VeuveClicquotVintage2002Jeroboam

Founded in 1772, Veuve Clicquot is a House steeped in rich history that owes its success largely to one woman, Barbe-Nicole Clicquot-Ponsardin. Madame Clicquot also invented the riddling rack on her kitchen table, an apparatus that removes the sediment from the bottle after second fermentation still used in the region today. Veuve Clicquot own a respectable 382 hectares of vineyards with an emphasis on Pinot Noir. The House maintains the largest collection of old reserve wines in Champagne, these help give Yellow Label its complexity while ensuring the high quality is maintained in the world’s second bestselling Champagne brand. In 2008 Dominique Demarville joined as Cellar Master, he “refreshed the brandâ€?including increasing the proportion of Pinot Noir in La Grande Dame to 90%+ and with blending shifts he brought a new freshness in Yellow Label. In 2019 Didier Mariotti took over as Cellar Master.rrIt all started with the exceptional nature of the 1810 harvest, which led Madame Clicquot to create a blend composedsolely of the wines from the year. Once again, her extraordinary audacity was at work: at barely 30 years old, shedeveloped the first-known vintage in Champagne. But there is more to this story. At the time, the wines were shipped without labels. Madame Clicquot, with her visionary spirit, tied a yellow ribbon around the neck of the vintage bottles to distinguish them from non-vintage wine. The “yellow ribbonâ€?that she mentioned in her correspondence was born, and today still adorns the bottles of Veuve Clicquot Vintages, such as Veuve Clicquot Vintage 2012, as a tribute to Madame Clicquot. As with every Veuve Clicquot champagne, Pinot Noir dominates the blend (60%) exclusively from Grands and Premier Crus from the Montagne de Reims and the Vallée de la Marne (Verzy, Verzenay, Ludes, Ambonnay, Bouzy, Tauxières, Avenay and Aÿ). Then 7% of Meunier from the Montagne de Reims (Ludes) and the Vallée de la Marne (Dizy) brings roundness to this cuvée. The uniqueness of the Veuve Clicquot Vintage collection remains in the addition of wines aged in large oak casks, bringing strength and aromatic intensity. The dominance of Pinot Noir and the wooden touch deliver structure and character, trademark of the Veuve Clicquot’s style. This is the 63rd vintage since 1810 and a year where no prestige cuvee, La Grande Dame, was made allowing an even more wonderful wine choice for the blend.rrWeather: The 2002 vintage shaped up ideally over the spring, with no significant frost and near-perfect flowering. Then followed a summer marked by long, sunny periods interspersed with regular cloudy and rainy spells. The vines were in good health and the dehydration of the grape berries helped them reach new heights of ripeness.rrTechnical Information:rGrape Varieties: 60% Pinot Noir, 33% Chardonnay & 7 % MeunierrLees Ageing: 18 years rDisgorged: November 2022rDosage: 8 g/lrDrink: Now to 2035rrTasting Note: Gorgeous toasty nose with straw, cream, apple and gunpowder. Burgundian tones to it and lots of layers. Concentrated palate with fine acid line, fine velvety texture and long, juicy length. â€?Tasted by Essi Avellan MWrrWatch Nick & Essi’s video tasting review of this champagne here.