Success and Glamour
A mythical Maison de Champagne
Moët & Chandon, the champagne of success and glamor since 1743, is recognized for its achievements and legendary pioneering spirit. La Maison Moët & Chandon was who introduced the champagne to the world, becoming synonymous of luxury and celebration.
Moët & Chandon has held the most important triumphs of life with grandeur and generosity for more than 270 years since its founding by Claude Moët, a wine trader in Epernay region in 1743. It was Claude Moët who initiated the transformation of champagne, making it a favorite of cosmopolitan and courtiers across Europe, managing to become the official supplier of the Royal French Court.
But it was Jean-Rémy Moët, grandson of the founder, tireless and enthusiastic ambassador, who made Moët & Chandon celebrate the international symbol of excellence. His ambition was, in his own words, “to share the magic of champagne with the world.”
Jean-Rémy Moët frequented the great personalities of his time and received many in Epernay, including the Tsar Alexander I of Russia, King Charles X of France and Napoleon himself, who was a childhood friend of Jean-Rémy Moët, he celebrated his many victories with champagne.
When Jean-Rémy Moët retired in 1833, he bequeathed the family estate to his son Victor and Pierre-Gabriel Chandon, husband of his daughter Adelaide. Since then, the Maison is known as Moët & Chandon.
In the late nineteenth century, Moët & Chandon was already a symbol of “high status” in Britain and the United States. In 1893, Queen Victoria enacted its first Royal Warrant to Moët & Chandon, who since 1867, has supplied to Queen Isabel II of Spain.
Over the next century, the Maison perfected the art and technology of preparing champagne, greatly increasing production and consistently winning new markets. Some of the most notable achievements of the Maison were made by Raoul Chandon Briailles, who founded the first laboratory of viticulture. Decisive in the eradication of phylloxera, a terrible plague which raged throughout France, he and his lab saved the vineyards of the Champagne region, a legacy that lives on today.
The superb excellence of the Moët & Chandon champagnes has always been the true basis of its fame. The highly advanced oenological research of the Maison influences every step in the process of making champagne, from the environmentally responsible viticulture through the thorough quality control.
A UNIQUE HERITAGE
Moët & Chandon has the most diverse and outstanding vineyards throughout the Champagne region, ensuring quality in each of the vintages. In addition to its own production of grapes, the Maison has long-term contracts with local growers that have access to the best parcels of vines (crus). Through this relationship we can ensure that at each harvest, Moët & Chandon has the first option on the finest grapes grown in the Champagne region.
This privilege allows Moët & Chandon to ensure consistent top quality year after year, and express enormous creativity in assembling the different grapes.
The cellars of Moët & Chandon are the largest in the region of Champagne, legendary underground labyrinth where the forces of nature have come together magically to create an exceptional task for the metamorphosis of a selected fruit in the luxurious setting of the Maison scenario.
MOËT & CHANDON STYLE
Bright fruitiness , seductive palate, elegant maturity. The purity of fruit in the Maison is at the heart of their wines. Thanks to the unrivaled knowledge of the natural qualities of the grapes of the Champagne region and the secret virtues of different crus, as well as rigorous techniques of winemaking , we get the fruit to express its innate excellence.
The palate of champagnes from the Maison represent the ultimate incarnation of the art of blending. Moët & Chandon plays with the complementary characteristics of the three grape varieties in the region of Champagne - Pinot Noir , Pinot Meunier , Chardonnay - different crus and the various properties of the vintage to create an entirely harmonious balance.
Different assemblies, improved thanks to the vision and talent of Chef de Cave Benoît Gouez result in different styles of champagne that constitute mixtures that the Maison portrays.
Refined through a process considerably longer than the legal minimum eighteen months of aging, Moët & Chandon champagnes reach elegant maturity for the experts and connoisseurs worldwide.
THE CHAMPAGNE OF MOET & CHANDON
Moët & Chandon Imperial
The iconic Maison champagn, it is the epitome of characteristic style charac of Moët & Chandon. Ideal reflection of the three grape varieties and the best vineyards in the region, Moët & Chandon Imperial is a cheerful and generous champagne, the referent of champagne.
Baptized “Imperial” as a tribute to the hundredth birthday of Emperor Napoleon, a great friend of Jean- Rémy Moët.
Imperial Rosé
It is the most extrovert and glamorous expression of the Moët & Chandon style. Passionate and irresistible, this champagne is famous for being crystal clear, intense and daring fruity flavor.
Nectar Imperial
The most daring and unusual of Moët & Chandon. Exotic and cheerful, intense and generous Nectar Imperial distinguishes itself by its tropical fruitiness, voluptuous palate and fresh aftertaste that surprises and delights the moment.
Imperial Ice
The innovation that only Moët & Chandon could create. It is the first champagne specially made to be enjoyed over ice, perfect for summer celebrations. To sublimate its fruitiness, it may be accompanied with lime or orange peel, mint leaves and cucumber slices.
Grand Vintage Collection
The Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage champagnes are made with grapes from exceptional vintages and these fine wines are produced only during the years when the harvest is truly
outstanding.
THE FABULOUS CHAMPAGNE OF CELEBRATIONS
Since the time of Jean-Rémy Moët, the Maison has been recognized for its pioneering spirit and great innovations in the art of celebration.
Some of the most cherished traditions of the world, like the triumphant Moët & Chandon shower after a sports victory, the baptism of boata with bottles of Moët & Chandon and the waterfalls or pyramids of glasses of Moët & Chandon, are among the many celebratory customs and magic created by the Maison.
Every second a bottle of Moët & Chandon is uncorked around the world, transforming an evening in the most extraordinary celebration!
Text: Moët & Chandon México ± Photo: © Moët & Chandon