Veuve in vintage Jeroboam push

Champagne house Veuve Clicquot is keen to push sales of its new vintage release in the Jeroboam format.

Speaking at the UK release of the 2004 vintage in London, chef de cave Dominique Demarville told the drinks business of his faith in the commercial potential of the three litre bottle: “The 2004 release is the ideal opportunity to put our vintage jeroboams on the market – we need to get the word out about them.”

At present, Veuve’s vintage Jeroboams are mainly used for special events, but Demarville believes the time is right to introduce them to consumers.

“In the past, the house aged a small amount of vintage Jeroboams for fun, but I will be laying more down as I believe there is a growing market for them,” he said.

Demarville conceded that the magnum is still the best size for ageing Champagne, but said Jeroboams offer amazing freshness and youth.

“A Jeroboam ages four times more slowly than a 75cl bottle, so they have the greatest ageing potential of all Champagnes, and will keep their youth the longest,” he opined.

The chef de cave also spoke of his passion for making vintage Champagne: “In a vintage, you work with your heart. You follow your creativity and work with what nature gives you. Vintage Champagne is very special to me.”

Demarville revealed that the next vintage of Veuve’s extended age library series, Cave Privée, will be released in 2013, and is likely to be the 1982 vintage.

To mark the 2004 UK release – a blend of 62% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay and 8% Pinot Meunier, the wine was tasted in bottle, magnum and Jeroboam, to compare the stylistic differences.