Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label
Beautiful in colour, with straw-yellow highlights. A mass of tiny bubbles. Intense, pleasing aromas: fruits at first, then hawthorn flowers, slightly musky. Pleasantly balance on the palate; fresh and lively. Lingering taste of fruit: apple and pear. Excellent as an aperitif or accompaniment for seafood.
The Pleasure of Tasting Wine
Veuve Clicquot Style
The predominance of Pinot Noir provides structure and strength which, combined with the finesse and freshness of Chardonnay, gives our wine that special Clicquot style, the hallmark of a Great Champagne House. Its flavour reveals great complexity under perfect control.
The Components of Harmony
Harmony is first of all the balance between three sets of aromas:
- primary aromas, from the grape varieties;
- secondary aromas, from vinification; and
- tertiary aromas, from ageing.
It is also a perfect blending of the different families of aromas, with some dominant notes. It is a fascinating exercise to try to pinpoint the main families, through an intense effort of concentration and memory. The most familiar are perhaps the floral, fruity, vegetal, spicy or woody notes, but specialists can also pick out ethereal notes (fermentation aromas), balsamic (resin, vanilla), animal or empyreumatic notes (burnt wood, roasted coffee, toast). The important thing in tasting champagne is to listen how each one “speaks” to the taster’s particular sensibility. Tasting brings into play the eyes, nose and mouth, in three phases: first impression, development and finish.
How to Serve Champagne
Like all great champagne, Veuve Clicquot is surrounded by a ritual which must be performed to allow the wine to give its best.
- store the champagne at 10 – 12 degrees Celsius, away from light and strong odors
- bring it to the table at about 8 degrees Celsius and serve it at 9 – 10 degrees Celsius. If the temperature is too low, the aromas will not develop. Mature champagne should be drunk at a slightly higher temperature. The best way to cool champagne is to put the bottle in an ice bucket half-filled with ice and water. Twenty minutes is sufficient.
- choose tulip-shaped glasses which release the aromas well.
Delicious Food and Wine Combinations
It goes without saying that a good champagne makes an excellent aperitif. It is thirst-quenching and refreshing, and its quality can be appreciated by an unspoilt palate which remains ready to enjoy the rest of the meal. Choose Brut Carte Jaune or La Grande Dame depending on the style you want to give the occasion.
Veuve Clicquot has just one piece of advice about food and wine combinations: forget the conventions and experiment. But a few basic rules may be useful:
- begin with the most delicate wines (and food)
- when serving champagne throughout the meal, start with the youngest and go on to the more mature.
The variety of the Veuve Clicquot range shows that champagne can go with almost any dish. It is all a matter of taste.
Information and photographs courtesy of Olivier Wines(M) Sdn Bhd.
For enquiries, please call 03-491 5979