A visit to Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Reims

12 May 2006.

When we decided to go to Etain for the Veuve Clicquot Dinner at the end of April, our visit to the Champagne region was still in the near future. While having a fantastic experience matching the 1999 vintages with some pretty amazing dishes we met Cyril Brun, one of the 10 winemakers at Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin (to give it its proper name). Cyril very kindly invited us over to visit VCP's headquarters in Reims while in the region. And what a visit that turned out to be!

On arrival we were welcomed by Isabelle Pierre, who apart from sporting corporate hair colours has a great knowledge of VCP's history. She showed us round the small museum and then into the vast cellars. Cellar tours come in two categories really. One is the cleaned up, and very polished version where you see very little work and a lot of pretty pictures. Ruinart's tour with its beautiful crayeres falls into this category. The other side is the warts and all tour you get from De Castellane in Epernay. The cellars are dark, damp and on a wet day it rains inside. Keep looking over your shoulder as you expect to be run over any moment by one of the carts trailing crates of bottles ready for the final dosage. The bottling hall resembles a small size Coca-Cola factory, but this is much more the reality of Champagne than the cleaned up versions. (and not a bad Champagne, incidentally)

Veuve Clicquot's cellar tour is somewhere in the middle. You get to see the nice picturesque bits, but not far from that you can hear the hive of activity. It's the only house I've ever visited with road markings in its cellars. A strange idea, but no doubt necessary.

Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin was founded by the widow (Veuve) of Francois Clicquot after his death when she was in her late twenties. Francois was really a textile merchant but he inherited some vineyards and in 1778 some of the first bottles were shipped to Great Britain. Barbe Nicole Ponsardin bought the company from her father in law, Philippe Clicquot Muiron, after her husband's death. She made herself famous for her tenacity and business acumen. She established a profitable export to St Petersburg with the 1811 vintage, which has also been dubbed the 'Comet Vintage' as Halley's Comet made its appearance and many believed it imparted a magical quality to the wines. The star in the VCP logo symbolises the comet's influence on the house.

In 1844 Eduard Werle is appointed. He turns out to be one of the most influential winemakers, but also takes over the running of the company after the widow dies when she is well into her eighties. The Hotel du Marc, where we end up having lunch with Cyril Brun was Werle's family home, although he hardly ever stayed there.

The one thing that made Nicole famous was the fact she turned her dining table into a riddling rack, making the whole process of 'remuage' (moving the sediment into the neck of the bottle before removal) controllable and much easier.

VCP currently has around 24 km of cellars accessible from the visitor centre just inside Reims. This site is also the main production plant. The crayeres, basically the oldest parts of the cellars, often excavated in Roman times, are all named after employees who have reached their 40 years of service. They are at a constant temperature of around 10-11 degrees Celsius with 95% humidity.

As we come back up via a staircase showing all the vintages the house has ever produced, the spring sun quickly warms us up again. Isabelle now takes us to another part of the estate and into the tasting rooms used to create Veuve Clicquot. Here we are welcomed by Cyril Brun who takes us through some of the 2005 base wines (Vins Clair) and a few of Veuve's reserve wines. This allows us a unique insight into the constituent parts that make up the Yellow Label Veuve Clicquot.

It certainly opened my eyes (and nose). Very acidic, tart, unapproachable wines in their youth, somehow transform into this pale golden sparkling liquid when mastered by a handful of dedicated winemakers.

What becomes clear is the attention to detail, but also the singularity of the house style. Dominated by Pinot Noir it is structured, complex and firm. Cyril also explains the use of Pinot Meunier, a slightly misunderstood grape variety. It is often seen as inferior, but in the right quantities can certainly add fruitiness and drinkability.

I will spare you the tasting notes as you soon get tired of descriptions like young, tart, acidic, lemon, apple and sharp. I'll tell you one thing, tasting these wines is not easy by any means. (And certainly not for your teeth's enamel)

When Cyril suggests it's lunchtime, we don't disagree. After following him through the streets of Reims, we arrive at the Hotel du Marc. Right in the heart of the city this oasis of calm in the middle of a walled garden is a glorious sight. The immaculately turned out waiting staff serving Veuve Clicquot Rose, make an equally glorious picture. The sun is splitting the sky, so we'll sit on the lawn and feel like royalty for an afternoon. Cyril talks to us about his passion for Veuve Clicquot and the Rose in particular. He is from a winemaking family based in Ay and still owns a small vineyard. Cyril has been instrumental in bringing the NV Rose to market and is justifiably proud of his achievement. Only just launched in the UK it is already proving a success.

As we head into the private dining room for our lunch, Cyril explains he showed his chef the menu we had at Etain and asks him to come up with something even more spectacular. Matched by the same three wines are once again, two starters, two main courses and two desserts. The main difference is that this time we taste all three wines (from the 99 vintage) with all six courses, so we can make up our own mind about what works and what doesn't.

And work it does:

Aspic de Homard et Melon

(Aspic of Lobster with Melon)

followed by;

Saint Jacques au Pesto et Mousseline d'Asperges

(Scallops with a Pesto dressing and Asparagus Mousse)

My favourite combination was the Saint Jacques with the 1999 Vintage Reserve. It works really well with the greenness of the asparagus and the pesto. All in all it made the starter really refreshing.

The Aspic de Homard combined very well with the 1999 Rose Reserve, picking up a nice savoury note.

The main courses;

Riz de Veau Braise aux Truffes et Lentilles Roses au Champagne

(Braised Sweetbreads with Truffles and Champagne Lentils)

followed by;

Noisette d'Agneau a l'Orientale

(Lamb fillet oriental style)

Although sweetbread is not always my natural choice, I loved the combination of this dish with the 1999 Rich Reserve. The sweetness is just right and the whole thing is just a melt in the mouth experience. Perfect.

The second main course could be almost equally matched by the Rose Reserve or the Vintage Reserve, were it not for the 1989 Bouzy Rouge that appeared from the private cellars. I have to say, this was a real treat and after being disappointed the previous evening by an expensive but uninspiring version, this one blew my socks off.

A lovely brick colour fading pink towards the rim, this was a mature Pinot Noir, with a lovely smoky, truffle nose. Still it had plenty of raspberry fruit left. Warm and comforting, like an open log fire. Someone is going to pinch me and I'll awake from this dream.

Dessert consisted of;

Croustillant de Chaource a l'Oriental

(Crispy Pancake filled with Chaource)

followed by;

Feuillantine de Framboises

(Filo Pastry with Raspberries)

This was an almost impossible choice, so I ended up loving them both. The crispy pancake filled with the local cows milk cheese, Chaource, was amazing combined with the Vintage Reserve. I liked the acidity playing a big role here, which is why I preferred it over the Rich Reserve.

The final dessert was very simple, but the flavours were fresh and the Rose Reserve picked up the raspberry perfectly, making this the perfect combination.

I know, it's hard work, but someone's got to do it!