Veuve Clicquot | Extra Brut Extra Old Serie Three – NV

Detailed Description

An elegant, mineral-driven version, with the delicate bead carrying subtle flavors of black currant, mandarin orange peel, smoke and ground ginger, well-meshed to the firm, focusing frame of acidity. Offers a lithe, lingering finish.

Reviews:

• Wine Spectator: An elegant, mineral-driven version, with the delicate bead carrying subtle flavors of black currant, mandarin orange peel, smoke and ground ginger, well-meshed to the firm, focusing frame of acidity. Offers a lithe, lingering finish.

• James Suckling: A new cuvée and an assemblage of reserve wines from 1988, 1996, 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010 laid down in vats for three years, in bottle for another three, followed by a year’s rest after disgorging. The freshness belies its age on the nose. This is still bursting with lemon citrus and peach stone fruits, pastry and gently spicy nuances. The palate has a mellow texture (lower pressure bottling at 4.5 atmospheres) and a seamless integration of glossy citrus and stone fruit flavors with biscuity, spicy and nutty complexity. Sweetness of time is all that’s required as the dosage is a low 3g/l.

Producer Information

Veuve Clicquot is one of Champagne’s best known producers, and has been a consistent seller since it was founded in 1772. Pinot Noir has dominated over Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier in this blend from its inception. The house famously invented the process of riddling, which removed the dead yeast cells and gave the finished wines a clear appearance. The house was founded by Philippe Clicquot in 1772 as a sideline to his successful textile business, but became the second largest producer of Champagne in the region under his daughter-in-law, Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin. In 1798 Philippe Clicquot married his only son, Francois, to the daughter of a prominent local business man named Ponsardin as a way to consolidate the power of both his and Ponsardin’s successful businesses. Francois and his wife, Barbe-Nicole, saw an opportunity to take over the wine business and hopefully foster its growth. The attempt failed miserably due to the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars, and Francois Clicquot died in 1805. Barbe-Nicole continued on her own and, with the help of investments from her father-in-law and some deft smuggling of wines to Tsar Alexander I of Russia, Veuve Clicquot exploded onto the market. The development of the riddling process meant production increased significantly, which was able to satiate demand. Today, Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin is owned by luxury giant Louis Vuitton Möet Hennessy (LVMH). The portfolio of Veuve Clicquot includes non-vintage and vintage wines in Brut, Rosé and Demi-Sec variants. The top wine is La Grande Dame, a vintage champagne first created in 1972 in honor of Barbe-Nicole, produced from a blend of eight grand cru vineyards. One of the most recent additions to the portfolio is the Rich Collection which is characterized by champagnes with a high dosage giving a sweet and round flavor profile. The Veuve Clicquot underground cellars (crayères) were originally chalk quarries established in medieval times. They stretch for more than 24 kilometers beneath colline Saint Nicaise and provide a constant temperate and humidity for aging champagne. In 2015, the cellars were listed as a Unesco World Heritage site.