Veuve Clicquot: The Widow, the Yellow Label and the Prices

Veuve Clicquot is a Champagne house in Reims, founded in 1772 and known around the world for its Yellow Label Brut. Veuve means widow, and the name honors Barbe Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, who took over the business at 27 and became one of the most famous figures in Champagne. A bottle of Yellow Label costs about $65 at US stores. This guide covers her story, what’s true about the riddling table, the wines in the range, critic scores and prices. Wine Blue Book is independent and isn’t affiliated with Veuve Clicquot or LVMH.

Madame Clicquot’s story

The house’s own history page and LVMH’s profile give the outline:

Year	What happened
1772	Philippe Clicquot, a textile merchant from Reims, founds the house
1777	Barbe Nicole Ponsardin is born in Reims, the daughter of a textile manufacturer
1805	Her husband, François Clicquot, dies; she takes over at 27
1810	First vintage Champagne, according to LVMH
1811	The “Comet Vintage”, an exceptional harvest; the house ships 10,550 bottles to Saint Petersburg once the Russian blockade on French goods is lifted
1816	She invents the riddling table, according to LVMH
1818	First blended rosé Champagne, according to LVMH
1877	The Yellow Label trademark is registered, on February 12

Her nickname, which the house still uses, was “la grande dame of Champagne”. The house’s motto is “Only one quality, the finest”, and LVMH quotes her determination “not to rely on anyone”.

In our view, what stands out is her age. A 27-year-old widow took control of a merchant house and, within a few years, was shipping thousands of bottles to Russia. Whatever you think of the wine, that’s a strong story, and the brand knows it.

What the riddling table actually is

Riddling is one of the final stages of making Champagne. During the second fermentation in the bottle, dead yeast collects as sediment. To remove it, bottles are turned and tipped neck-down little by little until the sediment slides into the neck, where it can be frozen and shot out.

According to the house, Madame Clicquot’s table let her produce a crystal-clear wine. LVMH dates it to 1816.

Note: “First” claims in Champagne are hard to prove. The Comité Champagne, the region’s trade body, says riddling racks, now called pupitres, were invented around the turn of the 19th century, and it doesn’t name an inventor. The house itself says “first known” vintage Champagne. We report these as the house’s account.

The Veuve Clicquot range

The US site lists these Champagnes as of November 2026:

Wine	What we can say from the house’s pages
Brut Yellow Label	Non-vintage, Pinot Noir-led, 9 g/L dosage
Brut Rosé	Non-vintage, with 12% red Pinot Noir wine
Rich and Rich Rosé	Listed by name
Vintage and Vintage Rosé	Listed by year, including 2012 and 2015
Cave Privée	Older vintages, listed from 1979 to 1995
Extra Brut Extra Old	Editions 1 to 5; Extra Brut means 0 to 6 g/L of sugar on the Champagne scale
La Grande Dame and La Grande Dame Rosé	Vintage wines, with 2018 and 2015 among those listed

Yellow Label

The house’s product page gives two slightly different blends. Its FAQ says 50–55% Pinot Noir, 28–33% Chardonnay and 15–20% Meunier, and its spec section says 50%, 30% and 20%, from 50 to 60 crus (villages). Reserve wines from earlier years make up as much as 45%. Dosage is 9 grams of sugar per liter, which sits inside the under-12-gram Brut band our guide to Brut vs. Extra Dry describes.

The house’s own style words are “strength, aromatic richness, freshness, silkiness”. It suggests serving at 8 to 10°C (46 to 50°F), the same range the Comité Champagne recommends, and gives an aging potential of three to five years. So it isn’t a bottle to forget in a closet. It also suggests some informal pairings, including burgers, maki and street food, which we think is the right spirit for a Brut like this.

Brut Rosé

The rosé uses the same grapes and reserve-wine share as the Yellow Label, with 12% red Pinot Noir wine added, the blending method the house credits to Madame Clicquot and LVMH dates to 1818. The house’s product page lists dosage at 9 g/L in one place and 8 g/L in its FAQ. If you’re choosing between pink styles, our guide to sparkling rosé explains the two ways they’re made and what else is available for less.

La Grande Dame

The name echoes Madame Clicquot’s nickname. Kyle Swartz reports for Beverage Information Group (April 2025) that the cuvée’s inaugural vintage was 1962 and that it launched in 1972 for the house’s 200th anniversary. He says the 2018 is the 25th vintage, is 90% Pinot Noir and had a suggested US price of $195 for 750 ml. The house’s site lists 2018, 2015, 2012 and 2008 for the rosé version, plus a limited 2018 edition designed by Simon Porte Jacquemus.

Who owns Veuve Clicquot today

As of November 2026, LVMH lists the house as part of Moët Hennessy, its Wines & Spirits division, the same division as Dom Pérignon. LVMH names Thomas Mulliez as CEO and Didier Mariotti as Cellar Master, the 11th to hold the role. It says all the house’s vineyards have been herbicide-free since 2018 and that its chalk cellars, the crayères, run for 24 km. UNESCO listed Saint Nicaise Hill in Reims and its crayères as World Heritage in 2015, according to the house.

What critics say

Wine Spectator’s Champagne report of December 15, 2025 has the three scores we could open at the source:

Wine	Score	Price in the report
Veuve Clicquot Brut NV (Yellow Label)	91	$49
Veuve Clicquot Brut Rosé NV	91	$60
Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 2018	95	$195

Saratoga Wine also shows 91 from James Suckling for Yellow Label. Because the wine is non-vintage, a score applies to the release a critic tasted, and your bottle may come from a newer one.

What it costs in stores

Regular (non-sale) prices we opened in November 2026:

Wine	Size	Saratoga Wine	Other US retailer
Yellow Label Brut NV	750 ml	$64.89	$65.99 at Target
Yellow Label Brut NV	375 ml	$35.81	$42.99 at Target
Brut Rosé NV	750 ml	$64.62	$65.99 at Target
Rich Rosé	750 ml	$64.94	$74.99 at Target
La Grande Dame 2018	750 ml	$161.76	$189.99 at Zachys

Target marked several of these down when we checked, so we show its regular prices. Saratoga Wine also listed Brut Rich NV at $61.36, a price we confirmed at that one store only. In our view, the 375 ml half bottle is a handy size for two people.

Is Veuve Clicquot a good value?

Not under our Blue Book Value method. At 91 points, a wine needs to cost $30 or less to count as a Good Value, and Yellow Label costs about double that. La Grande Dame, at 95 points, would need to be $45 or less. Neither gets a value verdict from us.

That doesn’t make it a poor bottle. Wine Spectator’s score is solid, and we’d say there’s real value in a Champagne you can find almost anywhere and that people recognize when you hand it over.

Wine is for adults of legal drinking age (21 in the US). Please drink responsibly.