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Veuve Clicquot Brut Yellow Label (Carte Jaune) NV
SparklingFranceNV
By Daniel Min · Tasted 2019-11-13 · Published 2026-09-09 · Updated 2026-09-09
At a glance
In one line
4.5/5 — higher than Vivino's 4.3 average · world avg price US$60 · 150,000 Vivino ratings, average 4.3.
James Suckling 92 · Wine Spectator 91 · Decanter 91 · Tasting Panel 93 · critics listed on Vivino 85–94 (1993–2021, by release) · CSWWC 2022 Gold
Market note: Alongside Moët & Chandon Impérial, one of the best-selling non-vintage Champagnes in the world, and the bulk of Veuve Clicquot's output. With its high Pinot Noir share it is generally described as more structured than Moët, with pronounced bread and apple. Cellar master since 2019: Didier Mariotti.
Father's note — Daniel Min
Original author of the notes“When i eat great champagne.”
What I learned today: riddling.
Today at Bar Suda I poured Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label. One breath, and a whole evening came back: late autumn when I was twenty-one, cold rain on the window, the kitchen table. Fresh brioche, ripe apple, pear, lemon peel at the end. I can name every aroma, but not the bottle Father poured that night, label covered. When I was small he held a glass under my nose each evening and asked only, "What do you smell?" After I turned twenty we drank blind at that table. He never named the wine. "If you know the name, your nose gets lazy."
Master Seo told me what those aromas say: with so much Pinot Noir, this Champagne is generally known for clear bread and apple. Veuve is French for 'widow'. Widowed at twenty-seven in 1805, Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin put her own name on the house, and in 1816 devised the riddling table, turning bottles a little at a time until cloudy Champagne came out clear.
Father left five words: "When i eat great champagne." Eat, not drink. Probably, to him, it was closer to food.
What I learned today: riddling. A little every day, until it runs clear.
What this wine is
Veuve is French for 'widow'. The house founded in Reims in 1772 by textile merchant Philippe Clicquot passed, when his son François died suddenly at thirty in 1805, to a 27-year-old daughter-in-law, Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin. Under pressure to wind up a company with no male heir, she instead put her own name on it — Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin — and in 1814, the moment the Napoleonic Wars ended, pushed 10,550 bottles into Russia ahead of every competitor and won over the court at St Petersburg. In 1816 she devised the riddling table (remuage): bottles set at an angle and turned a little at a time so the sediment collects in the neck. It is how cloudy Champagne became clear, and every house still uses it. The yellow label was added in 1876 to tell the British market this was a dry Champagne, and in 1877 the colour itself was trademarked. LVMH has owned the house since 1987.
Yellow Label is the face of the house and most of what it makes. It blends 50–55% Pinot Noir, 28–33% Chardonnay and 15–20% Meunier from 50–60 crus. To that go 25–45% reserve wines aged up to 30 years, so that every year tastes the same — the reserve wines are the whole point of a non-vintage Champagne. About three years on the lees, a dosage (added sugar) of 9–10 g/L, 12% alcohol. The house sums up the wine as 'freshness, strength, aromatic richness and silkiness', with Pinot Noir giving structure, Chardonnay elegance and Meunier roundness.
What the world says
James Suckling 92 — "Firm and delicious, showing sliced apples and green pears with some flint and bread dough." Wine Spectator 91 — "Refreshing aperitif style with notes of patisserie apple, pear, lemon parfait and chopped almond." Decanter 91 — "Fresh croissants, red berries, green apple and lively lemon citrus, with lovely creaminess to the bright finish." The critics listed on Vivino range from 85 to 94 across releases from 1993 to 2021 — which is to say, a non-vintage Champagne varies a little from bottle to bottle.
The Vivino community: 149,289 ratings, average 4.3 — by far the most-rated wine in this magazine. 87% at 4 or above, 23% at 5. Keywords: apple, green apple and pear (6,241 mentions), citrus and lemon (4,503), toast, brioche, biscuit and almond (3,861), then yeast and cream, minerals and honey. Acidity 4.3/5, fizziness 4.3, intensity 3.8. Apple and bread. 150,000 people use the same two words.
"Star of the show! Neutral, pure, almost unreal — enjoyable and decent at the same time. Great, but needs some minutes to open." — Vivino review, May 2017, 4.5 stars
"With nearly 120,000 reviews here on Vivino, you can definitely call this Champagne a classic. A blend of 50–55% Pinot Noir, 28–33% Chardonnay and 15–20% Meunier. Antique gold." — Vivino review, Aug 2022, 4.3 stars
"Crystal light yellow with delicate bubbles. Green apple and pear with brioche and oyster minerality. Full-bodied and high in acidity, but a classic." — Vivino review, Dec 2022, 4.3 stars
How I drank it
November 13, 2019, 4.5 stars. The note is five words: "When i eat great champagne."
I logged sixteen bottles that day, four of them sparkling: this Yellow Label at 4.5, Charles Dauteuil Blanc de Blancs at 4.5, Canti Prosecco at 4, Ruhlmann crémant rosé at 3. Six days earlier, on November 7, Dom Pérignon Brut 2008 got 5 — the first 5 in my entire log. Veuve Clicquot returns on May 18, 2024, when La Grande Dame Brut also got 4.5.
My 4.5 is 0.2 above the community's 4.3, and the critic numbers are James Suckling 92, Wine Spectator 91 and Decanter 91. Overseas retail is US$60–75. There is no re-tasting of the Yellow Label itself on record.
