One thousand – the number of words in this article and the number of hours it takes to hone one of the world’s most iconic champagnes, Veuve Clicquot’s Yellow Label. So, when a rare opportunity came to taste the vintage offerings of the cellar; and to stay at the invitation-only Hotel du Marc, I was there, 1000 percent!
The day started early (the best mornings do) with several glasses of bubbles. As we dived into the history of La Grande Dame and other vintage cuvées in the heart of Veuve’s HQ in Reims.
La Grande Dame champagne, at 52 years old, was originally created in 1972 to celebrate the bicentenary of Veuve Clicquot. It is what many refer to as a ‘prestige cuvée’ the perceived best blended expression a champagne house can produce.
Stairway to heaven: every step marks a vintage
Emmanuel Gouvernet, Oenologue at Veuve Clicquot guided us through a tasting of standard and large format La Grande Dame and vintage Veuve champagnes. Gouvernet was keen to highlight the ethos behind the label. Later we would be treated to a dinner hosted by the Chef de Cave himself Didier Mariotti.
“Our cellar master used one specific word to describe La Grande Dame: the word is verticality. Verticality because we have a lot of precision…the style of La Grande Dame is elegance, sharpness.”
And so it was that a day of high-octane champagne tasting began under the watchful eye of Gouvernet. We started by tasting a selection of vins clairs, and then our foray into the world of La Grande Dame itself began in earnest.
La Grande Dame 2015
90 % Pinot Noir 10% Chardonnay. RS 6g/litre, disgorged July 2023
A solar vintage with low rainfall in spring followed by a hot, dry summer. Made from 90% Pinot Noir and 10% Chardonnay. This was a cépage change implemented post 2008 which puts Pinot Noir at the forefront of this generation of La Grande Dame.
“The dosage of La Grande Dame is only 6 grams per litre, to respect the characteristic of the vintage and the characteristic of the terroir,” says Gouvernet of the 2015 La Grande Dame samples.
Tasting Notes
Notes of lemongrass, ginger, fresh fruit, pear and apple. The mouthfeel was rich and opulent as lovers of this iconic wine style will know. Full bodied on the palate due to the heft of the Pinot Noir. The flavours evolved on subsequent sips to dried apricot, jam (not negatively so) and almonds. Finally, a cider flourish and a cleansing salinity had the taster clamouring for more.
La Grande Dame Rosé 2015
90% Pinot Noir 10% Chardonnay. RS 6g/l. Red wines: 13% Parcelle Clos Colin.
La Grande Dame rosé wines account for just 25% of the overall production of this label. It’s made with the addition of 13% Pinot Noir from the Clos Colin (sounds so much more romantic in French) parcel in Bouzy; a very inauspicious name for a plot that helps to create such iconic wines.
Tasting Notes
Vibrant pink/orange hues radiate from the glass, reminiscent of autumn sunsets. On the nose the wine exhibits rich black pepper embroidered with delicate peony rose. The mouth gives way to flavours of chocolate and then a lingering sweet spicy cinnamon.
La Grande Dame 2012
90% Pinot Noir, 10% Chardonnay. RS 6g/l. Disgorged Jul 2021
Described by Emmanuel Gouvernet as ‘a schizophrenic year’ as August and September proved inconsistent. The warmth of the late summer sun prevailed making this vintage a successful one not just for Veuve but for the wider region. Gouvernet described for us his take on 2012:
“September saved this vintage, it created for me one of the best vintages for the last 20 or 30 years” he said.
Tasting Notes
A glorious golden straw wine in colour, the glass was jumping with baked apples, autumnal spice and white pepper. On the palate golden apples gave way to liquorice root and hazelnut. A glorious salinity on the finish. A wine that’s both ripe and ready to drink now but has great potential for evolving further.
La Grande Dame 1998 (magnum)
40% Chardonnay, 60% Pinot Noir. Dosage 8g/l. Disgorged July 2021.
A cold winter saw snow on the Montagne de Reims in 1998. A wet spring came early followed by a hot May. August sunshine provided perfect ripening conditions, and a moody early September gave way to dry conditions at harvest.
Tasting Notes
The colour of pale wildflower honey in the glass and packed with autumnal peppery spice on the nose. Baked quince gives way to toasted nuts, toffee and smoke. A wine that has seen no oak and remains fresh with a salinity on the palate with a long persistent finish.
La Cave Privée 1982 (magnum)
66% Pinot Noir, 34% Chardonnay. Dosage 4g/l .
Made from wines of nine Grand and Premiers Crus sites including the Montagne de Reims, the Grande Vallée de la Marne and the Côte des Blancs. The Cave Privée wine collections were born out of a desire by Veuve to produce wines only in exceptional vintages. A mild winter meant that the late April frost caused difficulty. Summer conditions were good despite occasional issues with mildew. The ripening of grapes in June and July led to a then record harvest in September.
Tasting Notes
A glorious golden sunset in the glass with aromas of both orange and Armagnac together with a palate of rich coffee and mocha notes. A melody of white pepper spice and syrup of ginger make for a rich, persistent finish. This wine oozed voluptuously on the tongue, a champagne of phenomenal elegance and finesse.
La Grande Dame’s next chapter
There can be little doubt that the evolution of La Grande Dame remains close to the heart of Didier Mariotti, Veuve Clicquot’s 11th Chef de Caves. Over a regal dinner in resplendent surroundings, we were treated to a back catalogue La Grande Dame offerings including the 2006 which our dinner host favoured:
“What is very interesting with 2006 is the bitterness coming from the vintage, which for me is very in line with what we want to do with La Grande Dame. I think one of the signatures of La Grande Dame is this.”
Bitterness may not be the most attractive word to describe the wines of this quality, but it was one that Mariotti was keen to champion; seeing the description as a positive evolution of the wines he now creates and champions around the world. After a lavish day of tastings there can be little doubt that guests were left with anything but a bitter taste.
