🍾 Veuve Clicquot Extra Brut Extra Old 5

Veuve Clicquot Extra Brut Extra Old 5 is a non-vintage white Champagne in the Extra Brut style from the house Veuve Clicquot in Reims (Marne).

According to the house, the blend is made only from reserve wines of the years 1996, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015; the wine aged at least 3 years in bottle before disgorgement; the dosage is 3 g/l.

The house Veuve Clicquot was founded in 1772 in Reims by Philippe Clicquot. According to the house, Madame Clicquot created the first known vintage Champagne in 1810 and the first known blended rosé Champagne in 1818.

The boundaries of the Champagne area were set by a law of 6 May 1919: parts of the Marne, Aube, Aisne, Haute-Marne and Seine-et-Marne departments. The designation’s specification allows seven grape varieties, dominated by Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier; grapes are picked as whole bunches, that is by hand, and the yield is limited to 10,400 kg per hectare.

According to the Comité Champagne, Champagne is served chilled to 8–10 °C, and bottles are kept in the dark at a steady 10–15 °C, without vibration. An opened bottle is best closed with a sparkling-wine stopper and kept cold.

It is sold under the protected designation of origin Champagne: the bubbles come only from a second fermentation in the bottle, and the wine is aged for at least 15 months before sale (36 for vintage). Extra Brut on the label is an EU sugar term: 0 to 6 g of sugar per litre.

Why it matters to you. No year on the label means it is not a vintage wine: the house may blend wines from different harvests. The WHO reminds: there is no safe level of alcohol.