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Viinin Kuvailu
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 flavours of peach, apricot and touch of brioche and nuttiness. A true classic for the ages.
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 stage a typical Chardonnay characteristic, crisp elegance, clearly prevails over aromatic strength.
In the mouth, the Pinot Noir reveals its true personality. Fruity notes (white peaches, grapefruit and bergamot) dominate an energetic attack on the palate, which is prolonged by the structure and roundedness of the wine. The balance, a combination of freshness and vigour, is ideal. With a finish that is extremely persistent and clean, mineral notes add force to this noble wine.
La Grande Dame 1996 is based on a blend of eight Grands Crus traditionally used for this wine. The blend is dominated by Pinot Noir grapes (62.5%), which come from Ay in the vallée De la Marne, and Verzenay, Verzy, Ambonnay and Bouzy in the Montage de Reims. The Chardonnay grapes, (37.5%) come from vineyard plots in Avize, Oger, and Mesnil-sur-Oger in the Côte des Blancs.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE VINTAGE:
1995 began with a mild winter and budburst occurred during the second week of April. After a short cold spell, the flowering was excellent, due to hot, almost summer-like weather. Ripening was very rapid and picking began on September 21st.
Vuosikerta 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 of the subsequent vintages are quite as distinctive as 1996, which in the more successful cases should almost certainly be drunk after the 1999s.
