Postcard: Marks and Spencer - Food and Wine
Condition: MINT
Quantity: 1 Set
Price: US$12.00
Catalog: FB007
Postcard: Corona Extra
Condition: MINT
Quantity: 1
Price: US$9.00
Catalog: FB006
Postcard: Bertolli - Extra Virgin Oil
Condition: MINT
Quantity: 1
Price: US$7.00
Catalog: FB005
Postcard: Tabasco - Greeen Pepper Sauce
Condition: MINT
Quantity: 1
Price: US$7.00
Catalog: FB004
Postcard: Tabasco - Garlic Pepper Sauce
Condition: MINT
Quantity: 1
Price: US$7.00
Catalog: FB003
Postcard: M and M's
Mand M's (named after the surnames of the company founders Forrest Mars and Bruce Murrie) are dragée-like "colorful button-shaped candies"produced by Mars, Incorporated. The candy shells, each of which has the letter "m" printed in lower case on one side, surround a variety of fillings, including milk chocolate, dark chocolate, crisped rice, mint chocolate, peanuts, almonds, orange chocolate, coconut, pretzel, and peanut butter. M and M's originated in the United States in 1941, and are now sold in over 100 countries. They are produced in different colors, some of which have changed over the years. The difference between the different colored M and Ms is the dye added to the outer coating.
Condition: MINT
Quantity: 1
Price: US$12.00
Catalog: FB002
Postcard: Veuve Clicquot (2000)
Veuve Clicquot
The Clicquot Champagne house has its origins in a trading business, established in 1772 by Philippe Clicquot who dealt principally in textiles and finance, but also handled the produce of a small area of vineyards at nearby Bouzy and Ambonnay. Philippe built the business up over the next two decades, subsequently retiring and handing control to his son, François, in 1801. At that time François was already a married man, having taken the hand of Nicole-Barbe Ponsardin in 1799, and by 1800 they had a daughter, Clémentine. Death staked its claim early on this young family, however, when François died aged just 30 years, after a prolonged fever. His father by now considered himself too old to return to the vineyards, and it looked as though the family business would be sold off. Not by the reckoning of the veuve (widow) Clicquot, however, and she took control in a move unprecedented in a world where business was still the domain of men.
Thus the house took the name Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin, although this is commonly shortened to Veuve Clicquot. Under the tenure of Nicole-Barbe the house went from strength to strength, thanks in part to the installation of a new chef de caves, Antoine Müller, in 1810, but in the main I think to her remarkable business acumen. Her first coup was to break the Russian market, one lost in a Europe thrown into turmoil by Napoleon and his ambitions. In the tentative peace that existed in 1811, as Napoleon's blockades fell, she despatched a large consignment, a risky venture in the prevailing political climate, but fortunately one which paid off. The wine was a success and well-received, and this firmed up the financial base from which the house operated. It was not just the marketing and distribution of Champagne that came under Nicole-Barbe's scrutiny, however, as she also saw the implementation of revolutionary new practices in the cellars. At the time the appearance of Champagne was still marred by the lees, the sediment of dead yeast cells that remained suspended in the wine following the secondary fermentation in the bottle. Nicole-Barbe and her new chef de cave conceived the system of remuage, a crucial step in the clarification of Champagne, a technique that has been universally adopted in the production of bottle-fermented sparkling wine. The system centres around wooden racks into which the bottles are placed neck first at an angle of 45 degrees. Each day the bottles are turned and tilted so that the bottle points further downwards with each day, the process gradually bringing all the sediment into the neck right behind the cork, from where it can be removed during disgorgement. With Veuve Clicquot's new technique, Champagne would no longer require decanting before serving, or being left in the glass for the sediment to settle being being approached.
In 1817 Clémentine, Nicole-Barbe's daughter, married the destitute Comte Louis de Chevigné, who seemed to set about spending the Clicquot fortune with an admirable enthusiasm. Under his influence, Nicole-Barbe purchased the Chateau de Boursault, which remains a company asset today. This state of affairs might have continued were it not for the fact that following a financial crisis in 1828 Eduoard Werlé, a wealthy employee who paid off the firm's debts, was made a partner in the business. Werlé was now in charge of the Clicquot finances, and Chevigné's pocket money was severely curtailed. This the firm continued to thrive, and Werlé assumed full control in 1841 upon Nicole-Barbe's retirement, and he ran the business up until her death in 1866, at the age of 89. Such was her presence in the region that during her lifetime she became known as La Grande Dame de la Champagne, and today she lives on in a prestige cuvée of the same name.
The Werlé family now ran Veuve Clicquot, with Eduoard's son Alfred taking over in 1884. Alfred developed the vineyards, building upon the groundwork laid by Nicole-Barbe with the acquisition of more new plots of vines, but eventually passing control to his son-in-law Comte Bertrand de Mun who was followed in turn by his son-in-law, Comte Bernard de Vogüé. In 1985 it was Alain de Vogüé who held tenure when Veuve Clicquot was subject to a reverse takeover by Joseph Henriot, head of Champagne Henriot. He acquired 11% of Veuve Clicquot stock, making him the most significant minor shareholder, and also assumed the role of chairman of the company. The action brought Veuve Clicquot under the LVMH umbrella, where it remains today, headed up by president Cécile Bonnefond, with vineyard manager Christian Renard and cellar master Jacques Péters.
Today there are 382 hectares of vineyards exploited by Clicquot, which although widely distributed are predominantly in the Grande Montagne de Reims and the Côte des Blancs, including plots in twelve grand cru sites. This is a considerable estate, but such is the Champagne business that it provides only a quarter of Clicquot's needs, the rest being purchased from growers who are under long-term contract. Much of the fruit harvested will of course be destined for the 'Yellow Label' Brut Non-Vintage, the most recognisable wine in the portfolio with its distinctive orange label. So distinctive, in fact, that in 2000 Veuve Clicquot instructed a solicitor to act against a small although historic Tasmanian sparkling wine estate which used a similar 'mango' colour it its label design. The proprietor, Stefano Lubiana, faced with lengthy and no doubt expensive legal process, perhaps felt powerless to do anything other than comply with the whim of a Champagne house with all the financial clout of its backer, the multinational LVMH group. Such action probably reflects the importance of the non-vintage cuvée as a readily recognisable face of Veuve Clicquot, a vital component of its brand, but it is a cold-hearted observer who does not feel some sympathy for the smaller player in this David versus Goliath situation. Despite the significant role the Brut Non-Vintage which is a blend of fifty crus, one third Chardonnay and incorporates up to one third reserve wine, plays in the Clicquot portfolio it has been criticised in some quarters in recent years. This may reflect earlier release of the wine, a practice increasingly common throughout Champagne, and thus it requires a year or two bottle age following release to show its best. My most recent experiences show that the wines are better after two years in the cellar, but even with this I wonder whether they are in the same class as contemporaneous releases from other houses.
The Veuve Clicquot range also includes a Rosé Non-Vintage, based on the Yellow Label blend, with the addition of red wine (rosé should be a strong feature of the portfolio if history is anything to go by, as the house was the first to ship a rosé Champagne, as far back as 1775) and a Demi-Sec Non-Vintage, again using a similar blend to the Yellow Label also with reserve wines, typically with a dosage around 45 g/l. There are also a number of vintage cuvées, most obviously beginning with the Brut Vintage, which is about one third Chardonnay akin to the non-vintage wines, with a dosage of 9 g/l. The Vintage Rosé is made with the addition of red wine which accounts for 15% of the final blend, and which is all Pinot Noir sourced from the Bouzy vineyard. Again the dosage is around 9 g/l, a contrast to the 28 g/l which characterises the Vintage Rich. Some vintages are also held back and released late, such as the 1985 Rosé, as the Vintage Rare range. Like the entry level Brut Non-Vintage, some of these also have wavered in recent years. What brings most Champagne savants to Veuve Clicquot, however, is the prestige cuvée La Grande Dame, named for Nicole-Barbe. Inaugurated with the 1969 vintage, released in 1977 to commemorate the company's bicentenary, the fruit is sourced from eight vineyards; it is 60-65% Pinot noir from Verzenay, Verzy and Ambonnay on the Montagne de Reims and Ay in the Grande Vallée de la Marne, the balance being Chardonnay from Avize, Le Mesnil sur Oger and Oger on the Côte des Blancs. There is also La Grande Dame Rosé, introduced with the 1988 vintage, made with the addition of 15% Pinot Noir from the Clos Colin in Bouzy. Any doubts about the Veuve Clicquot wines, which have come to the surface particularly when looking at the Yellow Label and even the vintage cuvées quickly dissipate on encountering La Grande Dame.
Condition: MINT
Quantiy: 1
Price: US$9.00
Catalog: FB001
