Decanter World Wine AwardsThe vintages
Recommended wines
Veuve Clicquot, Vintage Rose 1978
(Disgorged Oct 2008. Pinot Noir 63%/Chardonnay 33%/Pinot Meunier 4%. Bouzy Rouge 15%. Dosage 4g/l) Light red in colour, like a mature lighter Burgundy, with some perfumed sweet cherry notes. Delicious, supple with developed mouthfeel, forest floor aromas and a hint of leather. Crying out for food, perhaps a chicken dish with truffles, or some feathered game.
Veuve Clicquot, Vintage Brut 1980
(Disgorged May 1986. Pinot Noir 53% /Chardonnay 37%/Pinot Meunier 10%. Dosage 9g/l bottle) Rich gold in colour, this bottle version - with a full 24 years of post-disgorgement ageing - was the star of the show. It has reached a peak of glorious complexity: slightly honeyed with very ripe fruity notes, a vanilla crème caramel mouth feel, a very long finish with some coffee/mocha notes, and yet still enlivened by a streak of fresh acidity.
Veuve Clicquot, Vintage Brut 1990
(Disgorged Oct 2008. Pinot Noir 56%/Chardonnay 33%/Pinot Meunier 11%. Dosage 4g/l) A light gold colour, possibly paler than you might expect from such a ripe vintage (it's renown for the near-perfect condition of all three grapes varieties, the highest potential average alcohol levels - 11.1 degrees - since 1962, and a good balancing acidity of 8g/l). In the mouth, there's richness, with ripe quince-like fruit, some toasty notes, a savoury, yeasty mid-palate, and an exotic ginger spice element. As you'd expect, the bottle was the considerably more developed of the three formats.
Veuve Clicquot, Vintage Brut (magnum) 1990
(Disgorged Oct 2008. Pinot Noir 56%/Chardonnay 33%/Pinot Meunier 11%. Dosage 4g/l) Considerably fresher than the bottle version if seemingly a little less complex and needing more time (Demarville himself noted our sample was disappointing if not actually faulty).
Veuve Clicquot, Vintage Brut (jeroboam) 1990
(Disgorged Oct 2008. Pinot Noir 56%/Chardonnay 33%/Pinot Meunier 11%. Dosage 3g/l) Glorious! At once spicy and ripe on the nose, and noticeably fresh for a 20-year-old wine, with lovely palate intensity, yet well short of its peak in terms of complexity. Demarville suggests cellaring for a further 10-15 years. (Drink 2020-2025)
Veuve Clicquot, Vintage Rose (magum) 1975
(Disgorged Oct 2008. Pinot Noir 64%/Chardonnay 31%/Pinot Meunier 5%. Bouzy Rouge 19%. Dosage 4g/l) Less perfumed than the 1978, it shows red berry fruits, a hint of toast and surprisingly crisp acidity, with some chewy tannins in the mouth. Meaty and yeasty with a distinct savoury, almost saline finish. Very Burgundian - one taster suggested Côte de Beaune as against the Côte de Nuits style of the 1978. Demarville believes it has the potential to age for at least another 10 years. (Drink 2010-2020)
Veuve Clicquot, Vintage Brut 1989
(Disgorged Oct 2008. Pinot Noir 67%/Chardonnay 33%. Bouzy Rouge 12.8%. Dosage 4g/l) Pale copper colour and not as obviously Burgundian Pinot Noir in style as the previous 1985 release or the two older rosés, the 1978 and 1975, we tried here (both made with a higher Bouzy Rouget component and showing a greater depth of colour). The vintage's ripe nature (potential alcohol was on a par with 1976 and in the last three decades has been surpassed only by 1990 and 2002) combined with a lower acidity (7.1g/l on average) led many to predict a limited future for the 1989, yet our sample proved remarkably fresh, with roasted coffee mocha notes, strawberry fruit on the initial palate and a meaty, savoury mid-palate.
Veuve Clicquot, Vintage Brut (magnum) 1980
(Disgorged Oct 2008. Pinot Noir 53% /Chardonnay 37%/Pinot Meunier 10%. Dosage 5g/l) This late-disgorged magnum is amazingly young and fresh. More restrained and elegant than in bottle, it has nevertheless an underlying richness and intensity, with notes of candied fruit and a hint of chocolate on the finish. Demarville insists it will get better and better over the next five years. (Drink 2012-2015)
Veuve Clicquot, Vintage Brut (magnum) 1989
(Disgorged Oct 2008. Pinot Noir 67%/Chardonnay 33%. Bouzy Rouge 12.8%. Dosage 4g/l) Less evolved than in bottle, with notably more freshness and attack, more obvious red fruity notes and a touch of spiciness. Demarville suggests it has a great deal of further ageing potential, more than a decade ahead of it. (Drink 2020-plus)
