Moët & Chandon Champagne Grand Vintage 2016 Étui

Bettane & Desseauve

About the estate:

Under the leadership of its brilliant cellar master, Benoît Gouez, Moët has evolved without compromising its core values: fruitiness, balance, just the right level of approachability, and a captivating aging potential, all within a fresh style that strives for precision. The cuvées have moved away from dosage, in step with advances in viticulture and cutting-edge technical research. The wines reveal an extra dimension. The house’s flagship wines, Imperial and Rosé Imperial, are champagnes of impressive aromatic precision and finesse. The blends are meticulously crafted. The vintages display a distinctive stylistic signature, as exemplified by the latest 2013, an atypical yet remarkably successful vintage. The “grande maison” is in fine form.

Decanter

About the wine:

The 2016 Grand Vintage perfectly encapsulates the highlights of the year: beautiful ripeness without heaviness, a compact structure, and good aging potential. It is a classic Moët vintage—clean and lively—with aromas of fresh baguette, satsuma, sweet red apple, and strawberry, all framed by the toasty yeast notes characteristic of the house. It exhibits a certain concentration and vinosity, even within the house’s delicate style and its precise, meringue-like mousse. This vintage seems destined to become one of the best Moët vintages of recent years.

Guide Hachette des vins

About the estate:

One of the oldest Champagne houses, founded in 1743 by Claude Moët, a vineyard owner. In the early 19th century, his grandson Jean-Rémy expanded the company’s reach internationally, with the help of his son-in-law Pierre-Gabriel Chandon de Briailles. Their heirs built on the brand’s success, making it the best-known and best-selling Champagne in the world. Today, Moët & Chandon—with 1,190 hectares of vineyards across 234 crus (50% of which are grand cru) and 28 kilometers of cellars—continues to expand as part of the powerful LVMH group. These ambitions came to fruition in 2012 with the inauguration, at the Mont Aigu site in Oiry at the foot of the Côte des Blancs, of a vast, contemporary-style winemaking facility, which complements its historic facilities in Épernay. Benoît Gouez has served as cellar master since 2005.

Guide des Vins Gault & Millau

About the wine:

The nose is fresh and youthful, with elegant notes of white fruit. As it opens up, more toasty aromas emerge, combining toasted bread, roasted hazelnut, and baked apple. The freshness returns in full force in a delicate, taut body, with a fine string of lively bubbles. The white fruit notes remain present, accompanied by hints of pine sap, warm spices, and fresh pineapple. Full-bodied, round, and well-balanced, with a lovely bitter finish. Enjoy with a chicken tagine or a Japanese curry.

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About the wine:

A beautiful expression that combines ripeness and freshness. The wine is flavorful with a good level of ripeness. The nose is quite deep. The wine shows great quality, with a full-bodied mid-palate that possesses the tension characteristic of the 2016 vintage, which contrasts with the final sweetness. The wine is long and lingering, true to the vintage.

About the estate:

LVMH is the most powerful player in the Champagne region, thanks to the size of its vineyards (approximately 1,200 hectares—just a quarter of its needs!) and the reach of its brands (Moët, Veuve Clicquot, Ruinart, Krug, Mercier). Within this portfolio, Moët is the world’s best-selling champagne, with the Brut Impérial as its flagship, accounting for 85% of its production. Under the guidance of the excellent cellar master Benoît Gouez, Moët demonstrates impressive consistency given the volumes produced. These creamy wines, with their toasty and citrusy notes, appeal to consumers wherever they are in the world. Alongside the Brut Impérial, the house produces Grand Vintages that gain in definition and depth with each successive vintage.

James Suckling

About the wine:

This champagne has a lovely briny quality, with notes of Asian pears, anise, candied lemons, chalk, and cookies. It is mineral and harmonious, with beautiful clarity and brilliance. Fine bubbles. 48% Chardonnay, 34% Pinot Noir, and 18% Meunier. Dosage of 5 g/L. Disgorged in March 2023. Ready to drink now or suitable for aging.

Jeb Dunnuck