2006 Veuve Clicquot "La Grande Dame" Brut Champagne
SKU #1237745
95 points
Decanter
How does Veuve Clicquot’s cellarmaster Dominique Demarville do it? This high wire Prestige Cuvée act walks the tightrope with such confidence and ease. Unusually for the house, the blend is just 53% Pinot Noir and 47% Chardonnay but like every great champagne its ‘ying and yang’ are in perfect symmetry. So we have the volume, structure and depth balanced by the cut and thrust of the acidity. On the palate are layers of cream, honey, nuts, brioche, pear, marzipan and ginger. The texture is shimmeringly silky and full. The finish alone deserves an ovation and demands an encore. Bravo. Drinking Window 2016 - 2030. (JS)
94 points
James Suckling
The Grande Dame is looking bright, gently complex and a little spicy in 2006 where the grapefruit citrus is a strong influence on the nose, showing sweet florals, a little honeyed nougat and almond paste. The palate's bright and crisp and really has an air of fleshy depth and refinement. There's also a great warm, toasty finish that displays grilled hazelnuts. Great now through to 2020 and beyond.
(10/2016)
94 points
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The prestigious 2006 La Grande Dame is made from 47% Chardonnay and 53% Pinot Noir, and assembles the fruit of eight grand cru villages. Very intense and complex on the nose, this is a full-bodied, round, rich and mouth-filling, but also refined prestige cuvée; it reveals a fascinating purity, precision and freshness. The finish is long and complex, and shows a spicy minerality. There are coffee beans, bread and toast aromas in the aftertaste. This comes highly recommended. (SR)
(6/2016)
94 points
Wine Enthusiast
Veuve Clicquot’s prestige cuvée is named after the widow Clicquot, the great lady who built up the house in the early 19th century. This latest incarnation is just showing signs of ripe toasty maturity. It is rich and soft with a high dosage, in the house style, with a full panoply of lime, red apple and apricot. (RV)
(12/2015)
94 points
Wine Spectator
A waft of spring blossom draws you into this elegant Champagne, whose subtle notes of poached quince, toasted brioche and mandarin orange gracefully ride the satiny mousse, supported by a vibrant backbone of acidity. (AN)
(11/2017)
Jancis Robinson
53% Pinot Noir, 47% Chardonnay. Dosage 8 g/l, disgorged January 2014. Pale straw. A little smoky and reductive on the nose but when a top-up is poured into the glass it brings out a lovely creamy delicacy, opening to minerally citrus. Very slightly toasty on the palate, with terrific fruit depth and concentration, cool deep citrus flavours, rich and mealy like a good burgundy but then with the Pinot structure and fruit increasing the weight. Full bodied, powerful, and terrific length thanks especially to the freshness, gently honeyed on the finish and elegant overall, irrespective of the power. This vintage includes the lowest proportion of Pinot Noir ever because they wanted to keep the elegance. 17.5/20 points (JH)
(10/2015)
