Veuve Clicquot making changes to La Grande Dame

From Decanter: Veuve Clicquot to raise Pinot Noir in La Grande Dame

What do you think of the change?

I know that Champagne has changed mightily over the years (I remember reading back when they found cases of fizz in a shipwreck in good condition, that the caveat to the tasters was that 100+ years ago, Champagne was considerably sweeter than it is now) – do you think this is a trend, or Clicquot’s attempt to set themselves apart from the crowd?

I think nothing has changed . . . that is to say,

  1. EVERY Champagne house has its own individual (and recognized) “house style.” That’s what distinguishes (e.g.) Veuve Clicquot from Roederer from MoĂ«t from Lanson from Taittinger from Mumm from . . .
  2. Every house wants to sell their product, and to keep their customers happy.

To my palate, Clicquot is on the “full(er) bodied” side of the spectrum. In that regard, increasing the percentage of Pinot Noir in their tĂȘte de cuvĂ©e “La Grande Dame” isn’t a huge leap. That said,

‘It is a risk we take,’ said [Veuve Clicquot chef de cave Dominique] Demarville. ‘It’s not because we want to dramatically change the style of La Grande Dame, but because we want to play the game of the elegance of Pinot Noir.’

I suspect he’s right, in that there will be no “dramatic change.” Obviously, we’ll see taste the results in a few years.

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