Moët and Chandon's handwritten letter (1857)

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In 1857, Moët & Chandon compensated a client harmed by transporters and thieves.

• Handwritten letter from Moët & Chandon to J. Talon, Directeur des Services, Maritimes des Messageries Impériales à Marseille.
• Two pages.
• In French.
• 21.8 cm x 27.5 cm.
• Epernay, June 17, 1857.
• Good state.
• Unique piece.

Extracts

(…) We note that you had the displeasure of finding two broken bottles and fifteen bottles « recouleuses » (with leaks) in the last delivery.

(…) The care we take in preparing the boxes well gives us the certainty that the breakage did not result from a packaging flaw.

(…) Such accidents often happen due to lack of care on the part of carriers when handling baskets at the time of loading or unloading. Sometimes, there are even men of bad faith who, without damaging the baskets on the outside, break the bottles with an iron rod to drink the wine that they collect in a vase.

(…) As you noticed from our invoices, our wines travel under the responsibility of the buyers; For this reason, our company does not usually replace broken bottles during the trip, nor compensate for bottles that leak because they are left standing in boxes that have been handled incorrectly. However, with you, we do not want to maintain this rule of our House with absolute rigor and we agree to compensate for your loss upon delivery of your next order.

Moët & Chandon

In 1833, Casa Moët changed its name to « Moët & Chandon » after the arrival of Jean-Rémy Moët's son-in-law, Pierre-Gabriel Chandon, managing the company. He is the one who will accelerate the development of the brand and the company, focusing on exports, first in Europe, and then throughout the world.

World leader in the production of Champagne, Moët & Chandon currently owns the largest vineyard in Champagne, with more than 1,600 hectares of vines. There are 1500 professionals (300 winemakers) who work in 144 countries.

This letter is an interesting record of the company's commercial successes and logistical difficulties at the beginning of its international growth, 160 years ago.