The champagne house Veuve Clicquot presented the latest edition of its prestige cuvée La Grande Dame at a historic dinner in Paris. To mark the launch, Falstaff spoke to winemaker Gaëlle Goossens about the 2018 vintage and the special history behind it.
This year's presentation of Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 2018 in Paris pulled out all the stops, with 11 chefs sharing no less than 18 Michelin stars between them each creating a dish to match the new vintage. Among them were 3-star chef Enrico Crippa from Piazza Duomo in Alba, Kanji Kobayashi from Japan and Dario Cadonau from the Swiss hotel In Lain Cadonau. The lucky 100 that were invited to the Galerie de Minéralogie et de Géologie had ample opportunity to sample the prestigious cuvée. As part of the presentation, Falstaff spoke to Gaëlle Goossens, one of Veuve Clicquot's winemakers.
Falstaff: Congratulations on the new edition of La Grande Dame. What characterizes the 2018 vintage?
Gaëlle Goossens: 2018 was an exceptional year in Champagne – for all grape varieties. We had sunny weather during the ripening phase, but the soil remained cool thanks to rain during the growing season. This is crucial for freshness in the finished wines. The previous 2015 vintage was also warm and sunny, but the soil was noticeably dry. The 2018 vintage therefore shows a little more finesse and freshness than 2015.
When did you decide that 2018 would be a year for La Grande Dame?
We never make this decision during the harvest. From October onward, we start tasting all our wines to get an impression. By March or April, we've created the final composition for our Yellow Label base cuvée. Only then can we definitively decide whether or not to produce La Grande Dame. It also depends on how much reserve wine we have in the cellar – we need to be able to afford La Grande Dame, so to speak. We are currently deciding whether there will be a La Grande Dame for the 2024 vintage.
Is this decision made as a team?
Of course, we have tasting teams. But this decision ultimately lies with our cellar master, Didier Mariotti.
La Grande Dame is a tribute to Barbe-Nicole Clicquot-Ponsardin, who gave the house its name. How does her story inspire your daily work?
This wine in particular is dedicated to her. Her notion of quality inspires us every day. Our Yellow Label recipe is still based on her original cuvée.
And what does that mean for La Grande Dame specifically?
Madame Clicquot loved Pinot Noir and Burgundy wines. She appreciated the finesse and precision of thes varieties – which we channel to full effect for La Grande Dame. The wine consists of 90 percent Pinot Noir and 10 percent Chardonnay. It is very pure, precise and fresh. It's about the texture of Pinot Noir and the terroir it grew in. Madame Clicquot remains our inspiration to this day – finesse before strength.
