In 1876 Georges Hermann Mumm, a son of one of the house's three founding brothers, took his cue from the Légion d'Honneur and added a red ribbon, the cordon rouge, to his Brut cuvée. It stands for the motto Nec plus ultra, only the best, and the red sash now appears on every Mumm bottle, label and poster.
Cordon Rouge is blended from at least 100 crus across more than 120 villages. Pinot Noir comes from the Montagne de Reims and the Aube, Chardonnay from the Côte des Blancs, the Sézannais, the Vitryat and the Aube, and Meunier from the Marne and Ardre valleys and the Montagne de Reims. It rests for a minimum of 20 months in the Mumm cellars.
Golden yellow with a fine stream of bubbles, it shows white and yellow fruit with hints of lychee, pineapple and praline, then yeast and brioche, and finishes creamy. Mumm's own food ideas range from heirloom tomatoes with ricotta and basil oil to grilled langoustines with green mango relish or miso-glazed salmon, and it works as an aperitif with tapas or at brunch.