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Wine Information
During the early golden era of De Venoge in the mid-1850s, Joseph de Venoge managed to lure his wine into the favour of the European princes by arranging champagne and shooting picnics for them. To please the eye of royalty, a special crystal carafe bottle was created for the Vin des Princes in 1864. No bottles of the early cuvée have survived to this day but the legend of Vin des Prince has persisted nonetheless.
It was, however, much later when the prestigé cuvee as we currently know it was launched. The story begins in 1961 when Champagne des Princes was first made. The first release was a non-vintage but the following examples have been vintage champagnes. The authorities banned the use of the name, as the word Champagne was considered unregisterable; De Venoge’s solution was to rename it Grand Vin des Princes.
Grand Vin des Princes was crafted to fit the emerging blanc de blancs prestige cuvée category pioneered by Salon, Comtes de Champagne and Dom Ruinart. It is a 100 per cent Chardonnay from the Grand Crus of Côtes de Blancs – namely Avize, Oger, Cramant and Chouilly.
Vintage 1979
A piercingly cold winter delayed the start of the growing season and was followed by a decidedly cool spring with some frosts in May. As a result, growth was subdued but initial flowering was good. The weather improved in June and July with nice sunshine and gentle heat creating excellent conditions for ripening. Despite rainfall during harvest, sugar and acidity levels remained high and disease pressure didn't mount too much of an assault, producing Champagnes of impressive character and length.
On top of quality, great quantity was also achieved, with an average crop of 11,061 kg/ha being picked between October 3rd and 31st. The Chardonnays were particularly successful and high-yielding. Krug Clos du Mesnil is sheer perfection, going from strength to strength over the years. There are plenty of great Champagnes still in outstanding form. They include Krug Vintage, Louis Roederer Cristal, as well as Lanson Vintage Collection and Noble Cuvée.
