Moët & Chandon : Grand Vintage Collection 2006

Characteristics and Tasting Tips for Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage Collection 2006

Tasting notes

Colour

The colour is a brilliant gold with green highlights, a sign of pronounced maturity that nonetheless retains a certain luminous vibrancy.

Nose

The bouquet, powerful and smoky, opens with notes of flint and pepper, supported by aromas of toasted bread. With aeration, the original yellow fruit, once juicy and reminiscent of peach and mango, becomes darker and more candied, recalling date and fig.

Palate

The attack is generous and enveloping, the wine unfolding with breadth and an almost spherical texture. Extended ageing has allowed the wine to gain in length, leading to a very persistent finish centred on a delicious bitterness of candied lemon.

Food and wine pairings

This champagne is ideally paired with white fish and seaweed-based preparations, whose moderate briny flavour echoes its minerality. Rich, melting textures, dishes with smoky or toasted notes, as well as fragrant peppers and exotic condiments, also find a fine echo in its aromatic profile. By contrast, it is best to avoid dishes with sharp acidity, dominant green notes or pronounced sweetness, as well as red meats and fibrous or dry textures, which would clash with its balance.

A Moët & Chandon champagne born of a vintage of extremes in Champagne

The estate

Founded in 1743 in Épernay by Claude Moët, the House of Moët & Chandon has established itself as one of the greatest names in Champagne thanks to the international ambition instilled by Jean-Remy Moët. Now part of the LVMH group, it is the largest vineyard owner in the region, with approximately 1,200 hectares of vines. The House also stands out for its commitment to sustainable viticulture, with ISO 14001 and HVE certifications, as well as for the central role played by its cellar master, Benoît Gouez.

The vineyard

Sourced from the vast Champagne vineyard holdings of Moët & Chandon, this champagne comes from plots selected for their ability to express the diversity of the Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier grape varieties. The House practises careful, sustainable management of its land, alongside 469 hectares dedicated to biodiversity, including hedgerows, woodland and ponds, which contribute to the ecological balance of its territory.

The vintage

The year 2006 was marked by extreme weather conditions in Champagne. After a cold winter, spring saw episodes of frost, followed by hail in early summer. A scorching July gave way to a cool, rainy August, causing notable heterogeneity in grape ripeness. The return of warm, dry weather in early September allowed the harvest to be completed under more favourable conditions, with Chardonnay proving to be the ripest and healthiest variety of the year.

Winemaking and ageing

The Grand Vintage Collection 2006 benefited from fifteen years of ageing on its lees in bottle, a particularly long period that allows it to develop an aromatic complexity marked by reduction and toasted notes. A minimum of six months of maturation after disgorgement then completes the wine's balance before release.

Grape varieties

The blend of this champagne is made up of 42% Chardonnay, 39% Pinot Noir and 19% Meunier, a composition that reflects the exceptional ripeness of the Chardonnay in this contrasting vintage.