French Champagen, Rheims

About Veuve Clicquot Champagne and Winery

The remarkable Madame Clicquot (1777-1866) is often considered the first businesswoman of the modern era. Née Nicole-Barbe Ponsardin, she was widowed in 1805 at the age of 27. Veuve Clicquot ( Veuve means widow in French) defied every convention of the day to take the helm of her late husband's small Champagne house. She enlisted help wisely, took astute risks and made important technological innovations (including the invention of remuage or riddling), leading the House to world renown. One of her most significant triumphs was sending a secret shipment of her Champagne to Russia in 1814 in defiance of Napoleon's blockade--a great success.

Today the House of Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin is among the most prestigious Champagne firms. Its extensive vineyard holdings, many originally purchased by Madame Clicquot, stretch throughout the top-rated areas of the Champagne region and are unparalleled in size and quality. As in Mme Clicquot's day, bottles age in the House's vast, vaulted cellars in Reims, portions of which were constructed some 2,000 years ago by the Romans.

Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin La Grande Dame

Few Champagnes are as synonymous with luxury and celebration as Veuve-Clicquot Ponsardin's flagship La Grande Dame, and few vintages in recent Champagne memory are as exalted as 1990. Put them together and you have a truly magnificent combination that'll put the party in your glass.

There is great finesse and strength of personality on the nose, with a warm and delicious fruity notes -brioche, praline, mild spices, crystallized fruits.

In the mouth the characteristics of the vintage are expressed in a full and silky attack. The balance is rich, with notes of honey and egg custard, which give the structure of the wine a perfect roundness. The finish is long and smooth.

Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Brut Yellow Label Champagne DVX

Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin 1996 Reserve vintage Champagne

A fine example of a dry, sophisticated brut, this is an elegant style of Champagne whose understated apple and butter flavors are well balanced by crisp acidity.