Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne

Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne is one of the most prestigious and recognized champagne houses in the world. Founded in 1772 in Reims, it gained its renown thanks to the audacity and innovative spirit of Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin, nicknamed the “Grande Dame de Champagne.”

Madame Clicquot: The Woman Behind the Legend

The history of Veuve Clicquot is inseparable from that of Barbe Nicole Ponsardin. Born in 1777, she married François Clicquot, a wine merchant, in 1798. But fate struck quickly: in 1805, François suddenly passed away, leaving Nicole a widow at just 27, with a young daughter and the management of a struggling family business. At a time when women had little to no place in the business world, Madame Clicquot (later nicknamed “the Great Dame of Champagne”) showed extraordinary determination and vision. Against everyone’s advice, she took the reins of the company and decided to focus exclusively on the production of Champagne, a beverage that was still developing at the time.

Revolutionary innovations

Madame Clicquot’s insight was not limited to her entrepreneurial bravery. She was a true pioneer:

• The riddling table (1816): She is credited with this brilliant invention. Before her, bottles were shaken by hand to settle the sediment. Madame Clicquot had the idea to drill holes in a table to incline the bottles upside down, thus facilitating the riddling and concentration of the sediment in the neck. This made it possible to obtain a clearer and higher-quality Champagne, a process still used today!

• Vintage Champagne (1810): She was the first to produce a vintage Champagne, thus recognizing the importance of the specific characteristics of each year.

• The blending of red wines for Rosé (1818): She is also credited with the innovation of creating the first Rosé Champagne by blending white wine and red wine, a method now common in Champagne.

Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin champagnes

Madame Clicquot, a true visionary, made Pinot Noir the soul of Veuve Clicquot. She acquired ten of the House’s twelve historic plots on the Montagne de Reims, the birthplace of the finest Pinot Noirs. For over two centuries, this grape variety has brilliantly expressed the complexity of the terroir and the uniqueness of the vintages, thus perpetuating “The Art of Pinot Noir” so dear to the founder.

The “La Grande Dame” Cuvée

La Grande Dame is a tribute to Madame Clicquot and the creative and elegant souls who followed in her footsteps. It’s a wine in the image of La Grande Dame herself. Madame Clicquot used her determination, intuition, and vision to select and acquire exceptional Grand Cru plots with outstanding grapes.

VEUVE CLICQUOT PONSARDIN La Grande Dame 1996

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