Moët & Chandon
Grand Vintage Brut Champagne Blend
Champagne, France
Last weekend we sat down to our Vintec Club Private at home tasting. We couldn’t make it to the live event as we needed to fit it in around bubs and feeding 🤱 of course!
The tasting was champagne! Moët & Chandon to be exact and it’s safe to say we have a whole new appreciation for this major champas brand. We learnt so much from winemaker Marie-Christine from Moët such as:
🍾 There are 10 winemakers on the team and 40 cellarmen - this increases to 300 cellarmen during vintage!
🍾 Their grapes are all handpicked and 3,000 people help bring in the grapes from their vineyard
🍾 The reason experts prefer to drink from standard wine glasses vs champagne flutes is so the champagne can breathe. Because it spends time on lees, it needs to breathe in order to properly reveal itself
In the tasting we tried their signature Non-Vintage and also their 2012 Vintage. We got a few of the recommended food matches to accompany our tasting: fries 🍟& aioli, Brie, vintage cheddar and some Gouda. They also suggested sushi 🍣 which we’ll do next time 😋
Here’s some notes I jotted down on the sparklers:
NV
Fresh orchard fruit - think apples pears with some grapefruit zest, lychee and almonds with a lick of honey. It went really well with the triple cream Brie we had from Tassie.
2012
This one was delicious with the vintage cheddar we had. Very smooth with delicious refreshing acidity, pear and walnut brioche with grapefruit zest. We both preferred the vintage 😜
I can’t wait for the next Vintec Club tasting!
Last weekend we sat down to our Vintec Club Private at home tasting. We couldn’t make it to the live event as we needed to fit it in around bubs and feeding 🤱 of course!
The tasting was champagne! Moët & Chandon to be exact and it’s safe to say we have a whole new appreciation for this major champas brand. We learnt so much from winemaker Marie-Christine from Moët such as:
🍾 There are 10 winemakers on the team and 40 cellarmen - this increases to 300 cellarmen during vintage!
🍾 Their grapes are all handpicked and 3,000 people help bring in the grapes from their vineyard
🍾 The reason experts prefer to drink from standard wine glasses vs champagne flutes is so the champagne can breathe. Because it spends time on lees, it needs to breathe in order to properly reveal itself
In the tasting we tried their signature Non-Vintage and also their 2012 Vintage. We got a few of the recommended food matches to accompany our tasting: fries 🍟& aioli, Brie, vintage cheddar and some Gouda. They also suggested sushi 🍣 which we’ll do next time 😋
Here’s some notes I jotted down on the sparklers:
NV
Fresh orchard fruit - think apples pears with some grapefruit zest, lychee and almonds with a lick of honey. It went really well with the triple cream Brie we had from Tassie.
2012
This one was delicious with the vintage cheddar we had. Very smooth with delicious refreshing acidity, pear and walnut brioche with grapefruit zest. We both preferred the vintage 😜
I can’t wait for the next Vintec Club tasting!
Champagne that consistently delivers. 2012 is showing very well.
Champagne that consistently delivers. 2012 is showing very well.
Jan 1st, 2022Lighter and more elegant than the nonvintage. Notes of citrus.
Lighter and more elegant than the nonvintage. Notes of citrus.
Nov 16th, 2020A pale, shimmery gold infused with brightness. A fine and concentrated perlage with tiny, persistent bubbles. The bouquet is quite a bit reticent upon open but soon opens up with traditional citrus fruit notes and white flowers. Green apples and plums abound, along with smokiness and a hint of spice.
Möet is Möet is Möet. The non vintage is probably the most commonplace of the establishment champagnes but it’s really no comparison to this. A Chardonnay dominated assemblage with 41/33/26 CH/PN/PM, 5g/l dosage and disgorged 10/18. Very youthful in nature, this hasn’t reached full potential yet but is drinking just fine now.
In the mouth it’s crisp and fruity. Dry and creamy all over, with high acidity. Toasted brioche bread, roasted nuts, and grapefruit on the palate. Plenty of minerality. Long finish with more bread and spice. These really can be saved for several more years but it’s excellent now.
A pale, shimmery gold infused with brightness. A fine and concentrated perlage with tiny, persistent bubbles. The bouquet is quite a bit reticent upon open but soon opens up with traditional citrus fruit notes and white flowers. Green apples and plums abound, along with smokiness and a hint of spice.
Möet is Möet is Möet. The non vintage is probably the most commonplace of the establishment champagnes but it’s really no comparison to this. A Chardonnay dominated assemblage with 41/33/26 CH/PN/PM, 5g/l dosage and disgorged 10/18. Very youthful in nature, this hasn’t reached full potential yet but is drinking just fine now.
In the mouth it’s crisp and fruity. Dry and creamy all over, with high acidity. Toasted brioche bread, roasted nuts, and grapefruit on the palate. Plenty of minerality. Long finish with more bread and spice. These really can be saved for several more years but it’s excellent now.
