Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage 2015, Gift Box, 75cl

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The dosage should also be lower and in this specific case we are down to 5 grams of sugar. I think Benoit convinced us all of the wine’s good storage potential and development by opening a series of vintages with similar warm climate characteristics. 2003 and 1999 perhaps most clearly showed that these types of vintages almost stay in growth for 15 years or so. I miss the house’s reductively roasted character here, but am impressed by the full roundness and nuttiness that the wine shows from the start. The fruit is broad, but not flattering and the mousse may feel a little too aggressive as freshly disgorged. Fortunately, it’s a problem that will be solved in a couple of months. Anyway, I won’t be opening my bottles until my 70th birthday as I expect a great experience if my nose and brain are still with me.’

The year 2015 was one of awareness and awakening towards climate change, both in the vineyard and also in the world. Grand Vintage 2015 is a champagne of contemplation – it marks the start of a new day’ BENOIT GOUEZ The year 2015 tells a story of a bright light and summer heat.It was, in many ways, a year of awakening, brought on by the consciousness of a warming climate and its impact on the Champagne region. The important thing to remember is that a Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage is a blend of three different grapes – Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Meunier – all from the same harvest year. While each has its unique personality, all of these wines have gone through the same cycle, the same weather conditions, the same challenges and the same joys. A Grand Vintage will tell the story of a specific dimension of the year with its most intriguing wines, whereas with the Brut Impérial, we seek constancy. The harvest, which lasted 21 days, got underway on September 7 under bright light in a serene atmosphere, despite the heterogeneous progression of fruit maturity from hydric stress. Within days of the start of harvest, heavy showers battered the vineyards. Nevertheless, the fruit had matured well, with good concentration and striking aromas. Red-skinned grapes were exceptional: the Meuniers were splendid, and the Pinot Noirs revealed a maturity with a powerful, fruity nose and full-bodied finish. The fruit was healthy with well-ripened grapes radiating brilliantly.Creating a blend for a Grand Vintage at Moët & Chandon is like working with negative film – you can see the shapes and contours, you can be confident in the result, but you do not know exactly how it will look until you develop the photo‘ The bouquet appears restrained at first and suggests a soft and fresh world of white and green. The first notes of baked bread (bread crumb, fresh brioche, marzipan) give way to elderflower and jasmine, then to fruity notes such as white peach and watermelon. Notes of garrigue at dawn complete the bouquet. A FRANK, ENVELOPING PALATE

Always difficult to predict because we work like a photographer with a negative that reveals itself six years later. I’m interested in showing a touch of noble bitterness in the wines, something beyond just acidity, for a more acquired taste,’ Gouez says in reference to the modest 5g/l sugar addition for hot, potentially phenolic vintages. Moving the style away from the more crowd-pleasing aspects of the house’s non-vintage bottlings is evident in the 2015 Grand Vintage, while the Grand Vintage Rosé goes a step further in boldly expressing its warm vintage Pinot Noir red wine component in both colour and character. Today, Grand Vintage represents a small fraction of Moët & Chandon’s output, similar in proportion to many other houses’ vintage Champagne. As a result, chef de cave Benoît Gouez can focus solely on quality, with full freedom of expression and little pressure to declare it. In fact, Gouez says there are very few rules in the making of Grand Vintage. He uses base wines that reflect the best qualities of the year’s harvest from Moët’s incomparably rich source, meaning the varietal blend can vary greatly from vintage to vintage. Some blends are dominated by Pinot Noir and others by Chardonnay, but surprisingly, Meunier can play a key role, too. (In 2003, Meunier registered a 43% share, proving that there really are no recipes when it comes to Grand Vintage.)While an unprecedented drought from March to August threatened the nitrogen richness of grapes, especially in the Chardonnay, winemakers ensured proper fermentation and obtained interesting wines full of character. The aromatic freshness of the Meuniers and Pinot Noirs were preserved: healthy and ripe, they showed a full and powerful fruitiness and a structure conducive to long ageing. If you wish to cancel a Product Contract and you have already received the products from us, you will The year 2015 was marked by extremeclimacticconditions. A clement winter turned into a warm spring, then a dry summer brought a dazzlingly bright light, some water stress and record heat. When Benoît Gouez, Moët & Chandon’s cellar master, and his team tasted the still wines after harvest, they discovered a well-ripened fruit that told a story of light, in a year marked by the brightness of an ardent sun. To exercise the right to cancel, you must inform us of your decision to cancel the relevant Product A bright lemon-yellow hue with luminous glints, fine bubbles and a creamy mousse. A TENDER, VEGETAL BOUQUET