Moet Champagne brands are presented below along with their rating and price class. Brut Moet Champagne is presented first followed by their sweet Champagne. Compare Moet Champagne ratings and prices to similar brands by clicking on the link.
Brut Champagne has a dosage of 0 to 12 grams per liter. Brut nature and extra brut are sub-designations within brut. Click on a link for detailed ratings, price class, tasting notes, and characteristics.
Moet Imperial is a blend of pinot noir, chardonnay, and meunier.
Moet Imperial - rating [92] - price class [$35-$49]
Moet Rose’ is a blend of pinot noir, chardonnay, and meunier.
Moet Rose’ Imperial - rating [92] - price class [$50-$74]
Grand Vintage is a blend of pinot noir, chardonnay, and meunier.
Moet Grand Vintage 2015 - rating [94] - price class [$75-$99]
Moet Grand Vintage 2013 - rating [93] - price class [$75-$99]
Grand Vintage Rose’ is a blend of pinot noir, chardonnay, and meunier.
Moet Grand Vintage Rose’ 2015 - rating [93] - price class [$125-$149]
Moet Grand Vintage Rose’ 2013 - rating [94] - price class [$100-$124]
Sweet Champagne has a dosage greater than 12 grams per liter. They include extra, sec, demi-sec, and doux.
Demi-sec has a dosage of 32 to 50 grams per liter. Click on a link for price class, tasting notes, and characteristics.
Nectar Imperial is a blend of pinot noir, chardonnay, and meunier.
Moet Nectar Imperial - rating [na] - price class [$35-$49]
Nectar Ice Imperial is a blend of pinot noir, chardonnay, and meunier. It was created to be enjoyed on ice.
Moet Ice Imperial - rating [na] - price class [$50-$74]
Nectar Imperial Rose’ is a blend of pinot noir, chardonnay, and meunier.
Moet Nectar Imperial Rose’ - rating [na] - price class [$50-$74]
Moet Ice Imperial Rose’ Nectar Imperial is a blend of pinot noir, chardonnay, and meunier. It was created to be enjoyed on ice.
Moet Ice Imperial Rose’ - rating [na] - price class [$50-$74]
Moet & Chandon is commonly referred to as Moet Champagne. The house tends to make crowd pleasing, recognizable blends. Dom Perignon, once Moet's prestige cuvee and still made in the same facility, has gone on to become a separate brand. The overall style is fresh, light to medium body, and approachable.
Moet & Chandon, the world’s largest champagne house, sells more than twice as much annually as their nearest competitor. Moet was the first winery in Champagne to produce only sparkling wine. The Moet Champagne brand is widely recognizable and widely distributed.
Moet Champagne has a number of vineyards (more than 2800 acres) for their champagne production but they also purchase grapes from other growers. The French regulators designated Moet & Chandon as a Negociant Manipulant (a producer who buys grapes from growers). See Moet & Chandon History for more information.
Light to Medium body, fresh, fruit driven, pure. Biscuit notes with age.
Over 30 million bottles are produced. Actual production numbers are proprietary.
LVMH Group.
Benoît Gouez (since 2005)
Ghislain Bonnet
Moet & Chandon Champagne
20, Avenue de Champagne
51200 Epernay, France
Moet et Cie (Moet & Co.) was founded by Claude Moet in Epernay in 1743. Legend has it that the family name originated in 1429 when a Dutch soldier named LeClerc warded off a group of English combatants who were trying to suppress the coronation of Charles VII in Reims. LeClerc headed a crowd of Remois that ran at the English screaming 'Het moёt zoo zijn' (it must be so). The English retreated after that. LeClerc became known as M. Moët after the incident. Later in 1446 King Charles VII made nobles of brothers Nicolas and Jean Moet, which set in motion what would later become one of the greatest dynasties in the history of champagne.
In 1743, some six generations and 300 years after LeClerc, Claude Moët (age 60) established Moet et Cie. He had been a wine merchant (since 1716) and a vineyard owner. Claude made regular trips to Versailles and gained favorable status with the court. Louis XV's favorite mistress, Madame de Pompadour, became one of Moet's most valuable customers. She has been credited with the statement 'Champagne is the only wine that leaves a woman beautiful after drinking it'.
Moet's son, Claude-Louis Nicolas Moet joined the firm in the mid 1750s. The firm continued to expand exports throughout Europe. Claude Moet was succeeded by his son, Claude-Louis and grandson Jean-Rémy Moet. Jean-Rémy proved to be a brilliant businessman and continued to expand exports throughout the world. Exports to the United States began in 1787. Jean-Rémy took over the business when his father died in 1792. He became mayor of Epernay in 1802. Jean-Rémy also became good friends with the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. Moet built new guesthouses and often wined and dined the Emperor and his entourage during the Napoleonic wars. Jean-Rémy Moet’s association with Napoleon helped propel him to the status of one of the most famous winemakers in the world. During the final years of the Emperor's rule, Napoleon awarded Moet the cross of the Legion d'Honneur.
