France's Champagne region has countless Champagne houses. But few offer as much visual delight as "André Clouet." The ornate, vintage label that wraps the bottle is not merely a design for marketing. It expresses the identity of a family that has continued for 300 years and its sense of historical pride.
The ancestors of the André Clouet family were "royal master printers" who, by order of King Louis XV, produced books and documents at the Versailles court in the 18th century. At the time, printing went beyond simply spreading knowledge; it was a high artistic realm that upheld royal authority. Their perfectionism—setting precise metal type and engraving lavish Rococo motifs—carried on intact even after the family shifted fully to winemaking in 1741.
Jean-François Clouet, who currently leads André Clouet, reinterpreted the designs and typography from old books left by his forebears in a modern way and wove them into the labels. Thanks to that, enthusiasts experience a delight, as if holding a precious 18th-century French royal volume, before they even drink the wine. The family's authority, technique, and craftsmanship have continued their line from type on paper to Champagne labels.
André Clouet is based in the village of "Bouzy," considered one of the finest terroirs in Champagne. The entire village is classified as "Grand Cru," one of the few areas with the top rating. It is renowned for producing powerful, masculine Pinot Noir.
The secret behind Bouzy's Pinot Noir having a firmer structure and more intense mineral character than other areas lies in its geological traits. Thick chalk soils store daytime heat and release it at night to help grapes ripen, and their excellent drainage drives vine roots deep in search of nutrients. While the Champagne region overall is cool, Bouzy has many south- and southeast-facing slopes, giving it excellent sun exposure—a major strength.
"André Clouet Champagne Silver Brut" is a nonvintage Champagne (a blend of wines from different years) that most classically shows the family's style. Its biggest feature is that it boldly omits dosage—the customary final step in Champagne making of adding sugar.
Usually, skipping added sugar can make the taste feel overly sharp, but André Clouet overcame this with a unique technique: partially aging the wine in oak barrels that previously held Sauternes, the sweet dessert wine from Bordeaux, and then blending. The Sauternes barrels add dimension and richness, playing a decisive role in creating a smooth, generous texture without sugar.
In particular, despite being nonvintage, Silver Brut exceeds the legal standard for on-the-lees aging in bottle, imprinting aromas of freshly baked bread and flavors of nuts into the wine. The legal minimum aging is 15 months, but all André Clouet wines undergo at least 3 to 4 years (36 to 48 months) of lees aging.
In addition, André Clouet adheres to a traditional basket press to keep pigments from the skins from bleeding into the juice. This preserves the red fruit character and weighty body typical of Pinot Noir while yielding a clear, transparent golden liquid. This meticulous extraction echoes the family's craftsmanship from the days of setting type, letter by letter, to produce flawless prints.
As a result, Silver Brut offers abundant fruit aromas—lemon, apple, peach—along with a zesty swallow and fine, gentle bubbles. Experts have rated its quality highly, awarding 92 points from Robert Parker and 93 points from James Suckling. At the Korea Wine & Spirits Awards 2025, it won the grand prize in the sparkling wine category. Thanks to its distinctively dry, clean taste, it pairs well not only with fresh seafood such as caviar, salmon, and sushi, but also with soft cheeses. The importer in Korea is Shinsegae L&B.