Veuve Clicquot
The house of the yellow label from Reims, which grew under a widow who took over the reins at the age of twenty-seven. What's in Yellow Label, how the other bottles differ and which glass goes with it.
The widow's house and the yellow label
Philippe Clicquot came from a family of bankers and textile merchants, but founded a champagne house in Reims in 1772. In 1805, his son François died, and his wife, the then twenty-seven-year-old Barbe Clicquot Ponsardin, took over the business. She is regarded as one of the first businesswomen of the modern era, with a series of firsts to her name: the first known vintage champagne, the invention of the riddling rack and the first known blended rosé. Her motto was brief: only one quality, the finest.
The yellow label that the house is known for was registered by Edouard in 1877 under the name V. Clicquot P. Werlé, for champagne that was slightly drier and became a great success in England. The fact that Yellow Label tastes the same year after year is because 30 to 45 percent reserve wine from earlier vintages is used in the blend. The bottle itself is 12% ABV, with 50 to 55 percent pinot noir, 28 to 33 percent chardonnay and 15 to 20 percent meunier.
In brief
From bone-dry to dessert-sweet
The house covers almost the entire sweetness scale. Brut Vintage contains 9 grams of sugar per litre, while Demi Sec contains 45.
Yellow Label Brut
Golden yellow with lively bubbles, yellow and white fruit with vanilla and brioche. Fruity, fresh and powerful, with pear, citrus and almond.
Rosé
Deep copper-pink, with raspberry, wild strawberry, cherry and blackberry, followed by notes of pastry. Full-bodied and vinous.
Brut Vintage
Vintage champagne made from 51% pinot noir, 34% chardonnay and 15% meunier. Dried apricot, fig, honey and mocha.
Demi Sec
The house's sweet bottle, with ripe candy-like fruit, berries and freshly toasted bread.
Rich
Designed to be poured over ice with one additional ingredient: grapefruit, pineapple, bell pepper or cucumber. Citrus and floral notes.
La Grande Dame
The prestige bottle, named after Barbe Clicquot Ponsardin. Floral, silky and balanced.
Extra Old
Made entirely from reserve wines: over 400 wines from 17 vintages, the oldest from 1988.
Our champagne page contains the entire sweetness scale, from brut nature to demi-sec, including the grams of sugar.
Yellow fruit, vanilla and a vinous finish
Yellow fruit & brioche
Yellow and white fruit, followed by vanilla and brioche. That bread note comes from aging on the lees and is particularly pronounced in this house style.
Fruity and powerful
Fruity, fresh and powerful, with pear and citrus and notes from extended bottle aging. More body than you would expect from a 12% bottle.
Vinous with almond
A beautiful vinous finish full of diverse fruit and almond. This vinous character comes largely from the reserve wines.
Flavor profile of Yellow Label Brut. With 45 grams of sugar per liter, the Demi Sec scores much higher on sweetness, while the Brut Vintage is lower.
Three ways to serve Veuve Clicquot
Chill the bottle to 8 to 10 degrees and, when opening it, twist the bottle instead of the cork so that it comes out with a sigh.
Straight as an aperitif
Pour along the side of a tilted glass and fill it to about two-thirds. A 75 cl bottle yields about five glasses. Yellow Label is just as good as an aperitif as it is with a dish, such as sushi.
Glass: flute or tulip →Rich over ice
Fill a large wine glass with ice cubes, add one ingredient of your choice and pour in the chilled Rich. For the white version, grapefruit, pineapple, bell pepper or cucumber work well; for the rosé, lime, ginger or pineapple.
More about champagne →In a cocktail
For a Kir Royal or a Mimosa, you don't need to open a prestige bottle. An ordinary brut is more than sufficient, because the cassis or orange juice largely determines the taste anyway.
To the cocktails →The best cocktails with Veuve Clicquot
Kir Royal
Crème de cassis at the bottom, then gently top up with champagne.
Mimosa
Equal parts orange juice and bubbles, with a splash of Cointreau.
Champagne Cocktail
A sugar cube with bitters at the bottom, then slowly topped up.
French 75
Gin, lemon and syrup shaken, topped up with champagne.The right glass for Veuve Clicquot
A flute for toasting, a tulip glass for the aromas and a large wine glass for Rich over ice. These are the glasses we recommend ourselves.
Everything you still wanted to know about Veuve Clicquot
Can't find your question here? Check out our cocktail recipes or get in touch.
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