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Veuve Clicquot
Veuve Clicquot
Reims France
 
 
 
 
 

Veuve Clicquot Champagne

The overall Veuve Clicquot style tends toward fuller bodied and rich. Drinkable upon release, but definitely at their best when cellared for a couple of years.

Veuve Clicquot is one of the most significant houses in Champagne. The story of the widow and her legacy is amazing. Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, 'La Grande Dame', managed to build an empire at a time when women were not accepted as business leaders by any stretch of the imagination. Read more about the history of Veuve Clicquot in our Veuve Clicquot History report.

Veuve Clicquot Champagne Collection

Dry and Sweet
Veuve Clicquot offers both dry and sweet champagne labels. Their dry champagne is presented first followed by their sweeter labels.

Veuve Clicquot Dry Styles

Non-Vintage
Veuve Clicquot Brut is their house style champagne that makes up a significant part of their production. Veuve Clicquot also produces a non-vintage rose', Veuve Clicquot Rose'. The following links provide a review, tasting notes, retail price, and ratings by Champagne 411, Wine Enthusiast, and/or Wine Spectator.

Vintage Brut
Veuve Clicquot offers two basic brut labels and two brut rose' labels. Their Cave Privee brand is used for some of their older vintages they have made available. Click on a link to find a review, tasting notes, retail price, and ratings by Champagne 411, Wine Enthusiast, and/or Wine Spectator.

Vintage Prestige Cuvee
La Grande Dame is Veuve Clicquot's prestige cuvee brand. They produce the La Grande Dame label in a basic brut and a rose'. Click on a link to view a review, tasting notes, retail price, and ratings.

Veuve Clicquot Sweeter Styles

Veuve Clicquot produces one demi-sec label for those who prefer a sweeter champagne experience. Our Sweet Champagne report provides a list of additional sweet champagne brands.

Veuve Clicquot History

Philippe Clicquot was a businessman and textile merchant. He opened a house in Reims in 1772 that had a moderate wine trade. Most of the wine was based on the pinot noir grape. In 1798/99, Philippe's son, Francois Clicquot joined the business and married Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin. Barbe-Nicole's father was also a wealthy textile merchant and the marriage was economically advantageous for the families. Barbe-Nicole assumed the traditional role of wife and Francois was happy to share his passion and ideas as he carried on the family business. The couple had a daughter, Clémentine, in 1800. Five years later tragedy struck when Francois died.

In 1805 at the age of 27, Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, the widow Clicquot, took over the family wine business. She was one of the first great female entrepreneurs of all time. This was during a time of many struggles with war, depression, disease and general turmoil in the world. Her father-in-law, deeply saddened by his only son's death, wanted to sell the business, but the widow insisted on keeping it going. At Philippe Clicquot's insistence, the widow took on a business partner, Alexandre Jérôme Fourneaux and the firm became Veuve Clicquot Fourneaux and Company. Alexandre was also a winemaker and Barbe-Nicole spent the next few years learning all she could about the craft. Alexandre left the firm after about 4 years and in 1810 the widow gave the house her name, Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin. During this same time period Veuve Clicquot hired Antoine Müller, who devised a process called remuage for clearing the sediment out of the aging wine using the pupitre in 1815/16.

Veuve Clicquot began making vintage champagne and it was the exceptional 1811 vintage or so called "comet vintage" that made the house famous. Clicquot began shipping to Russia where she developed a strong following.

In 1866 at the age of 89, Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, 'La Grande Dame,' died peacefully. She left the business to her cellar master, Édouard Werlé, a loyal friend and business partner who had always watched out for the widow's best interests. The famous "Yellow Label" that first appeared in 1873 was trademarked in 1877. In 1884, Édouard's son Alfred took over.

It was in the 1960's the first vintage of Veuve Clicquot's prestige cuvée, "La Grande Dame" was produced. "La Grande Dame" was launched in the 1970's to celebrate the company's bicentennial. In 1972, the company incorporated an award for exceptional business women, the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman Award.

In 1986, the house was brought into the Moet Hennessy group. Moet Hennessy merged with Louis Vuitton the following year. Veuve Clicquot's motto, "Only one quality – the finest" remains the house's guiding principle.

More On Veuve Clicquot

About
Our About Veuve Clicquot report includes general information about the champagne house and their key people.

Contact and Visitor Information
Contact and possible tour information is discribed in our Contact Veuve Clicquot report.

Official Website
The official website is http://www.veuve-clicquot.com.

 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
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