Where this wine shows up
Appears as the celebratory champagne served at Shizuku's victory party in the Takasugi couple's new home. It is drawn in its yellow label with no tasting scene, marking a moment when the tension eases and the characters' bonds come to the fore.
Mariage: The Drops of God Final Arc wine list — volume 18 · Comic Gourmet — Mariage vol. 18 wine list
A biographical film about Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, widowed at twenty-seven, who refused to sell her late husband's vineyards and built the house instead. Haley Bennett plays the woman whose name the bottle still carries.
With the continental blockade closing Russia off, Madame Clicquot gambled on a single ship sent ahead of the peace to land her champagne first. The bet made Clicquot the court favourite in Russia and effectively saved the house.
Modern War Institute — War and Booze: Veuve Clicquot and Napoleon · Wine-Searcher — The Busy Wine Lover's Guide to Veuve Clicquot
From Krug Grande Cuvée to a non-vintage hypermarket bottle, ten Champagnes noted on this magazine, ranked by one consistent yardstick — my own score out of 5 — and lined up against Vivino averages and Wine-Searcher world averages.
The first bottle opened at Bar Suda is Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label, the Champagne a 27-year-old widow put her name on. Veuve is French for 'widow'. When François Clicquot died suddenly at thirty in 1805, Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin, under pressure to wind up the company, put her own name on it instead, and in 1814 she got 10,550 bottles into Russia ahead of every competitor and won over the court at St Petersburg. In 1816 she devised the riddling table: bottles set at an angle and turned a little each day so the sediment collects in the neck. That is how cloudy Champagne became clear. The yellow label followed in 1876 to mark dry Champagne for the British market, and in 1877 the colour itself was trademarked.
Artwork and stills are not reproduced for copyright reasons; scenes are summarised.
Vivino community data
NV vintage rating distribution (149289 ratings, average 4.3)
| 5★ | 34534 (23%) | |
| 4★ | 94699 (63%) | |
| 3★ | 17333 (12%) | |
| 2★ | 1745 (1%) | |
| 1★ | 978 (1%) |
Most-mentioned aromas
| Family | Mentions | Top keywords |
|---|---|---|
| Tree fruit | 6241 | apple 1885 · green apple 1673 · pear 1645 · peach 393 · apricot 214 |
| Citrus | 4503 | citrus 2366 · lemon 1120 · lime 338 · grapefruit 259 |
| Bread & nuts (non-oak) | 3861 | toast 1383 · brioche 1324 · biscuit 451 · almond 296 |
| Yeast & dairy | 1742 | yeast 783 · cream 650 · cheese 121 |
| Earth & minerals | 1394 | minerals 551 · honey 389 · stone 143 · chalk 47 |
| Oak | 965 | butter 385 · vanilla 256 · oak 99 · caramel 88 |
| Vegetal | 352 | straw 218 · grass 41 · hay 39 |
Structure: Acidity 4.3/5 · Fizziness 4.3/5 · Intensity 3.8/5
Average by vintage (all vintages: 149289 ratings, average 4.3)
| Vintage | Average | Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| NV | 4.3 | 149289 |
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→Frequently asked questions
What kind of Champagne is Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label?
The flagship non-vintage Brut of Veuve Clicquot, founded in Reims in 1772 and now part of LVMH. It blends 50–55% Pinot Noir, 28–33% Chardonnay and 15–20% Meunier from 50–60 crus with 25–45% reserve wines aged up to 30 years, then rests around three years on the lees. Dosage 9–10 g/L, 12% alcohol. A structured style of apple, pear, brioche and toast; James Suckling 92, Vivino 4.3 from 150,000 ratings.
How much does it cost?
Overseas retail is US$60–75 (UK £58). That is the upper-middle band for non-vintage Champagne, and at the same money a small grower's Grand Cru comes into play.
What food does it go with?
Vivino lists pork, shellfish, rich fish such as salmon and tuna, and mild soft cheese. With its high Pinot Noir share it carries more weight than a blanc de blancs, so it suits fried chicken, jeon (Korean savoury pancakes), oysters and sushi. Serve cold at 8–10°C and give it a few minutes in the glass to open.
Who was Madame Clicquot, and what is riddling?
Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin (1777–1866) took over the company at 27 when her husband François Clicquot died in 1805, and built it under the name 'Veuve (Widow) Clicquot'. In 1816 she devised the riddling table (remuage): bottles set at an angle and turned a little each day so the yeast sediment gathers in the neck, which made clear Champagne possible at scale. Every Champagne house still uses the method.
Links & sources
View on Vivino · Prices on Wine-Searcher
- Vivino — wine page and community data
- Veuve Clicquot official — Yellow Label blend, reserve wines, dosage
- Wine.com — critic scores (JS 92, WS 91, Decanter 91) and price
- Wikipedia — Veuve Clicquot history (Madame Clicquot, riddling, the yellow label)
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United States · Sonoma★★★★☆Tasted the same day1865 Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc Leyda Valley 2015
Chile★★★★☆Similar styleJacques Selosse Lieux-dits Le Bout du Clos Ambonnay Grand Cru Extra Brut
France · Champagne★★★★★Similar styleDeutz, Brut Classic (NV)
France · Champagne★★★☆☆Same grapeLouis Roederer Cristal Rosé Vinothèque 2008
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