History

Moët et Chandon began as Moët et Cie^[1] (Moët & Co.), established by Épernay wine trader Claude Moët in 1743,^[3] and began shipping his wine from Champagne to Paris. The reign of King Louis XV coincided with increased demand for sparkling wine. Soon after its foundation, and after son Claude-Louis joined Moët et Cie, the winery's clientele included nobles and aristocrats.

In 1833 the company was renamed Moet et Chandon after Pierre-Gabriel Chandon, the director of maisson4, joined the company as a partner of Jean-Remy Moet, Claude Moet's grandson.

Following the introduction of the concept of a vintage champagne in 1840, Moët marketed its first vintage in 1842. Their best-selling brand, Brut Imperial, was introduced in the 1860s. Their best known label, Dom Perignon, is named for the Benedictine monk remembered in legend as the "Father of Champagne".

Moët & Chandon merged with Hennessy Cognac in 1971 and with Louis Vuitton in 1987 to become LVMH (Louis-Vuitton-Moët-Hennessy), the largest luxury group in the world, netting over 16 billion euros in fiscal 2004. Moët & Chandon holds a royal warrant as supplier of champagne to Queen Elizabeth II.^[4][3][5]

In 2006, Moët et Chandon Brut Impérial issued an extremely limited bottling of its champagne named "Be Fabulous", a special release of its original bottle with decorative Swarovski crystals, marking the elegance of Moët et Chandon.

Around 5 million bottles are produced in each vintage.^[7] The wine is 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot noir, with 6 g/l dosage.^[7]According to Tom Stevenson, "All vintages need at least 12 years ageing to nurture Dom Pérignon's signature silky mousse".^[7] As of 2008, the current release of Dom Pérignon is from the 2000 vintage^[7] and the current release of Dom Pérignon Rosé is from the 1998 vintage. As of 2017 the senior winemaker was Richard Geoffroy, who has been chef de cave for Dom Pérignon since 1990.^[8]