It was in 1772 that Phillippe Clicquot established his trading business dealing mainly with textiles, finances and produce from a few nearby vineyards. He handed over the company to his son François in 1801, who unfortunately died just four years later after a very brief illness at the age of 30. His father was too old and also heartbroken to go back into the business, so the thought was to put it up for sale, but François’ wife, the widow (“veuve” in French) Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, would have none of that and decided to defy the convention of the time and take control and run the company. Madame Clicquot concentrated only on the wine business and renamed it “Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin”. Steering the company through dizzying political and financial reversals, she became one of the world’s first great businesswomen and one of the richest women of her time. The wine is now simply referred to as Veuve Clicquot (pronounced “vuuhv klee-koh”).

Major contribution to Champagne production

Back in those days, Champagne was sold with the sediment from the second fermentation still in the bottle, as removing the sediment (dégorgement) was difficult and expensive. Madame Clicquot is credited with a great breakthrough in Champagne handling that made mass production of the wine possible. With the assistance of her cellar master, Antoine de Müller, Clicquot invented the riddling rack that made the crucial process of dégorgement both more efficient and economic. Clicquot’s advance involved systematically collecting the spent yeast and sediments left from the wine’s secondary fermentation in the bottle’s neck by using a specialised rack.

Composed much like a wooden desk with circular holes, the rack allowed a bottle of wine to be stuck upside down. Every day a cellar assistant would gently shake and twist (remuage) the bottle to encourage wine solids to settle to the bottom. When this was completed, the cork was carefully removed, the sediments ejected, and a small replacement dose of sweetened wine added.

La Grand Dame

Her contemporaries already considered her a great lady and such was her presence in the region that she became known as La Grande Dame de la Champagne, and today she lives on in a prestige cuvée of the same name. Since 1987 the Veuve Clicquot company has been part of the Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy group of luxury brands.

Business Woman Award

The Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year Award was created in 1972 to pay tribute to Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin. The vineyards of Veuve Clicquot in Reims adhere to the most stringent environmental standards, reflecting their commitment to sustainable development and the broader recognition of the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to modern business. More recently the award recognises successful businesswomen who also have a distinguished track record in spearheading CSR initiatives. They must not only exhibit awareness of their business impact on society, but also make real contributions to the community — or the world at large.

Tasting history

Today Madame Clicquot holds sway over every bottle of Champagne sold by Veuve Clicquot, reigning over an empire of bubbles appreciated by all connoisseurs of excellent Champagne. On Saturday night, almost as if in celebration of Wolmer’s Boys’ School’s victory at ‘Champs’, a packed house at Bin 26 Wine Bar sipped on Veuve Clicquot 2002 and new to the local market, Veuve Clicquot Rosé.

The Veuve Clicquot Brut 2002 — a blend of 60 per cent Pinot Noir, seven per cent Pinot Meunier, 33 per cent Chardonnay. The 2002 vintage has a pale gold colour with silver accents. It has a brilliant aspect and an effervescence that is lively and long-lasting. The nose is very open, pure and complex. The Chardonnay gives this wine a refined mineral flavour accompanied with pleasant flowery notes of acacia. Aerating the wine reveals hints of yellow-fleshed fruit and pastries (brioche, marzipan). These give way to delicately spicy aromas, followed by elegant notes of licorice and high-bred teas. In the mouth, the wine is silky and generous. The expectations promised by the nose are met and even exceeded as the complexity of this wine is superlative: simultaneously evoking fruity and floral, mineral and spicy notes, menthol and toast. This wine is quite simply dazzling with its wealth of aromas, and a deliciously long and powerful finish. This elegant vintage is already remarkably well balanced, and it will continue to enchant the palate for at least 15 years.

The Veuve Clicquot Rosé blend includes a particularly high percentage (25-35 per cent, sometimes 40 per cent) of reserve wines originating from several harvests (usually five or six), which ensures the consistency of the house style. The reserve wines, some of which are nine years old, are kept separately depending on the origin of the crus and the years in which the wines were produced. This blend is completed with 12 per cent of red wines using red grapes especially raised and selected to give a marvellous balance to this rosé.

Cheers!! Champagne is not only for special celebration, have a bottle with dinner today.

Chris Reckord is an independent wine consultant who operates DeVine Wine Services with his wife Kerri-Anne. Chris & Kerri are also part owners of Jamaica’s first and only wine-only bar -Bin 26 Wine Bar. Please send your questions and comments to creckord@gmail.com . Follow us on twitter.com/DeVineWines