Chandon Garden Spritz

Moët & Chandon is one of the largest and, last but not least, the most famous Champagne houses in the world. Moët & Chandon was founded in 1743. Dom Perignon and Brut Imperial are two of the champagne house's best-known labels. Moët & Chandon has built up a very good reputation for its consistent quality and recurring style. The holding company LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy) owns the champagne house.

Moët & Chandon Champagne is now one of the largest producers of sparkling wines in the world. The company has 34,041 hectares in Champagne, 48,000 hectares in Burgundy, and 120,000 hectares in Bordeaux and California. Only 13% of these are privately owned; the rest are vineyards owned by owners under contract. In Champagne, 39% of the vineyards are Pinot Noir, 32% Pinot Meunier and 29% Chardonnay. Of the Champagne's vineyards, 1150 hectares, the majority (of course) have grand cru or premier cru status. In short: the best quality. Grapes come from all areas of Champagne: the Vallée de la Marne, Montagne de Reims, Aube and Côtes de Blancs.

Moët & Chandon aims to offer the same taste and quality for the Impérial wines every year. That is why the blend of wines is different every year! In this way, influences of the vintage are eliminated. To get that taste the same every year, basic wines are used. The grapes of each plot at the disposal of the company are vinified separately. This is done in press houses near the vineyards, one of which has recently opened in Epernay, with a capacity of 356,000 hectolitres. In total, after the harvest, the company can dispose of 6000 bits of wine from one year; those 6000 'little' bits are combined with 100-150 base wines. Add to that the wines they have leftover from older years, which can also be used for blends, and you now understand what a gigantic task the nine winemakers of the company have. It usually takes about four to five months for the final blend to be tuned for an Imperial! The nine winemakers are also helped by measuring equipment and chemical analyses.

MEET is the best-selling and best-known champagne worldwide. Every one and a half seconds, a bottle of Moët & Chandon Impérial Brut is uncorked somewhere in the world. Not surprising, even completely deserved, when you taste the consistently excellent quality. The Impérial Brut is composed of about 150 different wines, extracted from chardonnay, pinot noir, and pinot meunier, and all parts of Champagne. It is champagne without a vintage because the assembly also contains an important part of vins de réserve - beautifully matured wines from older years. Imperial Brut refers to the pleasant
dry taste (Brut) and the long-standing preference of Emperor Napoleon for the champagne of Moët & Chandon (Impérial).