Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 1995

Was 1995 a good year in Champagne?

Published vintage charts rate Champagne 1995 94 out of 100, 4.5 out of 5 stars and 4 out of 5. Rich, generous and balanced, marked by inviting fruitiness and slow-building finesse. Particularly successful for Chardonnay and better than first expected.

Spring frosts and summer mildew and rot, in the seventh consecutive high-cropping year, yet quality rose above all of it.

What the critics scored the 1995

3 critic scores from 3 reviewers, all 3 scores on the 100-point scale at 92/100. Score: 92.0 out of 100.

The dated reviews run from 2002 to 2003, young and mature bottles alike.

By score the 1995 ranks 12th of 16 (tied with 1993 and 1998) scored Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame vintages, 1.9 points below their review-weighted 93.9.

The 1990s by score: 1990 94.6, 1993 92.0, 1995 92.0, 1996 93.7 and 1998 92.0. The 1995 shares the decade's lowest score.

Luscious and deliciously flavorful, this has very ripe, round fruits and plenty of spicy power. It's tasty and impactful, extremely flavorful and forward, displaying loads of sweet vanilla and semi-tropical fruits, all wrapped around a long, full, lush finish.

Deep but youthfully unevolved aromas of toffee apple, lemon and mint. Penetrating, rich and thick, with a deep, yeasty, baked bread component. At once brisk and seamless but brooding more than expressive today. Finishes long, dry and backward. This may ultimately merit a score in the mid-90s.

What drinkers rate it

92.1 out of 100 from 65 drinker ratings, the most recent in March 2025.

That is 0.1 points above the critics' score.

Drinker rank: 10th of 22. The most-rated vintage has 270 ratings.

5 written notes, December 2021 to September 2024, rating it 90 to 94.

Scent of caramel, yellow fruits, apple, minimalistic note of wood or oak.Citrus, semi waterish green apples, yellow apples, earth, wet rocks, autumn, leaves, honeycomb, light caramel, pear and light minerals at the end.Much more baked bread and toasty notes than the LGD from the 2000s.In the aftertaste comes a lot of honey followed by light oak.The bubbles where a little weak, but in my opinion the complexity and great flavour register makes up for this.In my humble opinion this wine deserves at least 94 points. With more bubbles easy going up to 95 or 96 points.Had a lighter and less concentrated bouquette than the 1998.I like the 1995 better. More easy to drink and had more complexity and flavours.Both bottles where great tough.One of the best La Grande Dames I had in my life.Thank you Veuve Cliquot.On the edge to 95 points.Points 94.5 (96)

Medium gold with very little tiny bubbles.Intense aged nose with gingerbread, old wood cabinet, lemon, nuts.Medium body, with little sparkle, intense flavours of lemon and candied lemon, ginger, savoury, slightly oxidised. still very high acidity. excellent length.Very good aged champagne in excellent conditions.Much better than the bottle I had 3 yrs ago.

Ofattbart god, mycket ljus citrus med latta bubblor. Balans och kraft, elegant. Smak av torr frukt.

What it has traded at

4 trade months, January 2016 to September 2017, 4 sales. Median £100 to £129, up 29 per cent.

Cheapest sale £100 (January 2016), dearest £129 (July 2017).

That last sale is 9 years old: history, not a quote.

2 other vintages also last traded in 2017: 0 cheaper, 2 dearer.

When to drink the 1995

2005 to 2012: 7 years, opening 10 years after the harvest.

Closed 14 years before our 2026 snapshot, so provenance counts for more than price.

Yet 5 drinker notes came after 2012, the latest September 2024 at 94.

Window length rank, longest first: 9th of 11.

The 1995 against its neighbours

The 1995 beside its 4 nearest recorded years.

Here, by score, it places 3rd of 5 (tied with 1993 and 1998).