
The Veuve Cliquot Champagne House is located in Reims and has one of the largest vineyards in Champagne in terms of surface area and quality: 390 hectares spread over 12 of the 17 Grands Crus and 20 of the 44 Premiers Crus in Champagne, an exceptional heritage built up over the centuries. 95% of the House's vines are classified as Grands or Premiers Crus with a grape variety made up of 47% Chardonnay, 36% Pinot Noir and 17% Pinot Meunier.
The Veuve Cliquot Champagne House was founded in 1772 by Philippe Clicquot, a vineyard owner and founder of a wine merchant under the Clicquot banner. In 1805, when François Clicquot, son of the founder, died, Barbe Clicquot Ponsardin, his 27-year-old widow, decided to take over the management of the family business.
The widow Cliquot became one of the first businesswomen of modern times and showed great entrepreneurial qualities, audacity and innovation: in 1810 she produced the first known vintage in Champagne, managed in 1814 to export her wines despite the continental blockade as far as Saint Petersburg, was at the origin of the riddling table in 1816 to clarify the wines, In 1818, he created the first blended rosé champagne by blending his red wine from Bouzy with his champagne. In just a few years, she made her name a mark of excellence celebrated throughout the world, which earned her the nickname "the grande dame of Champagne".
In 1972, the year of its bicentenary, the first vintage of the "La Grande Dame" cuvée was born. In 1986, the Champagne House joined the Louis Vuitton group, which became LVMH (Moët Hennessy - Louis Vuitton) the following year.
The Veuve Cliquot Champagne House is a pioneer of sustainable development in Champagne with an ISO 140001 certification obtained in 2004 and a Sustainable Viticulture in Champagne certification obtained in 2014. The nitrogen fertilization of the soil is 100% organic, all the areas cultivated by Veuve Clicquot are managed without herbicides and the technique of grassing between the rows of vines has been implemented in almost all the plots.