Tasting Notes for Veuve Clicquot Rose

Champagne & Sparkling	Rosé	Champagne	France - Other regions

My Rating (circle) :

Date Printed: 11/25/2009

Veuve Clicquot Rose

(search item no. 87191)
The Wine News rating: 93 points
Wine & Spirits rating: 91 points
PRICE ON 11/25/2009: $61.99

Winemaker's Notes:

Our non-vintage rosé is the end result of a desire to create a rosé champagne with a delightfully luscious, fruit-based charm. Jacques Péters, the cellarmaster, and his team wanted a champagne that would be accessible and naturally engaging while conserving Veuve Clicquot's essential values in terms of style.

Made using 50 to 60 different crus, the cuvee is based on Brut Yellow Label's traditional blend: 50 to 55% Pinot Noir, 15 to 20% Pinot Meunier, and 28 to 33% Chardonnay.

The blend includes a particularly high percentage (25-35%, sometimes 40%) of reserve wines originating from several harvests (usually 5 or 6), which ensures the consistency of the house style. The reserve wines, some of which are 9 years old, are kept separately depending on the origin of the crus and the years in which the wines were produced. This blend is completed with 12% of red wines using red grapes especially raised and selected to give a marvellous balance to this rosé.

My Notes:

Additional wines from Veuve Clicquot:

Brut Yellow Label (search item no. 528)
Brut Yellow Label (half-bottle) (search item no. 15512)
Congratulations with Demi-Sec & Godiva Chocolates (search item no. 99034)
Demi-Sec (search item no. 706)
Happy Birthday with Demi-Sec & Godiva Chocolates (search item no. 99025)
Happy Holidays with Demi-Sec & 19-pc Godiva Chocolates (search item no. 100648)
In the Wine Country with Demi-Sec & Godiva Chocolates (search item no. 99022)
The Perfect Match: Demi-Sec & Godiva Chocolates (search item no. 99041)
Traveller (750ML bottle, 2 flutes & tote) (search item no. 88444)

About Veuve Clicquot:

The House was founded by Philippe Clicquot in 1772. Since its inception, Veuve Clicquot has been a specialist in Champagnes based on Pinot Noir, especially Rosé. In 1803, François Clicquot was married to Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin. Madame Clicquot was widowed just two years later. Veuve Clicquot (Veuve means widow in French) took over her husband's business. In 1810, the house took the name Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin. The way that she ran her company, from risky overseas ventures to startling technological innovations, changed Champagne forever. Her motto is still the guiding principle of our company – "Only one quality – the finest."

In 1816, Mme. Clicquot invented the process, called rémuage or riddling, that removes the yeast from the bottle. She used holes cut in her kitchen table to perfect the method of slowly tilting and turning the bottles to gather the spent yeast in the neck of the bottle. Once settled it could be removed by freezing the neck in a brine of salt and water, removing it, and recorking.

The company was taken public in 1963, and merged with Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessey in 1986. Today, Jacques Peters is the chief winemaker at Veuve Clicquot, and was appointed cellar master in 1985. He has undertaken an ambitious program since this time to upgrade the grape sources, improve the vineyards, and improve the cellars and production facilities.