Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage 2015, Gift Box, 75cl

Product Information

Creating a blend for a Grand Vintage at Moët & Chandon is like working with negative film – you can see the shapes and contours, you can be confident in the result, but you do not know exactly how it will look until you develop the photo‘ days from the day on which you notify us of the cancellation of the Product Contract. Please ensure You have the right to cancel a Product Contract within 14 days without giving any reason. This right It was not until 1842, 99 years after the foundation of the house, that Moët & Chandon produced its first vintage Champagne. In total, a mere 13 vintages saw the light of day in the 19th century, followed by much more frequent releases in the 1900s. The major turning point came in 1921, when the house bottled its first ever Dom Pérignon cuvée alongside its regular vintage release. Between 1921 and 1943, the wine inside both iterations was in fact one and the same, and even after production diverged, the wines coexisted in the Moët & Chandon portfolio for several decades. Dom Pérignon, however, was the cuvée de prestige and attracted most of the attention, as well as rapidly increasing in production volume. Its success meant that the standard Moët vintage was edged out of the limelight. On the plus side, though, for those in the know, the quality of the Vintage was always there – and indeed, the wine could be seen as very much undervalued compared to its more famous cousin.

Always difficult to predict because we work like a photographer with a negative that reveals itself six years later. The drought had an impact on the nitrogen richness of the grapes, especially for the Chardonnay. We had to be very attentive to ensure proper fermentation. In the end, we obtained interesting wines full of character. The Meuniers and Pinot Noirs, very healthy and ripe, showed a full and supple fruitiness and a structure conducive to long ageing. If you wish to cancel a Product Contract and you have already received the products from us, you will While an unprecedented drought from March to August threatened the nitrogen richness of grapes, especially in the Chardonnay, winemakers ensured proper fermentation and obtained interesting wines full of character. The aromatic freshness of the Meuniers and Pinot Noirs were preserved: healthy and ripe, they showed a full and powerful fruitiness and a structure conducive to long ageing.I’m interested in showing a touch of noble bitterness in the wines, something beyond just acidity, for a more acquired taste,’ Gouez says in reference to the modest 5g/l sugar addition for hot, potentially phenolic vintages. Moving the style away from the more crowd-pleasing aspects of the house’s non-vintage bottlings is evident in the 2015 Grand Vintage, while the Grand Vintage Rosé goes a step further in boldly expressing its warm vintage Pinot Noir red wine component in both colour and character. The important thing to remember is that a Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage is a blend of three different grapes – Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Meunier – all from the same harvest year. While each has its unique personality, all of these wines have gone through the same cycle, the same weather conditions, the same challenges and the same joys.

The year 2015 tells a story of a bright light and summer heat.It was, in many ways, a year of awakening, brought on by the consciousness of a warming climate and its impact on the Champagne region. The Cellar Master was able to select wines made from the region’s three grape varieties in quality levels that met the exigencies of a Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage from both the House’s superb estate and an extraordinary diversity of wines provided by vineyard partners. The year 2015 was marked by extremeclimacticconditions. A clement winter turned into a warm spring, then a dry summer brought a dazzlingly bright light, some water stress and record heat. When Benoît Gouez, Moët & Chandon’s cellar master, and his team tasted the still wines after harvest, they discovered a well-ripened fruit that told a story of light, in a year marked by the brightness of an ardent sun. The year 2015 was one of awareness and awakening towards climate change, both in the vineyard and also in the world. Grand Vintage 2015 is a champagne of contemplation – it marks the start of a new day’ BENOIT GOUEZ Today, Grand Vintage represents a small fraction of Moët & Chandon’s output, similar in proportion to many other houses’ vintage Champagne. As a result, chef de cave Benoît Gouez can focus solely on quality, with full freedom of expression and little pressure to declare it. In fact, Gouez says there are very few rules in the making of Grand Vintage. He uses base wines that reflect the best qualities of the year’s harvest from Moët’s incomparably rich source, meaning the varietal blend can vary greatly from vintage to vintage. Some blends are dominated by Pinot Noir and others by Chardonnay, but surprisingly, Meunier can play a key role, too. (In 2003, Meunier registered a 43% share, proving that there really are no recipes when it comes to Grand Vintage.)The story of this Champagne is the story of the year 2015. A year marked by exceptional sunshine and drought from March to August. The growing concern about water stress on the vines was swept away by welcome rains in August and then weather conducive to ripening. In the end, it was a heterogeneous harvest in terms of maturation but quite serene. The dosage should also be lower and in this specific case we are down to 5 grams of sugar. I think Benoit convinced us all of the wine’s good storage potential and development by opening a series of vintages with similar warm climate characteristics. 2003 and 1999 perhaps most clearly showed that these types of vintages almost stay in growth for 15 years or so. I miss the house’s reductively roasted character here, but am impressed by the full roundness and nuttiness that the wine shows from the start. The fruit is broad, but not flattering and the mousse may feel a little too aggressive as freshly disgorged. Fortunately, it’s a problem that will be solved in a couple of months. Anyway, I won’t be opening my bottles until my 70th birthday as I expect a great experience if my nose and brain are still with me.’ Food pairing with Grand Vintage 2015 begins with the choice of a main ingredient (meat, fish, vegetable) to be cooked appropriately as a foundation to establish texture and juiciness that matches the wine’s ripeness. Secondary ingredients echo the tenderness of the champagne. The harvest, which lasted 21 days, got underway on September 7 under bright light in a serene atmosphere, despite the heterogeneous progression of fruit maturity from hydric stress. Within days of the start of harvest, heavy showers battered the vineyards. Nevertheless, the fruit had matured well, with good concentration and striking aromas. Red-skinned grapes were exceptional: the Meuniers were splendid, and the Pinot Noirs revealed a maturity with a powerful, fruity nose and full-bodied finish. The fruit was healthy with well-ripened grapes radiating brilliantly.