Moët & Chandon is Champagne’s great institution — a house that combines royal pedigree, immense scale, and remarkable consistency. Founded in 1743 by Claude Moët, a Frenchman of Dutch ancestry, the house grew from the small town of Épernay into the most recognised name in sparkling wine. The Moët family originally descended from a merchant line that settled in Champagne during the 14th century, bringing with them a Dutch surname that still echoes that heritage — and explains why it is correctly pronounced “Mo-ett”, with the t sounded.
Claude Moët was among the first to see Champagne not just as a regional curiosity but as a drink of luxury and celebration. By the mid-18th century, his wines were being poured at the court of Louis XV, and his grandson Jean-Rémy Moët cemented the house’s reputation by building relationships with Europe’s aristocracy — most famously Napoleon Bonaparte, whose friendship inspired the creation of Moët Impérial a century later.
Today the house owns over 1,200 hectares of vineyards — the largest in Champagne — stretching across Épernay, the Côte des Blancs, and the Montagne de Reims. Beneath the town runs 28 kilometres of chalk cellars, a cool labyrinth where millions of bottles rest and age in silence. Moët produces around 28 million bottles a year, yet every cuvée still reflects a disciplined blending process that prioritises clarity and balance over opulence.
The style is unmistakable: Pinot Noir gives structure and drive; Chardonnay adds lift and finesse; and Pinot Meunier contributes roundness and fruit. Ageing well beyond the legal minimum ensures texture and harmony. The range spans from Brut Impérial and Rosé Impérial to the vintage Grand Vintages, the richer Nectar Impérial, and Ice Impérial designed for serving over ice. At the pinnacle sits Dom Pérignon, made by the same company but managed as its own maison.
Under the guidance of cellar master Benoît Gouez, Moët & Chandon continues to modernise quietly — pioneering sustainable viticulture, investing in biodiversity, and refining its blends to adapt to a changing climate.
For all its glamour, Moët remains grounded in craft. It’s a house built on the precise orchestration of thousands of vineyard parcels, each blended to express freshness, elegance, and generosity. And while the label may be global, the soul remains local — in Épernay’s chalk and the long echo of a Dutch name that changed the sound of celebration forever.