Jean-Rémy Moet retired in 1832, passing the business to his son, Victor Moet, and his son-in law, Pierre-Gabriel Chandon. ‘Chandon’ was then added to the winery’s name. Near this time Moet acquired the vineyards and the Abbey of Hautervillers where Dom Perignon, the Benedictine monk, perfected several winemaking techniques.
Pierre-Gabriel Chandon died in 1850 at the age of 51. His sons succeeding him. Victor Moet never married.
As a tribute to Napoleon, Moet launched the 'Imperial' designation on its bottles in 1869 to commemorate the Emperor's 100 birthday. Moet's popularity continued to increase over the second half of the 19th century. They continued to expand their vineyard holdings, becoming the biggest land owner in the area by the 1880's.
During the later 1800's and early 1900's champagne sales and popularity grew, but severe obstacles faced the industry. Phylloxera, an aphid that kills grapevines, was making it's way into Champagne. In the late 1890s, Moet Chandon, led by Pierre-Gabriel Chandon's grandson Raoul, founded a large research institute in Epernay. The facility was named Fort Chabrol. The center was designed to focus on research into grafting vitis vinifera grapevines onto American rootstock to fight the devastating blight and to incorporate the techniques for performing the procedure into the grape growing community.
Other obstacles during this timeframe included wars and unrest such as the Russian Revolution, the Champagne Riots, World War I, Prohibition, the Stock Market crash in 1929 followed by the great depression. Count Robert-Jean de Vogué had joined the firm after leaving the military and in 1930 was asked to take over as president of the House of Moet. Robert-Jean championed the advancement of not only Moet Chandon, but all of Champagne. He worked to increase the price of grapes to support the poverty stricken grape growers and to put in place means to negotiate benefits and salaries between workers and employers. Count de Vogué was also instrumental in creating the Interprofessional Committee for the Wines of Champagne (CIVC) in 1941 along with other professional Champagne organizations.
Robert-Jean de Vogué displayed a brilliant talent for marketing and in 1936 he launched the first commercially available prestige cuvee, 'Dom Perignon' using wine from the 1921 vintage. Prior to 1927, the brand name 'Dom Perignon' was owned by Mercier, but given as a gift to Moet when Francine Durant-Mercier married Paul Chandon. Mercier had never used the name and the gift paved the way for Moet to market 'Dom Perignon'. Paul would later take the reins as president and general director of Moet in the 1950s.
During World War II German officers and soldiers developed quite a taste for Dom Perignon and champagne in general. Count Robert-Jean de Vogue was often required to ensure German high command's demands were met. He was suspected of being active in the French underground and was ultimately arrested by the Gestapo and sentenced to death in 1943 and was sent to a prisoner of war camp. He managed to survive and returned to Epernay after the Allied Forces liberated France.
The Count de Vogue continued to further the Moet holdings and diversify after his return to Epernay. He was a true leader in the making of an empire. His team and his successors continued his vision. In 1962, Moet was listed on the Paris Stock Exchange. Over the next 40 something years, Moet acquired Ruinart and followed later with the acquisition of Dior, then took control of Mercier. Moet merged with Hennessy in 1971. Moet grew the brand by establishing Bodegas Chandon in Argentina in 1959/60, followed by wine making facilities in Brazil, Germany, Australia, the U. K. and Spain. In 1973 Moet Hennessy purchased land in California and planted the vineyards for Domaine Chandon.
In 1987, Moet Hennessy merged with Louis Vuitton (who already owned Veuve Clicquot along with other Champagne Houses and Givenchy perfume).
They have at times increased the amount they pay growers. For example, in 2012 the company announced it would pay a premium of 4% for grapes from that vintage. Major expansions have recently been completed in the production facilities. Recent production capacity is 60 million bottles and growing rapidly. Moet employs more than 1200 people at the House in Epernay alone.
The current Houses owned by LVMH include Moet Chandon, Ruinart, Veuve Clicquot, Krug, Dom Perignon and Mercier. Dom Perignon, the former prestige of Moet & Chandon's is now recognized as a separate brand. Under the direction of Chef de Cave, Benoît Gouez since 2005, Moet continues its role as the largest and one of the most important and powerful leaders in Champagne. The approach to winemaking is to highlight the purity and excellence of the fruit, using stainless steel tanks for vinification, carefully protecting juice and wine from oxidation and incorporating malolactic fermentation to emphasize the Moet style. In spite of the size and power, Moet remains a respected and highly regarded entity among growers and other houses of all sizes throughout Champagne.