2008 Veuve Clicquot, Brut Vintage

Tasted in magnum, the nose shows evolved, honeyed, biscuity tones, with hints of lychee, white peach and fennel. The high percentage of Pinot Noir (61%) adds significant depth to the palate, though it's still brisk and fresh, with grapefruit and yellow citrus, underpinned by a driving line of minerality. From the excellent 2008 harvest, this was the first vintage Veuve to include 5% of wines aged in foudres.

Made from 61% Pinot Noir, 34% Chardonnay, and the rest Meunier, the 2008 Champagne Vintage Brut sees 8 grams per liter dosage. A generous bouquet opens in the glass with aromas of toasted brioche, buttered citrus, orange marmalade, and ripe strawberry. Full-bodied, it’s long on the palate, with a creamy texture and a fluffy mousse, as well as a nice undercurrent and spine of fresh acidity and oyster shell mineral tones. Savory and mouthwatering on the finish, this is a very nice vintage wine from the house. It has the ripe and full-bodied fruit that you come to expect with the Veuve Clicquot style but certainly has more tension. Drink 2024-2040. Disgorged in February of 2020.

Assembling 35% Chardonnay, 5% Meunier and 60% Pinot Noir, the 2008 Vintage Brut is one of the rare vintage Champagnes of Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin and it follows the earlier releases of 1999, 2004 and 2012. Disgorged in March 2015 with eight grams dosage, the bright colored 2008 has a very clear, fresh, pure and intense, as well as complex nose, with brioche, biscuit and prominent Chardonnay aromas. Pure, dry, straight and elegant on the palate, this is a refreshing and lifted, but also complex and expressive Brut. It also has tension, grip and a stimulating salinity in the finish. This Champagne is excellent and should be served with seafood.

The 2008 Brut Vintage is showing well, mingling aromas of toasted nuts, brioche and honeycomb with hints of yellow orchard fruit. Medium to full-bodied, it's textural and fleshy, with a rich core of fruit and fine mid-palate amplitude, underpinned by a racy spine of acidity and complemented by a pinpoint mousse. Some 5% of the vins clairs were vinified in foudre. This is one of only two vintage releases from Veuve Clicquot in the first decade of the new millennium.