I’ve never really been a fan of Veuve Clicquot for two reasons. Firstly, they always appear to be firmly aimed at a certain demographic of customers; the polo playing fashion conscious young with lots of money to waste and where presentation is everything. The company’s distinctive yellow label is seen anywhere there are trendy people and they appear, to focus on the on trade a lot more than the off. The second is that I've never really liked their non vintage!As a result, I’ve never really given Veuve Clicquot a chance to prove it’s worth to me. If I wanted a vintage champagne I’d always have opted for Pol Roger, Taittinger or, latterly, Moet & Chandon. Veuve was never given a chance.
Our last night of the trip was spent at Veuve Clicquot’s Manoir de Verzy. Not the splendour of Chateau Saran, but much more homely and a friendly place to be. We sat out in the sunshine filled garden drinking a bottle of Yellow Label, already established as not one of my favourites, and we were shocked. This wine was outstanding! Normally, to me, the non vintage Veuve is quite tart, a lot of high acid and masses of zingy, zesty fruit and bundles of minerals. As a result, I’ve avoided it because it isn’t the style of wine I want. Chill it right down, effectively killing the flavour, and I could drink it, but normally, I’d avoid it. This bottle however was richer, rounder, far more balanced with hints of honey coming through the citrus fruit. We learned that this bottle had a bit of bottle age on it, resulting in a mature bottle of really delightful champagne.
An aperitif of 1998 Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame followed. Showing their prestige cuvee first was a bold move, but an inspired one. It is a lovely wine, but has a lot of freshness that cleans your palate before a meal. There was dark honey aromas, some dusty stones and spice, and a palate that was quite minerally, but with a super, elegant element to it. Almonds and candied fruit finished off this wine – it was super. So why did they show their latest prestige cuvee first? The fact that it is still a young wine (relatively speaking!) meant that it would not go that well with food, it would simply clash. So, if you are showing a young wine off, you might as well make it your best! Then they showed what Veuve Clicquot is brilliant at. This champagne house’s wines are brilliant with food.
The first course was served with 2002 Veuve Clicquot Vintage. It was lobster with asparagus and citrus fruits and the zingy, zesty elements of the champagne really complimented the fruit, and the mineral elements of the wine paired perfectly with the lobster and the acid cleaned up your mouth delightfully.
1999 Veuve Clicquot Vintage Rose followed with a fillet of beef with potatoes and truffle essence. You wouldn’t believe that a rose champagne could survive being matched with steak, potatoes and a rich sauce, but not only did it survive, it shone. The dark, meaty aromas of the wine, wild strawberries, spice and a lot of cranberries complimented the aromas coming off the plate. Once in the mouth, there was a mature, smoked spice, some Black Jack chewy sweet flavours, cassis and some green, under ripe fruit. This just worked perfectly with the strong flavours of the food. It was a seriously impressive pairing, executed expertly by the chef.
The 1999 rose continued through a cheese course, and dessert was served with Veuve Clicquot Demi Sec, served out of a carafe! Our host informed us that decanting the wine increased the sweetness and helped to amplify the oxidation of the Pinot Meunier in the wine. The carafe had been put in the freezer so there was ice surrounding the glass, and then decanted into it before being poured into the glasses. It complimented a Coxes Orange Pippin cheesecakey dessert (I know, I’ll never be a food critic) perfectly and, again, the wine stood up to very bold flavours from the course very well. As great as the 1959 Moet was the night before, it clashed with the dessert. This wine, which I really wouldn’t normally want to drink as it is far too sweet, was outstanding.
After dinner we sat down and we were brought a bottle of 1985 Veuve Clicquot Rose. A light, orange colour, with marmalade and spice on the palate, with some lemon and brioche. There was a little crusty bread aroma coming off the wine with dried strawberries and raspberry. It was a lovely wine and a perfect end to our evening and our trip.
Postscript
My trip to Champagne was unbelievable. I am so fortunate to have tasted so many outstanding wines, met lovely and interesting people and been looked after by my hosts so well. But there is one thing that will stay with me more than all the splendour and sparkle that I experienced, and that was a wall in Epernay.
I’ve studied the First and Second World Wars in the past, but had never made a trip to a battlefield, and didn’t expect to visit one on this trip. I remember, years ago, reading that grapes were harvested during the First World War to the sound of gunfire, but it had never really been real to me. But on my first day in Champagne, a casual walk up the Avenue du Champagne made it very clear how close war came to champagne, and I found myself on a battlefield.
In the wall of a building, yards away from the likes of Pol Roger, Perrier Jouet and, of course, Moet & Chandon, was a stone with five bullet holes in it in the shape of an arc. These holes, showing the movement of a machine gun being aimed at a soldier, made me realise very quickly that the First World War was fought, not just trenches in wide open fields, but on the streets of Europe, amongst palaces, homes and above wine cellars.Thinking back to the trip around Moet’s cellars, seeing the 1892, 1904, 1907 and 1911 vintages, virtually undisturbed for all these years, it occurred to me that those wines were sitting in the same cellars when that soldier was being shot at a few hundred yards away and made me realise how fortunate I am. I get to try exceedingly good wines, and get to live a wonderful, free life because people like that soldier, be him British, French or German, were prepared to give their life for what they believed in. That wall and those five holes will be the most powerful memory from my trip to Champagne in 2009.
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