately. In the case of the Yellow Label and the Rosé the wines are made with 25% to 40% reserve wine. Both NV wines are about 50% Pinot Noir with 28-33% Chardonnay, and 15 to 20% Meunier with an average dosage of 9 g/l. The NV wines age for thirty months on their lees, and all vintage wines age for a minimum of five years. La Grande Dame comes from eight Grand Cru villages with the majority coming from Verzenay and Avize. It is generally 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay; the blend is the same for the Rosé. For the Rosé the firm uses 12 to 15% red wine from Bouzy. The Cave Privée is a late-disgorged vintage Champagne, of which there are both a rosé and white; the wines stay on their lees for up to seventeen years.
Producer Website: Veuve Clicquot