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This Iconic Champagne House Is Celebrating 150 Years of Brut
In 1858, after the death of her husband, Madame Pommery found herself at the helm of this developing Champagne House.
She decided to take on the reins and not only created 18km of chalk-pit cellars 30 metres below ground, on top of it she built the most majestical Elizabethan style property which would become the new home to a rapidly growing business. Champagne-making — and winemaking in general — was a man’s world, and Madame Pommery had her work cut out for her.
Proving herself as a worthy successor to her husband was one thing, but producing the wines to back it up was another. She sought to expand her vineyards to increase production, but there was one factor she wouldn’t compromise on: the quality of her grapes. This unwavering dedication to quality resulted in Madame Pommery presiding over some of Champagne’s finest vineyards, which, in 1874, led her to craft her magnum opus.
Pommery Nature vintage 1874 is considered to be the first Brut champagne ever created. A departure from the sweet champagnes that reigned supreme at the time, as legend has it, Brut – short for ‘brutal’ because it was so bitter in comparison – was crafted by Madame Pommery’s Nature, who allowed the grapes to remain on the vine for longer to allow natural sweetness to develop. It was a more time-intensive process, but it proved to be worth it, meeting with such significant commercial success in Britain, it was immortalised in a song entitled Ode to Pommery. It was with this wine that Madame Pommery catalysed a shift toward drier sparkling wines.
Fast forward 150 years, and Madame Pommery’s unyielding pursuit of excellence in her grapes and her wines is still deeply felt in the house’s offerings today. Case in point? Pommery’s Cuvée 150 — a celebration of champagne excellence, 150 years since the creation of Brut and Madame Pommery’s pioneering approach to winemaking.
Paying homage to Madame Pommery and the house’s rich history, the Cuvée 150 Blanc de Blancs is a unique blend of grapes sourced from 10 villages in four prestigious terroirs that have played important roles in Pommery’s history. Encased in a white bottle — the first in the house’s history — it nods to the purity of Madame Pommery’s first Brut blend, and, due to the painstaking process in which Cuvée 150 is created, will only be available in limited quantities exclusively at Vintage Cellars. A collector’s item for champagne enthusiasts and history buffs alike, Cuvée 150 is a testament to Pommery’s passion for creating some of the best champagne in the world — and certainly one Madame Pommery would be proud of.
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