By 1804, François had redirected the company toward international markets, with France accounting for only 7% of sales. Louis Bohne departed for Russia in the summer of 1804, but his October letters brought devastating news: the Russian market was unstable, and collections would be nearly impossible. François grew increasingly depressed as failures mounted and renewed war with Britain disrupted trade.

In the spring of 1805, orders exceeded 75,000 bottles, with Russia unexpectedly accounting for one-third of sales. Despite this success, François remained despondent. The wet summer of 1805 ruined the harvest, deepening his despair over the business he had staked everything on rebuilding.

In early October, François fell gravely ill. The official cause was malignant fever—typhoid—characterized by vomiting, bloody coughing, and black spots covering his body. On October 23, after days of agony, François died. Three days later, 27-year-old Barbe-Nicole buried her husband after a funeral mass at the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Reims.

Whether true or merely gossip fueled by his known tendency toward melancholy, rumors circulated that François had died by suicide, driven by business failure and depression. His father, Philippe, devastated by grief, declared his intention to liquidate Clicquot-Muiron and recalled Louis from Russia.

When Louis returned after traveling more than a thousand miles in under a month, he found Barbe-Nicole formulating a daring plan to save the business. Though her genteel background made independent entrepreneurship unconventional—especially as industrialization was making family-run businesses obsolete—Barbe-Nicole was determined. She and Louis united in their conviction that the company could survive.

On February 10, 1806, Barbe-Nicole signed agreements forming a partnership with Alexandre Fourneaux, a textile merchant and experienced winemaker her father’s age. Each partner invested 80,000 francs—over $1.5 million in modern terms. Philippe Clicquot contributed an additional 30,000 francs in inventory, bringing total capital to nearly $4 million. Philippe had agreed to support Barbe-Nicole’s ambitions on the condition that she would work under Alexandre’s supervision for four years before he would consider allowing her to operate independently.

The new firm, Veuve Clicquot Fourneaux and Company, abandoned the textile trade and focused on wine, producing approximately 75% of their own vintages. Their first year showed promise, with 50,000 bottles sold despite wartime blockades.

In the spring of 1806, disaster struck when Amsterdam’s port closed just as their shipment arrived. The wines sat in poor storage conditions for months. When their salesman, Charles Hartmann, arrived to salvage what he could, he found most bottles cloudy and badly deteriorated. The loss was catastrophic.

Louis’s subsequent travels brought more bad news. Germany offered no market, and his time in Russia became perilous—his letters were opened, and he feared arrest as a spy. The empress gave birth to a daughter who died quickly, and as the child was rumored to be the daughter of the empress’s lover, there were no celebrations. Though he escaped safely, Russian sales proved disappointing.

A brief reprieve came in 1808 when blockades lifted temporarily, allowing 50,000 bottles to reach Saint Petersburg. However, by 1809, trade collapsed completely. European economies unraveled, and champagne became an unwelcome reminder of French aggression. By 1810, Napoleon’s licensing requirements and bank failures made export nearly impossible. Louis reported that business was totally dead.

On July 10, 1810, the four-year partnership expired. Alexandre withdrew, taking his capital to establish Fourneaux and Son with his son Jérôme. Once again, Barbe-Nicole faced an uncertain future, but this time she would face it entirely alone.

In July 1810, Barbe-Nicole founded Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin and Company with Philippe Clicquot’s continued investment of 30,000 francs. She took possession of approximately 60,000 bottles in stock, six dozen casks, 10,000 empty bottles, and 125,000 corks. Her signature—the same one that appears on bottles today—appeared on announcements requesting prompt payment from clients to stabilize cash flow.

She maintained the family’s anchor trademark, symbolizing hope, and began signing correspondence as Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin. To survive the continuing blockades, she retrenched: selling more domestic barrel wines, particularly reds from her Bouzy estate, while maintaining selective international exports. Jérôme Fourneaux continued advising her on winemaking despite now being a competitor.

The personal costs were high. Barbe-Nicole sent her daughter, Clémentine, to convent boarding school in Paris, freeing herself for 14-hour workdays managing correspondence and accounts. Facing cash shortages, she attempted to sell jewelry—including rose-pearl necklaces and a diamond worth $60,000—through her salesman Charles Hartmann, though few among the nobility had money for such luxuries.

Technical problems plagued production. Wines turned cloudy and ropy. “Toad’s eyes”—large, unattractive bubbles likely caused by excessive time in wooden casks—frustrated Louis and Barbe-Nicole.

The harvest of 1811 proved exceptional, coinciding with the appearance of a great comet. Winemakers branded their corks with stars, creating what became known as Vin de la Comète. Barbe-Nicole bottled the wines as champagne, but abundant supply drove prices down, and few could afford luxury wines. Her capital remained tied up in stocks aging in cellars.

By 1812, conditions worsened. Napoleon’s invasion of Russia prompted Czar Alexander to ban French bottled wines—a direct attack on champagne. Barbe-Nicole was forced to lay off all salesmen except Louis. That September, Napoleon captured Moscow, but the Russians had burned the city. His retreat killed over half a million men.

By 1813, Napoleon faced coalition armies approaching France. Barbe-Nicole’s father, Nicolas Ponsardin, faced grave danger should Napoleon fall, having been rewarded for his loyalty with a knighthood and Legion of Honor. As Russian troops marched toward Reims, the Ponsardin family risked losing everything, including their lives.