Winemaker Notes
Experience the purest expression of Pinot Noir with La Grande Dame 2018. This year, Veuve Clicquot unveils the 2018 vintage of La Grande Dame, a celebration of Madame Clicquot's unique vision, drive and audacity.
Now, in this 25th vintage of the cuvée, discover the expression of a centuries-old craftsmanship and an unprecedented year, offering a maturity of grapes close to perfection. From a harvest when the sun was truly smiling.
From the gift box sheathed in "toile du Marais" to the bottle wrapped in white linen, this limited edition reflects Simon Porte Jacquemus' singular vision: where artisanal excellence meets everyday poetry. Sun rays and a ribbon alternating the Veuve Clicquot logo and Simon's signature bridge the worlds of couture and champagne.
Blend: 90% Pinot Noir, 10% Chardonnay
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
The long sunny days and warmth of the 2018 vintage has provided glowing stone and citrus fruit to this glorious Grande Dame. While the initial attack plays on various riffs of lemon oil, verbena, orange rind and grapefruit, it's the deeply mineral and tightly wound core that surprises most with this wine, and this is what will ensure its long-term ageing potential. Delectable candied orange rind builds to a crescendo of yuzu and coconut cream. A luminous and energetic iteration of La Grande Dame.
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Wine Spectator
This finely detailed Champagne teases the palate with pinprick-sized bubbles and lightly mouthwatering acidity, a harmonious frame for flavors of patisserie pear and cherry fruit, pickled ginger, almond biscotti and spun honey. This is subtle at first but expands beautifully on the palate, and the long, minerally finish echoes smoke and oyster shell notes. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Disgorged February 2024. Drink now through 2040.
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James Suckling
A lovely perfume of subtle cooked apples, heather, jasmine and flint follows through to a medium body with a dense palate of fruit. Hints of pears and lychees with some honey and a touch of marzipan. A blend of 90% pinot noir and 10% chardonnay. Drink or hold.
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Vinous
The 2018 La Grande Dame is a very pretty wine that shows the contemporary style that is prevalent here these days. Floral overtones lift a core of citrus fruit, while marzipan, anise, mint, dried pear and spice open with a bit of coaxing. The 2018 is a delicate Grand Dame, as most Champagnes are in a vintage in which yields were exceptionally high. I especially admire the finesse here. Disgorged: September 2024.
Representing the topmost expression of a Champagne house, a vintage Champagne is one made from the produce of a single, superior harvest year. Vintage Champagnes account for a mere 5% of total Champagne production and are produced about three times in a decade. Champagne is typically made as a blend of multiple years in order to preserve the house style; these will have non-vintage, or simply, NV on the label. The term, "vintage," as it applies to all wine, simply means a single harvest year.
Associated with luxury, celebration, and romance, the region, Champagne, is home to the world’s most prized sparkling wine. In order to bear the label, ‘Champagne’, a sparkling wine must originate from this northeastern region of France—called Champagne—and adhere to strict quality standards. Made up of the three towns Reims, Épernay, and Aÿ, it was here that the traditional method of sparkling wine production was both invented and perfected, birthing a winemaking technique as well as a flavor profile that is now emulated worldwide.
Well-drained, limestone and chalky soil defines much of the region, which lend a mineral component to its wines. Champagne’s cold, continental climate promotes ample acidity in its grapes but weather differences from year to year can create significant variation between vintages. While vintage Champagnes are produced in exceptional years, non-vintage cuvées are produced annually from a blend of several years in order to produce Champagnes that maintain a consistent house style.
With nearly negligible exceptions, . These can be blended together or bottled as individual varietal Champagnes, depending on the final style of wine desired. Chardonnay, the only white variety, contributes freshness, elegance, lively acidity and notes of citrus, orchard fruit and white flowers. Pinot Noir and its relative Pinot Meunier, provide the backbone to many blends, adding structure, body and supple red fruit flavors. Wines with a large proportion of Pinot Meunier will be ready to drink earlier, while Pinot Noir contributes to longevity. Whether it is white or rosé, most Champagne is made from a blend of red and white grapes—and uniquely, rosé is often produce by blending together red and white wine. A Champagne made exclusively from Chardonnay will be labeled as ‘blanc de blancs,’ while ones comprised of only red grapes are called ‘blanc de noirs.’