2012 Champagne Veuve Clicquot Vintage Blanc

Veuve Clicquot was founded in 1772 by Philippe Clicquot-Murion, but became famous for the continuation of the company by his son's widow ('veuve') Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin, in 1805. She was a formidable and innovative woman. Her motto 'only one quality, the finest' is still leading for Veuve Clicquot, the second largest champagne house in the world. Madame Clicquot, La Grande Dame, has created many groundbreaking innovations in the champagne world such as the first rosé and first vintage champagnes. The 'pupitre' is also an invention of her hand; in this table with oblique holes the bottle could be placed in such a way that by regular turning, the rémuage, the yeast sediment sinks to the neck. The champagnes have a full, rich and powerful character.

Champagnes are often made by blending various vintages and in this way the good houses try to make a consistent quality. If a vintage was very beautiful and becomes even more complex due to extra aging, this is called a vintage champagne and the champagne also gets a vintage. In this case this applies to the Veuve Clicquot Vintage Blanc from the year 2012.

The Veuve Clicquot Vintage Blanc is composed of 61% pinot noir, 5% meunier and 34% chardonnay. For the first time since the 60s, oak barrels were used to allow a small proportion (5%) of the wine to mature. The grapes in this champagne come from only 17 vineyards, all of which are classified Premier or Grand Cru. With a dosage of 8 grams per liter and years of maturation, this is a great champagne and is also packaged in a beautiful gift box.