Veuve Clicquot: 200th Rosé Anniversary

In 1818, Madame Clicquot transformed Champagne forever. By adding red wine to the white Yellow Label NV, she created the first ever blended rosé champagne: Veuve Clicquot Rosé NV, a fruity and full-bodied pink expression of the famous house style. Although revelatory at the time, this method of blending red and white wine was quickly adopted as the standard technique for rosé champagne production and, remarkably, is still the most common practice 200 years later. Back then it was elderberry juice added to the champagne, today the use of red wine is more of an art form and a very technical process that contributes different attributes to each tier of rosé that Clicquot produce.

To celebrate the 200th anniversary of Madame Clicquot’s invention, the house hosted both a magnificent dinner at the famous Manoir de Verzy in Champagne back in March, and an educational tasting at The Soho Hotel in London this week. Fortunately, we were lucky enough to be invited to both.

Red Wine

At the tasting event in London, winemaker Pierre Casenave introduced the challenge of producing red wine in Champagne. “We have to think very differently… it is not the same as Bordeaux… we [in Champagne] have to be very gentle and precise, a touch of bitterness can destroy it all,” he said. Although a difficult task, Casenave acknowledged that it is an interesting challenge and one that Clicquot are well positioned to approach – they have unique access to some of the best sites for red grapes in Champagne.

Of their 393 hectare estate, they own 29 hectares devoted solely to red wine production in the Grand Cru village of Bouzy, along with a few smaller parcels in Ambonnay, Aÿ, Verzenay and Verzy. Around 25% of their red wine requirement is supplied by their own vineyards, the rest is bought from Les Riceys –  the largest vineyard area in Champagne, famous for having its own rosé wine. Clicquot have also recently opened a new winery in Aube for red wine, although with just 200hl capacity, production volume is currently quite low.

“We take a Burgundian approach to red winemaking,” Casenave told us. This involves 2-4 days of cold maceration to encourage the development of fresh aromas. For this process, Clicquot use wide stainless steel tanks to increase the contact between skins and the juice. Each tank has its own pushing mechanism to circulate the skins, although gentle movement is key to prevent over extraction which could lend an undesirable bitterness to the finished wine. “We don’t want heavy red wines, we want colour and fruitiness,” Casenave added.

Clicquot produce three qualities of red wine for each three tiers of rosé champagne: non-vintage, vintage and prestige cuvée. Each wine has a very different character; it is the winemaker’s job to anticipate the ageing potential of each. The three we tasted were all produced in 2017 from grapes grown in different plots in Bouzy.

The first, which will be used in the non-vintage rosé, was from the Vaudayants plot and was much lighter and fresher than the others. The second, destined for a vintage rosé blend, was from the Grande Cure plot and had more concentration of fruit and peppery spice. The third, of prestige cuvée standard, was from the prized Clos Colin plot. This 1.6ha vineyard contains 26 year-old Pinot Noir vines and consistently produces the best Clicquot red wines, characterised by a deep colour and a dense, silky and more intense structure with soft but present tannins.