De Venoge Gift Box Louis XV (1 Bottle Louis XV + 2 Glasses)

When Henri-Marc de Venoge created the first illustrated, named label in Champagne history in 1838, he was already signalling that this house would operate by different rules. The Louis XV cuvée carries that transgressive instinct forward: no Pinot Meunier appears in the blend — a deliberate departure from the three-variety orthodoxy that defines most prestige cuvées. Instead, the wine is built entirely on 50% Grand Cru Chardonnay and 50% Grand Cru Pinot Noir, sourced from the chalk-dominated subsoils of Mesnil-sur-Oger, Trépail, and Montagne de Reims — terroirs where thin topsoil forces deep root penetration into pure chalk, driving the mineral tension that anchors the wine's structure.

Cellar master Isabelle Tellier vinifies exclusively from first-press cuvée juice, excluding all taille, then ages the wine on lees for an extended period in De Venoge's chalk cellars beneath the UNESCO-listed Avenue de Champagne mansion. Dosage is held at 7 g/L — low enough to keep the wine's Grand Cru architecture exposed. The 2012 vintage, the current release, delivers tangerine, clementine, and cookie-dough complexity with a full-bodied density that reflects the ripeness of the harvest. The decanter-shaped bottle — a direct reference to crystal flasks used by European royal courts — is not decorative theatre but a statement of the house's self-positioning since 1837. Drink 2024–2030.