Moët & Chandon

Claude Moët (1683-1760) founded the house in 1743, and its Épernay buildings bear the inscription "1743 Moët & Chandon". In 1793 his grandson Jean-Remy Moët (1758-1841) commissioned a Neo-classical mansion, the Hôtel Moët, on a plot Claude had acquired in the early eighteenth century, making him the first merchant to build premises on the modern-day Avenue de Champagne. Jean-Remy, who was also mayor of Épernay, bought the property opposite in 1805 and commissioned two identical mansions there, today the Résidence de Trianon and the Hôtel Chandon. In 1823 his son-in-law Pierre Gabriel Chandon bought the Abbey of Hautvillers and restored its vineyard estate, and the abbey is now the property of Moët & Chandon. Bombing on the night of 19-20 July 1918 struck the house's buildings on the avenue: the Hôtel Moët was rebuilt behind its surviving facades, and the present house building at 18 Avenue de Champagne, designed by Henri Piquart and Bruno de Maigret with an art deco-inspired facade, went up between 1923 and 1932. Moët & Chandon is part of Moët Hennessy, the Wines & Spirits division of LVMH.

• 1743: Claude Moët founds the house
• 1793: Jean-Remy Moët commissions the Hôtel Moët, the first merchant premises on the modern-day Avenue de Champagne
• 1805: Jean-Remy Moët buys the property opposite, later the site of the Résidence de Trianon and the Hôtel Chandon
• 1823: Pierre Gabriel Chandon, son-in-law of Jean-Remy Moët, buys the Abbey of Hautvillers
• 1923 to 1932: construction of the house building at 18 Avenue de Champagne after the July 1918 bombing
• Owned within Moët Hennessy, the Wines & Spirits division of LVMH

Benoît Gouez has been Cellar Master at Moët & Chandon since 2005, and each Grand Vintage expresses the Cellar Master's personal interpretation of the year. Sibylle Scherer introduced Natura Nostra, the house's biodiversity programme in Champagne, as CEO of Maison Moët & Chandon. Jean-Michel Bardet is Moët & Chandon's Chef, named as the preparer of the gastronomic dinner offered after a show in the Orangerie gardens.

• Benoît Gouez: Cellar Master since 2005
• Sibylle Scherer: introduced the Natura Nostra programme as CEO of Maison Moët & Chandon
• Jean-Michel Bardet: the house's Chef

Moët & Chandon holds 1,300 hectares (3,212 acres) of chalk soil, of which 50% are grands crus and 25% premiers crus, an estate the house calls the most extensive in the region. Its vineyards lie in all five main areas of Champagne: the Montagne de Reims, the Côte des Blancs, the Vallée de la Marne, Sézanne and the Aube. This gives the house access to approximately 280 of the 323 crus in the region, including 17 grands crus and 32 of the 44 premiers crus. The house grows Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay, and visitors can tour the vineyards of the private Fort Chabrol site. Moët & Chandon has held Sustainable Viticulture certification since 2007, covering no fewer than 99 criteria. Its Natura Nostra biodiversity programme had planted 20 kilometres of ecological corridors on the estates, with a target of 100 km by 2027, brought more than 220 sheep into eco-grazing, and set out to help 2,350 winegrower partners in sustainable viticulture.

• 1,300 hectares, 50% grands crus and 25% premiers crus
• Vineyards in the Montagne de Reims, Côte des Blancs, Vallée de la Marne, Sézanne and the Aube
• Access to approximately 280 of 323 crus, including 17 grands crus and 32 of 44 premiers crus
• Sustainable Viticulture certification since 2007
• Natura Nostra biodiversity programme, targeting 100 km of ecological corridors by 2027

Moët & Chandon has 28 km of cellars, descending to a depth of 10 to 30 metres underground. The first sections were dug in the eighteenth century, and the network grew through extensions and acquisitions as the house developed. The house building at 18 Avenue de Champagne holds some production as well as offices, visitor reception and a shop, and it welcomes visitors for cellar tours and tastings. Elsewhere on the avenue, the Hôtel Moët holds the administrative and sales offices; opposite it, the Résidence de Trianon receives the house's guests, and the Hôtel Chandon, demolished after damage in the First World War and given an exterior rebuilt to the original plans in the 1980s, is used for in-house meetings and seminars.

