If the flavor of a golden summer could be captured, it would be in a bottle of Moët & Chandon Ice Impérial. [read the full champagne story]
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Moët & Chandon Ice Impérial was launched in the summer of 2011 as the world’s first champagne especially blended to be enjoyed exclusively over ice, to be sipped on a sun-drenched beach in Malibu or on a slow, sizzling afternoon in Capri.
Everything that is festive, languid and chilled about a summer’s day has come together in the new “cool” way to drink champagne, on ice, served in a large wine glass, chilled and bursting with the flavor of tropical fruits.
Until Moët & Chandon introduced the Ice Impérial, certain purists considered it inelegant to add ice cubes to champagne. But Moët & Chandon, a trendsetter, found a way to satisfy those who craved a chic new way to enjoy a refreshing champagne when lounging poolside in Los Angeles with palm trees swinging in the background or while breaking free at a sky-high rooftop bar perched above New York’s Meatpacking district.
Ice Impérial offers a new hip champagne experience that combines fun and fresh sensations while remaining true to the Moët & Chandon distinctive style. It was designed to conserve its bright fruitiness, seductive palate and elegant maturity even with the added ice cubes.
‘For me, Moët & Chandon Ice Impérial is about a moment. It is a new champagne-experience to be lived, and we have been the first to offer this new mode of consumption’.
Moët & Chandon Ice Impérial is the champagne that best expresses the contemporaneity of Moët & Chandon. It is a born out of centuries of tradition that bestow on a historic house like Moët & Chandon the boldness to be truly contemporary and to embrace the evolution of tastes and lifestyles while remaining true to its heritage.
With the Ice Impérial, Moët & Chandon has disrupted the classic codes of champagne, by creating a champagne that can be savored by the beach or poolside, in large wine glasses, without concern for outdated codes.
The “perfect serve” of Moët & Chandon Ice Impérial, according to Benoît Gouez, begins with a chilled glass into which champagne is poured first and to which three ice cubes are added.
‘For better effervescence and a bubblier champagne, it is best to pour the Ice Impérial first then add three ice cubes. It makes a subtle difference’.
To achieve the intense, fruity freshness of Ice Impérial, Benoît Gouez has meticulously selected an assemblage that consists of 40 to 50 percent Pinot Noir, 30 to 40 percent Meunier, and 10 to 20 percent of Chardonnay.
The Pinot Noir, harvested in the southern vineyards of Champagne that produce more aromatic grapes, brings a full fleshiness to the champagne and a rich melting sensation on the palate.
“The Pinot Noir gives the Ice Impérial its wine-like and angular aspect as well as its intense fruitiness, adding also the structure needed for the dosage”.
Moët & Chandon Ice Impérial has a note of acidity derived from a point of Chardonnay, which adds a refreshing finish and an acidic kick.
“There is a real construct behind Moët & Chandon Ice Impérial. From a process standpoint, it is a true champagne. The difference is that it is an assemblage of very specific base wines that give a high aromatic intensity, a structure that supports a higher dosage to anticipate dilution and a refreshing finish”.
While a spectacularly festive champagne, Ice Impérial remains easy to drink after just 18 months of initial maturation and at least another three months more after disgorgement in the Moët & Chandon’s cellars. For an added richness on the palate, the dosage is measured to 45 grams/liter to ensure that the flavors of the champagne are not diluted on ice.
“Moët & Chandon Ice Impérial does not replace other champagnes. It is a new way of enjoying it by opening new possibilities for those who crave an experience of champagne in total freedom, one that is casual and refreshing on ice. We created Ice Impérial for these reasons”.
Moët & Chandon Ice Impérial has become the champagne of choice for sultry summer evenings spent watching the sun set from a wooden porch in Bali, at a clam-bake on the beach in Montauk, at a chic party on a yacht moored in the port of St Tropez, or dancing barefoot in the streets of Panama.
With a balance of contemporaneity and authenticity, Moët & Chandon Ice Impérial has single-handedly revolutionized the global perception of champagne while maintaining its high quality.
MOËT & CHANDON ICE IMPÉRIAL ROSÉ
‘What if you could pour the aromas of a rosy summer day at sunset into a glass?’
Moët & Chandon Ice Impérial Rosé is the closest thing to capturing the flavors of a golden pink sunset in a champagne bottle. The vibrant and fruity bouquet of Ice Impérial Rosé is an ode to a burgeoning summer romance, or a toast to friends getting together to raise a glass to the setting sun.
Gleaming in its vivid pink color brightened by golden highlights that enhance its vibrant and fruity bouquet, in a single sip of Moët & Chandon Ice Impérial Rosé, fragrant with scents of fragrant red berries and nuances of juicy summer fruits, fig, nectarine and an appetizing note of grenadine.
Launched in 2016, Moët & Chandon Ice Impérial Rosé is the world’s first rosé champagne especially made to be enjoyed exclusively over ice.
Ice Impérial Rosé is, like Ice Impérial, a modern demonstration of the savoir-faire and contemporaneity of Moët & Chandon, expressed in a new champagne tasting experience that brings together pleasure and freshness.
Its assemblage consists of a majority of Pinot Noir (45 to 55 percent, of which 10 percent red wine) that gives it an angular and vinous aspect. The Pinot Meunier makes up 35 to 45 percent (of which 10 percent red wine) for a round and fleshy aspect, adding richness and middle notes of harmony and suppleness. Finally, the Chardonnay limited to 5 to 10 percent adds a polished acidity for a refreshing finish.
The dosage of Ice Impérial Rosé is lower than that of Ice Impérial, limited to 38 grams per liter, for a luscious palate that combines sweetness, reminiscent of berries and firmness in a harmonious balance of fruitiness and freshness that ends with a refreshing finish in a deliciously bittersweet note of pink grapefruit.
Moët & Chandon Ice Impérial Rosé is the champagne of choice for those who are looking for a chic new way to drink champagne, more casually perhaps, but always with panache.
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