On Thursday 20th October, The Sybarite hosted an exclusive members-only private champagne sales tasting evening at the renowned house of Moët Hennessy.
On arrival, guests enjoyed canapés whilst mingling at Moët’s Hennessy’s Belgravia HQ. Once settled, Moët spokesperson, Florent Noir, introduced three stunning champagnes – Ruinart, Veuve Clicquot, and Moët & Chandon – captivating guests with the history of each, whilst Sybarite members tasted them.
Champagne is at its heart and artisan wine. Ruinart was the first established champagne house in 1729. Inspired by the benedictine monk Dom Ruinart, a theologian and historian, whose interest in the ‘wine with bubbles’ was sparked in Saint-Germain-de-Pres, near Paris – at the time already popular amongst young Parisian aristocrats. Knowing that his home region of Champagne held the grapes necessary to perfect the technique, Dom passed on his convictions to his nephew. Twenty years after his death, Maison Ruinart was born. It was the popularity of Ruinart with King Louis XVIII in the early 19th century that led to the bestowing of a nobility on the then head of the Ruinart household, which still today adorns every bottle.
Founded in 1772, Veuve Clicquot was taken over by the founder’s daughter-in-law, Madame Clicquot, when she was just 27 in 1805. She created the first recorded vintage champagne in the region just five years later and then went on to overcome the continental embargo that raged in Europe and managed to ship her wine to Saint-Petersburg in 1814. A mere two years later, Madame Clicquot invented the first riddling table, which guarantees a crystal-clear wine – a process that continues to be used today – and resulted in her becoming dubbed “La Grande Dame” of Champagne. The innovator went on to create the first “rosé d’assemblage” by blending some of her Bouzy red wines with her champagne and inspired the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman Award.
Moët & Chandon (originally Moët & Co) was established by Épernay wine trader Claude Moët in 1743. Thanks to the popularity of sparkling wine King Louis XV, the winery’s clientele included nobles and aristocrats. In 1833 the company was renamed Moet & Chandon after Pierre-Gabriel Chandon, the director of maisson4, joined the company as a partner of Jean-Remy Moët, Claude Moët’s grandson. Following the introduction of the concept of a vintage champagne in 1840, Moët marketed its first vintage in 1842. Their best-selling brand, Brut Imperial was introduced in the 1860s.
