Veuve Clicquot Grande Dame 2006

95 pts Decanter

Wine Profile

ratings

How does Veuve Clicquot’s cellarmaster Dominique Demarville do it? This high wire Prestige Cuvée act walks the tightrope with such confidence and ease. Unusually for the house, the blend is just 53% Pinot Noir and 47% Chardonnay but like every great champagne its ‘ying and yang’ are in perfect symmetry. So we have the volume, structure and depth balanced by the cut and thrust of the acidity. On the palate are layers of cream, honey, nuts, brioche, pear, marzipan and ginger. The texture is shimmeringly silky and full. The finish alone deserves an ovation and demands an encore. Bravo.

tasting notes

A fine and lacy mousse is draped over a firm frame of well-integrated acidity, belying the complexity of this elegant Champagne. A delicately woven tapestry of black currant, piecrust, chalk, spring blossom and lemon zest flavors ends with a lasting note of smoke-tinged minerality. Drink now through 2029.