In 2010, near Finland’s Äland archipelago in the Baltic Sea, divers found a shipwreck, which contained 47 bottles of Veuve Clicquot dating from around the 1840s, all in good condition. Recently, at the same venue, on Silverskär Island in Äland, Veuve Clicquot Cellar master Dominique Demarville chose to create the same ageing process and celebrated the House’s wine aging expertise with the launch of the new Veuve Clicquot Cave Privée and the innovative Cellar in the Sea experiment from 2014 to 2054.
Cellar In The Sea
In keeping with the House’s age old tradition of mastering the ageing process of exceptional wines, 300 bottles and 50 Magnums of a selection of the Veuve Clicquot wines were submerged in the Baltic Sea within a specifically designed underwater cellar. These bottles will be submerged to a depth of 42 meters, where they will remain at 5 bars pressure, and a constant temperature of 4oC, for the next forty years until 2054. This venture is designed to further enhance the House’s understanding of the aging process. The bottles chosen includedVeuve Clicquot Yellow Label in 75mL and magnums, Veuve Clicquot Vintage Rosé 2004 and Veuve Clicquot Demi-Sec. Throughout the years, the wines will be compared to a similar selection of bottles kept in the House’s cellars in Reims, France.
Chalk Cellars In Reims
The Veuve Clicquot Cave Privée is a selection of premium wines that, due to their renowned quality and remarkable aging potential, have been carefully guarded over decades, in the heart of Veuve Clicquot’schalk cellars in Reims in France. The event organised on this occasion around the launch of The Cave Privée 1990 Rosé, Cave Privée 1989 Blanc, Cave Privée 1982 Blanc, Cave Privée 1979 Rose in addition to a wine pairing dinner in collaboration with Michelin star Swedish Chef Magnus Ek.
Both the Cave Privée and Cellar in the Sea are testament to the heritage of innovation and audacity left behind by Madame Clicquot. With these two launches the House continues to celebrate the excellence of their wines and further the understanding of the aging process.
Maison Veuve Clicquot and Madame Clicquot
Founded in 1772 by Philippe Clicquot-Muiron, in 1775, it was credited to be the first Champagne house to produce rosé Champagne, using the method of adding red wine during production. The widow of his son Francois Clicquot, got the control of the company in 1805, and the House got be called Veuve (widow) Clicquot. The Maison Veuve Clicquot has been mastering the aging process of exceptional wines thanks to the rich heritage of the innovative Madame Clicquot, who among other additions to the champagne 
elaboration process, created the first vintage champagne in 1810. Madam Clicquot is also credited with having introduced the tradition of sabring Champagne during the Napoleonic Wars.
Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin is a French champagne house based in Reims, specializing in premium products. The 1811 comet vintage of Veuve Clicquot is theorized to have been the first truly “modern” Champagne due to the advancements in the méthode champenoise which Veuve Clicquot pioneered through the technique of remuage.
