Veuve Clicquot has long been shorthand for luxury — name-checked in “Casablanca,” the Ian Fleming novel “Casino Royale” and “Downton Abbey.” But now the iconic yellow label isn’t cutting it with a certain set. On some of New York City’s high-end, Champagne-focused menus — at places like Aldo Sohm Wine bar, Coqodaq and Grand Brasserie — Veuve isn’t even listed.
One New York-based restaurateur, who recently opened a spot with more than 60 Champagnes on his menu, nixed Veuve for the first time in his long history in the business. “It’s mass-produced, it’s punchy and overplayed..
. it’s not what people want to drink in a champagne anymore,” the restaurateur said, asking to withhold his name rather than upset distributors. While he told The Post he has respect for “the institution,” which dates back to 1772, he said Veuve has gone downhill in recent years to keep up with demand.
Acquired by the luxury-good conglomerate LVMH in 1987, Veuve overtook Moët & Chandon as the most popular brand in America around a decade ago — driven in part by its ubiquity at bottle-service nightclubs and in song lyrics by artist like Wiz Khalifa, Machine Gun Kelly, Lana Del Rey and Young Jeezy. While Veuve has special vintages that can retail for thousands of dollars, its most recognizable offering, $70 yellow label Champagne brut, is getting panned by some oenophiles as sour, unbalanced and “basic” as one Manhattan-based PR executive referred to it. One Wes.