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Wine Description
The Story
Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame is name in honour of the famed and undoubted Champagne pioneer, widow Clicquot. Widowed at the tender age of 28, Madame Clicquot continued her late husband's work and is the sole reason why her Champagne house is held in the high esteem that it is today. The 1998 La Grande Dame is a wine of pure beauty and power.
A majority blend of Pinot Noir, the vintage conditions are clearly visible in the glass with flavo...
Wine Information
La Grande Dame 1996 is a pale gold-green color with brilliant reflections that are typical of the vintage. Effervescence is delicate and extremely steady.
On the nose this wine is exceptionally elegant. Dominant floral notes (mint and white flowers) mingle with hints of fresh fruit (citrus fruits, fresh almonds). As it undergoes aeration, riper notes of vanilla and nougat come to the fore, giving a pleasant roundness to the wine. At this st...
Vintage 1996
Up to this point 1996 has been considered a fantastic vintage which produced classic wines; the best since 1990. A long, dry summer produced grapes of record ripeness with record acidity. Some, including myself, question how the 1996s are aging. The wines are generally characterized by a distinctive rather lemony acidity and very good attack, but some wines now seem terribly austere, while others already seem dangerously short of fruit. None o...