1990 Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame Champagne

La Grande Dame de la Champagne - the name is proof of the respect with which the Widow Clicquot enjoyed in her own region, in her own time. Since then, for two centuries international society has celebrated life's greatest moments with The Widow's unique Champagne Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin. The story of La Grande Dame began tragically when, during the Empire of Napoleon 1, she found herself widowed at 28. Determined to continue and develop her husband's business, she won fame with the invention of "remuage", a technique which revolutionised the clarification of champagne. Once used by Madame Clicquot alone, the delicate technique was subsequently adopted by all Champagne Houses. Slowly acquiring vineyards of the finest growths (crus) in Champagne, the total land holding now consists of over 280 hectares (692 acres) located in the heart of Champagne. Like most French vineyards, Champagne is a region where 'appellation' exists, and the notion of 'Crus' is very important. Different Crus are marked on an official scale in order to evaluate the quality of the wines which will be blended. The 'Crus' blended by Veuve Clicquot average 97%, a ranking without peer.