Veuve Clicquot Rich, the birth of a new champagne

Champagne and luxury are a love story. So we have a special affection for this exceptional, festive wine that is the envy of the world. There are many Champagne brands offering quality wines, but there’s one whose renown spread far and wide hundreds of years ago: Veuve Clicquot. Veuve Barbe Clicquot is quite a character, having revolutionized the history of Champagne forever by taking the helm of this house founded in 1772.
A month ago, we lived through a unique experience in the life of a Champagne house: the birth of a new Champagne. A champagne that will revolutionize the way Champagne is consumed, just as Barbe Clicquot revolutionized Champagne.

In the history of champagne, wines that were blended for greater sweetness were usually described as “rich”.
For example, Veuve Clicquot bottles from the 1840s, recently found off the Aland Islands, contained over 150 grams of sugar per liter.
Traditionally in Russia, consumers even add sugar to their champagne to suit their taste.

Today, Veuve Clicquot brings this tradition up to date with Veuve Clicquot RICH, a new champagne specially created for mixology.
With a higher dosage and a customized blend, Veuve Clicquot RICH is designed to invite connoisseurs to personalize their champagne and experiment with new flavors.

Veuve Clicquot RICH’s versatility encourages consumers to enjoy it whenever and wherever they like. In the mountains or by the sea, on the peaks or in the canyons, summer or winter, day or night, Veuve Clicquot RICH is perfect in any circumstance, anywhere, anytime.

So here we are in Reims, discovering Veuve Clicquot Rich, a delicately dosed champagne to be paired with fruits or flavors and served over ice. A champagne that will revolutionize your summers.

On this March evening, we begin our adventure at Jardin des Crayeres, Le Jardin la Brasserie, the brasserie of the region’s gastronomic institution. We meet our playmates, nine global influencers from Canada, England, Berlin and Italy.

While we were tasting delicate dishes, we were told for the first time about this mysterious champagne. We learned that we were going to be at the heart of an unprecedented experience that even the brand’s teams had not yet been able to discover. The appointment was made for the following day at the Hotel du Marc, the very heart of Maison Clicquot. Where portraits of ancestors stand side by side with the most precious wines and the finest gastronomy.

After a short night’s sleep, we arrive at this marvellous building, where a little history is on the agenda to familiarize ourselves with the history of the house, as we are now more than just bloggers, but full members of the house.

A brief history of Veuve Clicquot is of course punctuated by tastings to learn more about the House’s style.
Let’s start with Grande Dame, a precious, smoky wine, the House’s top-of-the-range cuvée.

Next up is Vintage 2004, with its light, airy style.

We then test the Vintage Rich 2004, a wine with a slightly higher dosage, and finish with the Demi Sec.

So we know a little more about the house and its sweeter wines in particular.

It’s time to discover the Hôtel du Marc and its history, and you can find out more here.

A little later, we get to the heart of the matter: Veuve Clicquot Rich
Veuve Clicquot Rich is a unique Champagne wine created for mixology. It’s a dosed wine, meaning it’s sweeter than average, and even sweeter than demi sec. Its sugar content enables it to blend perfectly with different aromas, and it is served chilled on the rocks in a special glass. An innovative, modern champagne for young professionals.

Inspired by changing consumer expectations, Maison Veuve Clicquot worked with professional mixologists, sharing their expertise, to create a totally new wine for a new era.

Veuve Clicquot’s Chef de Caves, Dominique Demarville, points out that “sugar in champagne is like spices in a recipe: used correctly, it can reveal specific aromas and play with flavors”.

With Veuve Clicquot RICH, fruit is exploited to a new, exhilarating level. Veuve Clicquot’s signature Pinot Noir, with a higher dosage, is endowed with a new versatility, while a greater presence of Meunier favors fresh, fruity and gourmet notes.
Citrus and floral notes are perceived on the palate, and are balanced with the dynamic freshness and creamy finish common to all Veuve Clicquot expressions.

Composition: Pinot noir 45% / Meunier 40% / Chardonnay 15%.

Dosage: 60 grams of sugar/litre

Veuve Clicquot RICH has been specially created to be blended with a selection of ingredients that will reveal the mixologist – no, the Clicquologist – in all of us. Each of the chosen ingredients will reveal a unique flavor.

To see how Veuve Clicquot Rich mixes with its different ingredients, we went to the market to stock up on the various victuals we’d be testing in cocktails. Mango, celery, onions, apples, peppers, passion fruit, ginger, melon, you name it.
We tried different mixes in a memorable mixology workshop. Flavors are mixed with varying degrees of success, giving rise to some wonderful surprises: red onion, basil and cucumber give rise to some surprising recipes.

Veuve Clicquot RICH is a new way of embodying the “So Clicquot” twist, allowing you to express its multiple facets and create your own taste experience.

The striking notes of this wine are magnified by the presence of carefully selected ingredients: pineapple, grapefruit zest, cucumber, celery, peppers or tea, all on the rocks.

Clicquology: the perfect service

1) Place ice cubes in a large wine glass
2) Add one of the recommended ingredients
3) As a finishing touch, pour in a very chilled Veuve Clicquot RICH.

Clicquology: the perfect ingredients
Veuve Clicquot RICH lends itself to multiple preparations, and can be combined with an infinite number of ingredients.

The best ways to bring out the notes in this wine fall into three categories, broken down as follows:

Fruity: Grapefruit, Pineapple
Freshness: Cucumber, Celery and Peppers
Elegance: Tea

After tantalizing our taste buds, our appetites and palates were tantalized by a marvelous dinner at the Hôtel du Marc, accompanied by the finest champagnes from the house.

The next morning, we visited the cellars. Impressively labyrinthine and containing thousands of bottles, it’s an absolutely magical place.

As our trip to Reims drew to a close, we had a date with the capital to enjoy the party! We headed for the magnificent Hôtel Molitor for an afternoon of relaxation before a very private dinner at Monsieur Bleu, the Palais de Tokyo’s exclusive restaurant. We finished on a high note with a memorable evening in the VIP area of Matignon, the capital’s most exclusive club. What a memorable adventure that will continue all year long as ambassadors for this new Champagne.