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THE CELLAR MASTER’S CREATION

Inspired by the magic
of the year 2013

GRAND VINTAGE, A SINGULAR STORY

A Grand Vintage is a true original, created around the Chef de Cave’s freedom of interpretation, from a selection of a single year’s most remarkable wines.

Since 1842, when Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage champagnes were first created to meet the demands of British and American connoisseurs for more mature wines, each vintage has reflected the Cellar Master’s subjective and emotional assessment of the personality and potential of each grape variety, and his respect for the individuality of each vintage in a given year.

CLIMATE

A distinctive year

The year 2013 was distinctive by its cold winter climate that delayed the growth cycle and resulted in a later than usual October harvest The climate in 2013 resulted in a later than usual harvest on Moët & Chandon’s vineyards, unprecedented since 1991.

Harvest

A late harvest, unprecedented since 1991

75 th

House’s Grand Vintage

44 th

House’s Grand Vintage Rosé

Breaking a decade-long trend for early harvests, 2013 marked a return to an October harvest unseen since 1991. The challenge for winegrowers was to achieve a maturity that complied with the standards established in Champagne, while also keeping the vines in perfect health just as the days were getting shorter and temperatures were dropping.

GRAND VINTAGE

THE BIRTH OF TWO EXCEPTIONAL CHAMPAGNES

By the time the wines were born, all of Champagne was a gleaming shade of gold: the vines were blond and brown, the trees, a burnt sienna, and the hills painted red and orange. Those autumnal images nourished the Cellar Master’s imagination as he created Grand Vintage 2013 in the House tasting room.

GRAND VINTAGE 2013

Nuances of golden autumn

Remarkably mature

Chiseled & energetic

True to the original spirit of the House’s Grand Vintage champagnes, this Grand Vintage 2013 is an extra-brut champagne, distinctive by its chiseled structure and energetic balance on the palate, its light golden yellow color and its fine, persistent bubbles.

FROM OUR WINE & FOOD GUIDE

Foodpairing suggestions

When creating a recipe to pair with Grand Vintage 2013, consider a main element for texture and substance, a complementary ingredient with warm toasted notes to mirror the Champagne such as chestnuts, and a touch of subtle bitterness like lemon for contrast. For inspiration, Grand Vintage 2013 can be paired with a variety of dishes from seafood to meat – such as roasted scallops with buckwheat blinis and lemon coulis, or veal chop with sea almond and Beldis lemon juice – to vegetarian options like eggplant hull with Lebanese spices.

GRAND VINTAGE ROSÉ 2013

Generous

Spicily fruity

Chiseled

Grand Vintage Rosé 2013, the House’s 44th rosé vintage, is finely chiseled, with generous aromas and a spicy fruitiness that defines its mouthfeel.

FROM OUR WINE & FOOD GUIDE

Foodpairing suggestions

For a "pairing construction" with the Grand Vintage Rosé 2013, consider a main element for texture and juiciness, like a lobster dish for instance. Additional ingredients such as passion fruit jelly can be chosen to echo the champagne’s soft, inviting style, provide contrasting elements that would bring out the refreshing notes of the deliciously tangy grapefruit on the finish.
For inspiration, Grand Vintage 2013 can be paired with a variety of vegetarian dishes - such as roasted butternut squash with grenadilla jus and chocolate air, or roasted squash with fig and rhubarb jelly - to meat options like cotechino with raspberry foam and julienne of ruby red pomelo.

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Creating a blend for a Grand Vintage at Moët & Chandon is like working with photo negatives: you can see shapes and contours, you may be confident in the result, but you cannot be certain what the photo will look like until after you have developed it.

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BENOÎT GOUEZ CELLAR MASTER

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« Much like his champagne, as soon as Monsieur Moët enters the rooms boredom disappears. »
Attributed to a contemporary of Jean-Remy Moët