The oenological project manager and winemaker at Veuve Clicquot, Alexandra Doillon Jardin discusses the future of Champagne, their latest vintage, and her personal sources of inspiration.
Falstaff: This year, you introduced the new La Grande Dame 2018. Can you share what the 2025 vintage might look like?
Alexandra Doillon Jardin: It's still a little early, but yes: As winemakers, we press wine during the harvest and taste it every day in stainless steel tanks. This gives us a first idea of the vintage and also of what we will produce at the end of the fermentation process. We check whether there is enough acidity and whether there is a good balance. In my opinion, 2025 will be a really nice vintage with a very good balance between sweetness and acidity. I will be able share more in four months. We are twelve winemakers, who meet every day between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. from November to February to do blind tastings for all the harvested wines. We do a lot of them — and that is of course the most magical part of our work.
What does it take to make good champagne?
As winemakers we all have different tasks during the harvest. I work in winemaking in Bouzy, which is known for its red wine. Madame Clicquot was passionate about Pinot Noir and began blending it with white wine back then. This is how the first rosé blend was created in 1818. Today, this method is used throughout Champagne. This is something we are quite proud of. We pay a lot of attention to the production of red wine. This process is very magical and intense for me. Producing red wine is also quite unusual in Champagne.
The history of Champagne has been significantly shaped by women, particularly Barbe-Nicole Clicquot-Ponsardin (Madame Clicquot). How does that influence your daily work?
Madame Clicquot did not found the maison — her father-in-law did. She married François Clicquot, the son of founder Philippe Clicquot. The story goes that her husband suddenly died of a high fever, and she took over the business — one of the first women ever to do so at the time. She was also the first woman in France to hold a driver’s license.
Madame Clicquot was a very strong and committed woman. She was technically adept and knew her way around wine. She brought many innovations and new methods to Champagne. In addition to the rosé method, she invented the riddling rack for purifying champagne; before that, it was often very cloudy due to yeast and the second fermentation inside the bottle. Her third innovation was vintage champagne. Because the quality of wine varied from year to year, reserve wines from previous years were often blended in. In 1810, the weather was exceptional, and she decided to produce the first single vintage. As a woman, I am naturally very proud to work for this company. We strive to maintain and preserve the tradition of winemaking in Champagne, while also seeking new innovations to overcome challenges like climate change.
We do a lot of tasting - and that is of course the most magical part of our work.
Which challenges do you expect for the Champagne industry in the coming years?
On the one hand, of course, there is global warming. On the other hand, wine consumption is decreasing. These are certainly the two biggest challenges. As project development managers, we try to find solutions to combat global warming. We don't have a solution yet, but of course we're trying to adapt our wine-growing practices accordingly. Pinot Noir, for example, is a very sensitive grape variety that matures very slowly. It is therefore very well suited for Champagne, where the climate is cool. As we don't want the grapes to ripen too quickly due to global warming, we plant grass on the vineyards for a gentler ripening process. But we are very fortunate: When making Yellow Label Champagne, for example, we blend 60 percent of base wine, i.e. the wine of the year, with 40 to 45 percent reserve wine, i.e. wine from previous years. Sometimes the cuvée consists of up to 200 different wines in order to achieve the right balance, consistency and style of Yellow Label – we try to adapt as much as possible.
What is your vision for the coming years?
We want to preserve the tradition of champagne production of course. And we have to experiment with innovations, that's for sure. That's why we want to spread our love of Pinot Noir and preserve the tradition of Madame Clicquot. We don't have to reinvent anything and we are also very fortunate as champagne is now recognized as wine. My vision is to drink champagne throughout an entire dinner - as an aperitif, with the starter, with the main course and with dessert.
The two new cuvées by Veuve Clicquot, RICH and RICH Rosé, were presented under the motto "Enjoy on Ice, under the Sun". Do you sometimes like to drink champagne on the rocks yourself?
Yes, I find that ice and the sweetness of the Veuve Clicquot RICH form a perfect balance. You have to drink it at a much lower temperature than a classic cuvée. Some may say: "I don't like sweet champagne", but if you drink it at the right temperature, it tastes differently because various fruity notes come to the fore – Veuve Clicquot RICH is full of tropical fruit. But of course I don't drink La Grande Dame with ice cubes, for example. But for the RICH cuvées, it's a very good fit.
How do you personally prefer to enjoy champagne?
That depends entirely on the day. Sometimes I'm just happy to be at home, with a good glass of champagne and nothing else. Sometimes I also like to have something to eat and try out new things. Incidentally, the best time to taste champagne is at eleven in the morning or four in the afternoon, because that's when you're a bit hungry. And when you're a little hungry, your taste buds and palate are receptive to a lot more flavors, textures and structures. I also prefer to enjoy champagne with friends and in a simple manner. This can be over an aperitif or during dinner, especially because champagne can be combined with many different dishes. For example, Champagne La Grand Dame 2018 with raw fish and a little yuzu. You can drink the Vintage Rosé Champagne with spicy food, such as Chinese dishes, which goes fantastically well with it. Or the Non Vintage Rosé with grilled red meat. There are many combinations. You should just try them out.
