1962 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin, Vintage Brut

🍇 Approx. 60% Pinot Noir – 30% Chardonnay – 10% Meunier (typical Veuve Clicquot vintage blend)
📅 Vintage: 1962
📍 France – Champagne – Reims
⭐ Michael Broadbent: ★★★★ | Tom Stevenson: Highly recommended (archive)
📦 75 cl
⏳ Maturity: Fully mature – drink now; archival or legacy-only beyond 2026

📅 The Vintage – 1962: A Hidden Gem

1962 in Champagne was elegant, refined, and classically styled. A cooler but balanced growing season produced grapes with moderate sugar and piercing acidity, allowing for slow, graceful evolution in bottle. Though less publicized than 1961 or 1964, many producers made superbly age-worthy wines, especially those who vinified with care and patience.

The vintage was particularly kind to Pinot Noir-based cuvées, giving structure and longevity—key components in Veuve Clicquot’s house style.

👃 Tasting Notes

👁 Appearance:

Deep antique gold with amber and bronze hues. Fine but faded perlage, as expected. Visually captivating—a Champagne of age and dignity.

👃 Nose:

A complex, tertiary bouquet of brûléed citrus peel, hazelnut, buttered toast, chamomile, and old honey. Notes of dried apple, leather, mushroom, walnut oil, and hints of marmalade and antique spice box. A fragrance like aged cognac or Sauternes—majestic and contemplative.

👄 Palate:

Still structured, with brisk acidity and bone-dry texture. The mousse is gentle—a whisper rather than a sparkle. Flavors of dried lemon, almond skin, baked pear, chalk, and oxidative notes (mild sherry-like umami) roll over the tongue in satin layers. The finish is long, nutty, and saline—more vinous than effervescent, yet deeply moving.

🍽️ Pairing:

Serve with aged Comté, foie gras, roasted quail, or truffle-laced white root vegetables. Ideal in place of old white Burgundy or alongside Japanese cuisine such as chawanmushi or unagi.

🏰 The Estate – Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin

Founded in 1772 and brought to greatness by the indomitable Barbe-Nicole Clicquot (the “Grande Dame”), Veuve Clicquot has long stood for power, elegance, and innovation. It was the first house to commercialize vintage Champagne and invent the riddling rack.

The 1962 vintage would have been produced under the guidance of a post-war generation committed to excellence, and before the widespread modernization of Champagne—making this bottle a rare expression of old-world technique.

Veuve Clicquot’s vintage wines, especially from mid-century, are known for their Pinot Noir-driven backbone, age-worthy structure, and gastronomic depth.

🏆 Awards & Critics

• Michael Broadbent: ★★★★
  “Golden, nutty, superbly evolved. Rich and rewarding. A Champagne for meditation.”

• Tom Stevenson (Champagne & Sparkling Wine Guide):
  “A sleeper vintage—Veuve's 1962 showed great poise and aged complexity. Surprisingly fresh structure.”

• Richard Juhlin (historical notes):
  “Oxidative charm with mushroom and citrus. Rare, cerebral, and deeply mineral.”

🖋️ Final Impressions – Signature & Emotion

The 1962 Veuve Clicquot is Champagne not as a celebration—but as a revelation. It offers the rare experience of sipping history—of tasting the quiet voice of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay filtered through time, chalk, and savoir-faire.

Drink now, with reverence. Chill lightly to 12°C, and allow 15–20 minutes in glass to reveal its full aromatic grace.