As we prepare to ring in 2015 in style, there is nothing more symbolic with New Year’s celebrations than champagne. And when it comes to bubbly there is no bigger name than Moët & Chandon. The brand was founded in 1743 and today is the largest, and most widely distributed champagne in the world; the undisputed industry leader. With Moët & Chandon selected as ‘the official champagne of New Year’s Eve in Times Square’ it’s time to bring you our exclusive conversation with the brand’s winemaker and oenologist, Elise Losfelt. She is a rarity in the industry; a female winemaker in the region, and one of ten winemakers responsible for creating the world’s most famous Champagne.

Skilled, beautiful, and charming; Mlle Losfelt is part of the sixth generation in her own family of winemakers. Her expertise lies in guaranteeing that the many who enjoy Moët’s Champagnes worldwide sip only the top quality wines for which the House has become renowned.

Champagne does not need a special occasion, simply popping a bottle makes any occasion special. Be it New Year’s Eve or an ordinary Tuesday, just lift up your glass of Moët and you will find a reason to celebrate.

In time for the holidays, Moët & Chandon is introducing the new Grand Vintage Brut 2006; alongside the re release of the 1999, which shares a similar profile to the exceptional 2006 harvest. Either bottle makes an extraordinary present, or takes any celebration to a higher level.

Thanks to our conversation with Elise Losfelt now you too can become a champagne connoisseur by learning from the best. We have separated our conversation into three parts. Part one will deal with the champagne making process at Moët & Chandon. The second part will address the new vintages being released in detail, and part three deals with champagne and food pairings.

HOMBRE: What can you tell us about the Moët & Chandon ‘experience’?
Elise Losfelt: Moët & Chandon is the best known champagne in the world. Our job as winemakers is to make sure this product is consistent whenever and wherever you buy it. If you have it one year in London and the next year in Sydney, it will taste the same – that is as long as you have it in a wine glass. In a flute it’s a different experience. We taste champagne in wine glasses because you have to remember champagne is a wine; and the best way to enjoy the aromas, all the depth and complexity is to have it in a white wine glass. The flute is good for celebrations, it’s good because you see the bubbles and it’s a really nice moment you’re enjoying, but when it comes to tasting a champagne having it in a white wine glass is better.

H: What is it about the elaboration process of Moët & Chandon that makes it so special?
EL: The champagne region is a very limited area situated east of Paris, in the same latitude. We have two different climates, continental from Eastern Europe and a climate coming from Western Europe. The climates fight each other and the quality of the grapes year after year is completely different. If you were to make a champagne with grapes of one year only you would have a champagne that’s inconsistent of qualities and aromas. So in order to avoid those inconsistencies our ancestors have developed the art of blending – and when I say ancestors you have to remember that Moët & Chandon is 271 years old. They have developed the art of blending of different grapes and grapes of different places. Depending on where grapes grow they will have different aromas because of the microclimate and this creates a huge diversity. We are going to make some wines from previous years, we keep wines from different years and we are going to use them and blend with the wines of the current year to create consistency.

H: How many wines are utilized to create a blend? How long is the process?
EL: Moët & Chandon Imperial is a blend of more than 100 different wines. In one harvest we elaborate 800 different wines which we call reserve wines. They are the base of the blend of the champagne. I am one of ten winemakers who try these wines and this permits us to have consistency in the wine.

A bottle of Moët & Chandon Imperial in order to reach your table needs three years and half, starting from the harvest. I’m not even talking about reserve wines which are older.

H: That’s a long time.
EL: When you’re a winemaker you know that what you’re creating will be ready in three years and a half, or eight years and half, or even more. In our cellars – which are the biggest cellars in the champagne region – there are 28 kilometers (17.4 miles) filled with champagne bottles, a dream! There are bottles we have dating back to 1869. The heritage of time and heritage of knowledge is important to us.

H: What are the qualities that set Moët & Chandon apart?
EL: The style of Moët & Chandon is driven by 3 pillars.
1. The idea of fruitiness, bright and intense, fresh fruits in the mouth and in the nose. You can really enjoy all the aromas of the champagne.
2. The second pillar is a seductive palette so when you taste the champagne it’s pleasure, it’s supple, it’s generous in the mouth. That’s because of the size of the bubbles. When we create Moët & Chandon we’re not doing a champagne to overthink it, it’s just pleasure, just enjoy it.
3. And the third pillar is easy, elegance maturity. The years of maturation will bring aromas of brioche, croissant, vanilla; aromas that are here to support and enhance the fruitiness. They don’t overpower it. They’re there so you feel even more the fruitiness of the champagne.

H: What can you tell us about the vintage champagnes?
EL: We create vintage champagnes which are the expression of one particular year. The Moët & Chandon Imperial is the flagship, which means it will embody completely the style of Moët & Chandon.

H: What is the process of creating a vintage?
EL: In the vintage we are looking for a champagne that is more gastronomical, the expression of one outstanding year. In the entire region of champagne 90 to 95 percent of the production is non vintage champagne. Everyone is trying to make a consistent product. Moët & Chandon being the largest and the leader we achieve that. We have access to a wide range of different grapes and access to a lot of diversity in the champagne region, we are proud of our consistency. We are big, and bigger is better in the champagne region. People can trust us when buying a bottle of Moët & Chandon Imperial.

H: How do you decide on the vintage?
EL: Five percent is vintage champagne. The expression of one year. We know on the selection of the grapes whether it’s an outstanding year or not. There are years that are just outstanding and you know it from the very first grapes. The head winemaker or Chef de Cave decides if we’re going to do a vintage. Our head winemaker is Benoît Gouez, who last year was selected as ‘Head Winemaker of the Year,’ which is a big honor.
He selects the top from 800 wines to make sure he showcases strongly the personality of each particular year. There’s going to be a blend of 10, 20, 25 wines in a vintage and these are going to be the most outstanding wines of the year.

H: Tell us about the release of the 2006 Grand Vintage.
EL: We like to describe this champagne as floral, succulent and you’ll see by tasting it. The floral part comes from the chardonay. It’s dominated by 42 percent of chardonay in the blend. It’s very different from Moët & Chandon  Imperial. The texture is much more fresh and crisp. Complex, length, aromas that are more intense. It’s a more gastronomical champagne. It has huge potential for aging.

H: Why the re release of the 1999 Moët & Chandon Vintage?
ES: Whenever we release a new vintage we like to re release an old vintage side by side. Those vintages are very much the same as the new harvest that we are showcasing. They are there to help you understand how a champagne can age. The 1999 is dominated by Pinot Noir, so the spiciness that comes from the aging really comes from the Pinot Noir. At Moët & Chandon we are blenders and we believe that the three grapes (Pinot Noir, Chardonay and Meunier) of the champagne region are complementary and we are always going to use them.

H: Where are the 2006 and 1999 Grand Vintages available?
EL: They are available anywhere. You’ll find them in particular stores as a limited edition.

Moët & Chandon winemaker Elise Losfelt with HOMBRE Magazine’s Francisco Romeo