Veuve Clicquot Brut Vintage
The dry side of the house. All the grapes come from the same harvest, part of the wine ages in large wooden foudres, and only 9 grams of sugar per liter go into it. You can taste that last figure in every sip.
Nine grams of sugar and a harvest that won't return
Vintage champagne is made only in years when the harvest is good enough to stand on its own without reserve wines. That is the key difference from Yellow Label, which uses 30 to 45 percent reserve wine to taste the same every year. Here, the opposite happens: each vintage is a snapshot in time, with this bottle containing 51 percent pinot noir, 34 percent chardonnay, and 15 percent meunier. In addition to aging in bottle, part of the wine spends time in large wooden foudres, which you notice in the rounder, broader palate.
The number that best defines this champagne is its dosage: 9 grams of sugar per liter. In champagne, sugar is not a flavoring but a buffer; it rounds off acidity and makes a wine more approachable. At 9 grams, that buffer is virtually absent, so you taste the wine itself, including its mature notes. By comparison, the Demi-Sec from the same house contains 45 grams per liter, five times as much. Two bottles, the same label, and two completely different roles at the table.
In brief
Caramelized apricot, fig, and mocha
Spicy and toasty
Elegant and lightly spicy, with caramelized apricot and toast. Behind that come fig, honey, and even a truffle-like note, the kind of aromas that only emerge after years.
Dry and broad
At 9 grams per liter, nothing softens the acidity, yet it still feels broad. That breadth comes from aging, not sugar.
Notes
The finish turns toward hazelnut and almond and lingers for a long time. The longer you wait before the next sip, the clearer the mocha becomes.
Flavor profile of the Brut Vintage. A low dosage means that temperature and glassware matter more: there is no sugar to cover up a mistake.
Give it time in the glass
Keep it between 8 and 10 degrees and choose the higher end of that range. Serving it ice-cold closes off precisely the notes this bottle took years to develop.
Tasting from a wine glass
Pour 10 cl into a white wine glass and let it stand for five minutes. Honey, fig, and mocha emerge during those five minutes; in a narrow glass, they remain trapped below the rim.
Wine glasses →With grilled fish
This is a bottle for the table, not for drinking by the door. With grilled fish or poultry in a cream sauce, the dry style cuts through the richness and the toasted character complements the dish. Allow 12 cl per glass.
Glass: tulip or wine glass →Open without a bang
Keep your thumb on the cork, twist the bottle rather than the cork, and let it sigh out. That way you don't lose any carbonation, and especially with a low dosage, you need that mousse to carry the wine.
Bar tools →What to mix and what not to mix with it
A vintage champagne with 9 grams disappears beneath liqueur or juice: you dilute away exactly what you are paying for. For the classics below, it is better to use Yellow Label Brut.
Champagne Cocktail
Sugar cube with Angostura bitters at the bottom, gently topped up with bubbles. Use a standard brut here.
French 75
Gin, lemon juice, and syrup shaken together, then topped up with champagne. The gin determines the flavor, not the bottle.
Mimosa
Equal parts orange juice and bubbles. The juice masks every nuance, so keep it simple.
Aperitif cocktails
An overview of light serves for before the meal, most of which call for a simple brut.A mature champagne needs room
The bubbles aren't the main point here; the aroma is. A white wine glass or a spacious tulip glass brings out apricot, honey, and mocha. Choose the narrow flute only if you mainly want to make a long toast.
More Veuve Clicquot flavors
Veuve Clicquot
Where it began. On the brand page, you can read all about Veuve Clicquot: its origins, varieties, and classic cocktails.
To Veuve Clicquot →
Veuve Clicquot Rosé
Copper-colored, full, and juicy. Raspberry, wild strawberry, and cherry, with pastry underneath.
View Veuve Clicquot Rosé →
Veuve Clicquot Demi Sec
Ripe, candy-like fruit and wine gums over freshly toasted bread. The house's dessert bottle.
View Veuve Clicquot Demi Sec →
Veuve Clicquot Rich
Citrus and floral notes, full and rounded. Intended for ice cubes and one garnish.
View Veuve Clicquot Rich →
Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame
Made exclusively from Grand Cru grapes, floral and silky smooth. The bottle for oysters and caviar.
View Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame →
Veuve Clicquot Extra Brut Extra Old
Made entirely from reserve wines, the oldest dating back to 1988. Silky smooth, complex, and elegant.
View Veuve Clicquot Extra Brut Extra Old →Everything about champagne: the types, the best-known brands, and the cocktails.
Questions about Veuve Clicquot Brut Vintage
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