In 1782, at the Royal Military School of Brienne-le-Château, two young men formed a friendship that would endure a lifetime.
One was Napoleon Bonaparte, a cadet and the son of a Corsican lawyer and politician.
The other was Jean-Rémy Moët, heir to a family of wine merchants from Épernay, who is believed to have visited the academy during his youth.
As Consul—and later Emperor—Napoleon is said to have visited Moët’s cellars before military campaigns, stocking up on champagne.
Legend has it that he never departed without it.
Except, perhaps… for Battle of Waterloo.
In 1814, just weeks before the fall of the Empire during the War of the Sixth Coalition, Napoleon awarded Moët the Legion of Honour—recognising not only his excellence in winemaking, but his role in elevating France’s reputation abroad.
In 1833, the house became Moët & Chandon.
And in 1869, decades after that first meeting at Brienne, the Maison honoured its imperial connection by naming its flagship champagne: Moët Impérial.
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