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For over two hundred summers, Veuve Clicquot has cultivated ‘L’Art du Pinot Noir’ according to Madame Clicquot's vision. This delicate grape variety has an extraordinary ability to express the complexity of the Champagne terroir and to capture the uniqueness of remarkable years.
It has become our signature.
Ignoring conventional wisdom, Madame Clicquot recognized the unique potential of Pinot Noir.
Indeed, she made it the beating heart of Veuve Clicquot's oenological identity, acquiring ten of the Maison’s twelve iconic plots. This bold choice continues to shape the soul of our cuvées. These historic plots are mainly located on the Montagne de Reims, cradle of the finest Pinot Noir in Champagne.
Expressing its full potential in a northern climate, this fragile yet powerful grape variety benefits from the region's cold, limestone soils, where it draws out its finesse and structure. Incredibly versatile, Pinot Noir interprets the terroir with subtlety, reflecting its nuances to reveal great complexity.
The cultivation of Pinot Noir is demanding and precise, requiring a long and rigorous winemaking process. Pinot Noir does not reveal itself immediately, an example of the virtue of patience.
In 1972, on the occasion of its bicentennial, the Maison presented the first vintage of La Grande Dame, a prestige cuvée to celebrate the determination and audacity of that inspirational woman known as ‘la grande dame de la Champagne.’
Starting with the 2008 vintage, the Maison took the bold step of integrating 90% Pinot Noir into the prestige cuvée blend. Echoing Madame Clicquot's insistence on excellence, the Cellar Master's work perpetuates this approach, finetuning the balance and tension between selected Pinot Noirs to achieve the unique oenological signature of La Grande Dame: elegance and precision. The 10% Chardonnay completes the blend, adding texture and complexity, providing a balanced, more saline, and finely crafted character.
La Grande Dame is more than a fine wine. It stands out where you least expect it, and never ceases to surprise.
The year 2018 was marked by contrasting climatic conditions. After a particularly rainy winter, the summer was long, hot and sunny. These conditions resulted in an exceptional, generous, and high-quality harvest.
This quality of harvest fully benefits the Pinot Noirs, enhancing their depth and precision, revealing a harmonious balance between freshness and aromatic complexity.
2015 was an exceptional year for Champagne. After a very mild winter, spring began with a particularly cold period, followed by high temperatures. In the month of June, plenty of sun and little rain produced a homogenous flowering. The grapes harvested in mid-September, in the coolness of fall, have given birth to a great vintage.
It reveals its exceptional verticality thanks to the Pinot Noirs from the historic Crus of its terroir, which is among the most prestigious in Champagne: Verzenay, Verzy, Ambonnay, Bouzy, Ay.
Perfect expression of the sunlit maturity of this vintage despite low yields, the harvested grapes are ripe, intense, and balanced, reminiscent of the 1989 and 2002 harvests. A capricious year, 2012 exceeded expectations by proving to be an exceptional year. Despite the low quantity of grapes harvested, all these reasons convinced the Cellar Master to declare this year 2012 to give birth to a new edition of La Grande Dame.
La Grande Dame 2012 is a wine that is both precise and ethereal. This new vintage offers a strong minerality, combined with the freshness of its youth. Its aging potential is immense.