• 28 km of cellars, 10 to 30 metres deep, first dug in the eighteenth century
• House building at 18 Avenue de Champagne, built 1923 to 1932
• Hôtel Moët: administrative and sales offices
• Résidence de Trianon: guest residence; Hôtel Chandon: meetings and seminars

Brut Impérial is blended from more than 100 different wines, 20% to 30% of them reserve wines, drawing on nearly 280 crus, with 30 to 40% Pinot Noir, 30 to 40% Meunier and 20 to 30% Chardonnay and a dosage of 7 g/l. The house marked the 150th anniversary of Moët Impérial with the inauguration of the restored Château de Saran. Brut Impérial Rosé shifts the balance to 40 to 50% Pinot Noir, 30 to 40% Pinot Meunier and 10 to 20% Chardonnay, also with 20 to 30% reserve wines and 7 g/l dosage. Nectar Impérial and Ice Impérial share a 40 to 50% Pinot Noir base and a dosage of 45 g/l; the house calls Ice Impérial "the first and only champagne especially created to be enjoyed over ice." The range also includes Nectar Impérial Rosé and Ice Impérial Rosé. Grand Vintage is made from the grapes of a single year: Grand Vintage 2016, the 77th vintage in the history of the house, blends 48% Chardonnay, 34% Pinot Noir and 18% Meunier, spent six years in the cellars and carries an extra brut dosage of 5 g/l. Older vintages appear in the Grand Vintage Collection, including 2009 and 2000, the latter the sixty-seventh Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage since the first in 1842. Collection Impériale Création N°1 is the house's Haute Œnologie cuvée.

• Brut Impérial: more than 100 wines, 20% to 30% reserve wines, dosage 7 g/l
• Brut Impérial Rosé: 40 to 50% Pinot Noir, dosage 7 g/l
• Nectar Impérial and Ice Impérial: dosage 45 g/l, each also made as a rosé
• Grand Vintage 2016: 48% Chardonnay, 34% Pinot Noir, 18% Meunier, extra brut
• Grand Vintage Collection 2009 and 2000; Collection Impériale Création N°1

The Abbey of Hautvillers, founded circa 662 by St Nivard, was bought in 1823 by Pierre Gabriel Chandon and is now the property of Moët & Chandon, which commissioned a replica of the abbey's lost Sainte-Hélène door in 2012. The abbey is best known for its cellar master Pierre Pérignon (1638-1715), better known as Dom Pérignon. Moët et Chandon launched Dom Pérignon as a prestige cuvée in 1936 with the 1921 vintage, of which only 1,200 bottles were produced. Dom Pérignon is a vintage Champagne built on roughly equal proportions of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. It is a Moët & Chandon brand that is considered a separate Champagne house.

• Abbey of Hautvillers bought by Pierre Gabriel Chandon in 1823
• Dom Pérignon (Pierre Pérignon, 1638-1715) was cellar master at the abbey
• Dom Pérignon launched in 1936 with the 1921 vintage, 1,200 bottles
• Roughly equal proportions of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir

Moët & Chandon expresses its savoir-faire through what it calls three emblematic creations: the Timeless Classic, the Bespoke Creation and the Haute Œnologie. The house defines its style as "distinguished by its bright fruitiness, its seductive palate and its elegant maturity." In its account of the three grapes, Pinot Noir brings body, structure and intensity, Pinot Meunier suppleness, roundness and fleshiness, and Chardonnay elegance, acidity and freshness. Reserve wines of 20% to 30% in the Impérial blends serve the constancy of the Impérial range, while each Grand Vintage expresses a single year.

• Three emblematic creations: Timeless Classic, Bespoke Creation, Haute Œnologie
• Pinot Noir for body, Pinot Meunier for suppleness, Chardonnay for elegance
• Reserve wines for constancy in the Impérial range; Grand Vintage for a single year

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.moet.com/en-int, https://www.moet.com/en-int/vineyards-vast, https://www.moet.com/en-int/moet-imperial, https://www.moet.com/en-int/rose-imperial, https://www.moet.com/en-int/nectar-imperial, https://www.moet.com/en-int/ice-imperial, https://www.moet.com/en-int/grand-vintage-philosophy, https://www.moet.com/en-int/grand-vintage-2016, https://www.moet.com/en-int/our-champagnes-moet-chandon, https://www.moet.com/en-int/visit-us, https://www.moet.com/en-int/natura-nostra, https://www.moet.com/en-int/news, https://www.moet.com/en-int/unique-savoir-faire; parent group: https://www.lvmh.com/en/our-maisons/wines-spirits/moet-chandon. Official heritage body: https://www.champagne-patrimoinemondial.org/en/decouvrir/first-private-residence-avenue-de-champagne, https://www.champagne-patrimoinemondial.org/en/decouvrir/rooted-regions-history, https://www.champagne-patrimoinemondial.org/en/decouvrir/prestigious-mansions-distinguished-guests, https://www.champagne-patrimoinemondial.org/en/decouvrir/birthplace-champagne. Secondary sources: Decanter (Stephen Brook, published 27 August 2017; Dom Pérignon producer profile). Last verified 2026-10-19. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.