La Grande Dame Yayoi Kusama
⏳ Drinking Window
2023 - 2038
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Pan-seared sea scallops, roasted pheasant or poultry with wild mushrooms, and aged hard cheeses such as Comté.
✨ Technical Specifications
La Grande Dame is the prestige cuvée of Veuve Clicquot, crafted to honor the 'Grande Dame of Champagne,' Madame Clicquot, who took the reins of the house in 1805 and revolutionized the region with inventions like the riddling table. This special edition features a vibrant collaboration with legendary Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, whose iconic polka dots and floral motifs beautifully mirror the joyful, rising bubbles of this exceptional wine. True to Madame Clicquot's preference for structure and strength, the blend is highly dominated by Pinot Noir (typically around 90%), sourced from the house's historic Grand Cru parcels in villages like Ambonnay, Bouzy, and Verzy, complemented by a touch of Chardonnay from Avize and Mesnil-sur-Oger. The wine undergoes extensive aging in the historic chalk crayères of Reims, resulting in a masterpiece of precision, tension, and complexity, offering notes of fresh stone fruit, toasted brioche, and a profound mineral core.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1772 by Philippe Clicquot, Maison Veuve Clicquot attained legendary status under the stewardship of Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin, who was widowed in 1805. Madame Clicquot pioneered landmark innovations, creating the first recorded vintage Champagne in 1810, developing the riddling table (pupitre) in 1816, and formulating the modern blended rosé Champagne method in 1818. Today owned by LVMH, the house oversees roughly 390 hectares of estate vineyards—dominated by Grand and Premier Cru parcels across the Montagne de Reims, Côte des Blancs, and Vallée de la Marne—all certified under Haute Valeur Environnementale (HVE 3) and Viticulture Durable en Champagne (VDC). Under Cellar Master Didier Mariotti, the winemaking philosophy remains anchored in Pinot Noir, imparting structure, breadth, and vinous intensity. Masterful reserve-wine blending and extended maturation inside Reims' UNESCO-listed Gallo-Roman chalk crayères define benchmark cuvées such as Yellow Label Brut, Extra Brut Extra Old, and the prestigious vintage cuvée, La Grande Dame.
🍇 Grapes
Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier