Founded in 1743, Moët & Chandon is the largest – and one of the oldest – champagne houses in existence. From the iconic Brut Impérial to the innovative Ice Impérial, its bottles are enjoyed in over 150 countries around the globe. To celebrate its 283rd harvest, the house invited a group of international guests to its ‘Harvest Experience’ in September. An exclusive annual rendez-vous, the occasion offers an opportunity to immerse oneself in the magic behind the world’s most famous fizz. However, in 2026, the harvest was anything but typical: simultaneously challenging and rewarding, this record-breaking year will potentially re-write champagne making as we know it.
Moët & Chandon is a maison surrounded by romance and legend. In a room above its 28 km of cellars in Épernay sits a tricorn beaver skin hat worn by Napolean (one of the house’s many famous customers). Close by, the first glass made specifically for drinking champagne mingles with F1 memorabilia (the maison is credited with starting the tradition of winners spraying a Jeroboam from the podium). Today, friends of the house include Pharrell Williams, who collaborated on Ice Impérial, and Jessica Chastain, the special guest at this year’s Harvest Experience.
Yet, behind the glamour and the clink of crystal glasses, there is the graft, the craft and the passion that goes into creating every sparkling drop. In 2026, the skills that have been honed for centuries were put to the test under unprecedented conditions.
First there were the frosts. At the Loge Montaigu, overlooking the vineyards of the Côtes de Blanc region, Technical Viticulture Manager Jeanne Carlier tells us that a very mild winter woke the vines early from dormancy, making them susceptible to the cold weather that followed. In March, temperatures plummeted to -6 degrees Celsius, causing the worst frost damage in Moët & Chandon’s history and the loss of 40 percent of the vines. April and May provided respite from extreme temperatures, but just as the vines started to flower, the heatwaves and droughts began.
As the heat intensified and the grapes rapidly ripened, immediate action was required. Instead of September, the harvest began on 14th August – the earliest recorded in Champagne’s history – and was completed in only 12 days, which is no mean feat. The house would have liked to start even earlier, but as Carlier explains, over 3,700 workers travel from numerous countries, and they must be housed and fed. Managing such logistics is a huge undertaking.
To put these timescales into perspective, Bênoit Gouez, Chef de Cave (Cellar Master), tells us that traditionally, flowering to harvest once took around 90 days. Later – perhaps due to climate change – this shrunk to 85, give or take a few days. Until now, the record had been 81, but this year, it was a staggeringly low 68.
The result of all this was an average yield of only 6,500 kg per hectare, compared to the usual 10,000, but as Gouez reveals, 2024 and 2025 also produced low yields and Champagne is now relying on its reserves. However, all is not lost. Despite the droughts, the vines are currently looking green and healthy. The surviving crop from August showed next to no disease or fungi, Carlier reports, and, although the bunches were small with hardly any water in the grapes, this ripeness was far from a disaster. Instead, the grapes expressed a good balance of sugar and acidity.
At the maison’s state-of-the-art Mont Aigu winery, which rivals Reims cathedral in terms of its scale, the grapes arrive already pressed. At the peak of this year’s harvest, there were 100 tankers of juices delivered daily, requiring three shifts of workers. Typically, only one type of juice would arrive at any given time, Winery Manager Daniel Carvajal explains, but the speed of this harvest meant that different varieties were delivered simultaneously. Luckily, the winery has the technology to lab test ten quality parameters in just fifteen minutes, which is done in conjunction with frequent manual tastings.
The winery also uses its own yeast, with techniques developed over generations. It had to adjust the fermentation process due to the high sugar content of this year’s grapes, and it’s still too early to know what the results will be, but historically, very hot years have produced some excellent wines, so the potential is there.
Chardonnay is the element that contributes elegance to a champagne. This harvest, it’s extremely fruity, with apple and pear notes, instead of the usual acidic citrus. Meunier, meanwhile, adds warmth and robustness. Again, it’s fruiter than usual, with peach and apricot notes, and, unusually, also tinted, providing yet another challenge in terms of extracting the colour.
Twenty percent of Moët & Chandon’s champagnes are a rosé blend. Grand Cru Pinot Noir is used for structure. Pinot Noir from Aubes is rougher, more rustic and can bring body to a blend. It adds a bitterness to the finish, which is refreshing but not overpowering, and is normally used for non-vintage, rather than a vintage or reserve. Despite extra extraction being used, the colour still came out of the skin, and the juice tasted more like blackberries than the usual strawberries. In an average year, less than 15 percent of the red is used but, this time round, it will need to be significantly lower to prevent too much intensity of colour. The wine is also far too powerful for a non-vintage.
Well, Moët & Chandon is no stranger to adaptation. While traditions are always respected, the house evolves with the customer. A non-vintage, like Brut Impérial for example, is key to meeting consumer demand. Now, the changing climate requires further interventions. This includes trying different Chardonnay clones. New methods are being trialled to protect the vines from frost, as are ways to keep the grapes hydrated and greater spacing between the rows will be introduced to reduce water consumption.
This is in addition to existing environmental measures – something that the house has been instrumental in introducing to Champagne for over a century. Its Fort Chabrol centre was set up by Monsieur Chandon in 1900 to find ways to combat disease and to develop grafting techniques. In 2021, the Natura Nostra programme was launched and focuses on three pillars: the certification of partners in the region, the provision of services to those partners – small scale growers included – and agricultural measures in response to climate change. It’s very much a communal venture. Natura Nostra relies on experts, works with public authorities and encourages collective action.
Soil that is left fallow (resting) is sowed with cover crops to improve structure and encourage biodiversity. Last winter, for example, 320 hectares were used to grow legumes and cruciferous vegetables. Certain chemical products have been eliminated, the soil is worked manually or by robots, which are less disruptive than tractors, and sheep are used in the winter to ‘eco graze’ the land. Biodiverse ecological corridors have been created with trees, hedges, bushes, beehives and nesting boxes for insects. By 2027, the goal of planting 100km of hedges will have become a reality. There is also a conservatory dedicated to protecting wine varieties and the heritage of Champagne’s growers.
There is a French saying: ‘Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose,” meaning “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” At Möet & Chandon, this idea has been turned on its head. A change is in the air and the house at the helm of Champagne is ready to respond.
Find out more about Moët & Chandon here.
words. Huma Humayun
images. Courtesy of Moët & Chandon
