2000 Charles Heidsieck Champagne Brut Millésimé- France, Champagne (1/30/2015)
Drunk over three evenings in a Montrachet glass. Deep gold colour. Good persistent mousse and fine bead. A lovely bouquet, showing Pinot Noir complexity (60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay). Aromas of yellow apples, baking spices, grapefruit, peaches, yellow plums, with a hint of chalk and minerals. On palate, fresh, lively and clean. Crisp, apple flavours at the centre, also citrus - more grapefruit or tangelo then lemon - plenty of yellow orchard fruits, minerals and salinity. A complex flavour profile, with vibrant acidity. Good fruit weight, with a creamy texture, in the mouth. Quite long, it finishes on an attractive bitterness. Impressive. Well proportioned and structured. Now, fairly youthful, it would be interesting to follow this Champagne over the next 10-15 years. (93 pts.)
Howard, thanks, I am always looking for great 2000 vintage bubbles as it is my son’s birth year. Quick question, what method are you using to preserve champagne over three days? Thanks!
I haven’t had a lot of 2000 Champagne, but my three favorites so far are Krug, Pol Roger Cuvee Winston Churchill, and Taittinger Comtes de Champagne. At a slightly lower price, I’ve also enjoyed Billecart-Salmon Brut Cuvee Nicolas Francois Billecart and Bara Comtesse Marie de France.
The 2000 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne is definitely a pleasure to drink, now, Sanjay. I also think it’s a great value, compared to the prices of many Champagnes.
Carlos, nothing special. Pour a large glass quickly and put a vacuum top on the bottle and straight back in the fridge. I had some bubbles on the third evening with this. In any case I’m less worried about bubbles than about aroma (hence drinking from the larger glass for better Champagnes).
I had the 2000 Krug before Christmas up against the MV and 2003 and had it as the best and noted its ageing potential.
I love the 2000 Winston (and bought several) but had a less good experience with the 2000 Comtes:
2000 Pol Roger Champagne Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill- France, Champagne (11/23/2013)
A fresh, citric nose with lifted aromas. Toast and a lactic quality, perhaps creme brûlée. Some chalkiness. An intriguing nose. On palate, a vibrant, taut wine with excellent tension. Very elegant and quite approachable. The racy acids, with a rich, full, creamy body and complexity combine to make this a lovely Champagne. However, there was doubt in the room, that I shared, as to whether this would make really old bones. Still right now, or in the next few years, 94. (94 pts.)
2000 Taittinger Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne- France, Champagne (11/23/2013)
There were traces of sulphur on some of the other Champagnes tasted tonight and I am reasonably tolerant of them at low levels but here, for me, it was quite overpowering and off-putting. If you could dig below the sulphur there was quite an attractive, pungent nose of dried fruit, candied orange, Turkish delight, Asian spice and some smokiness. On palate, again beneath the sulphur, there was some beautiful fruit expressing peach and caramel. The flavours were rich and complex with relatively vibrant fruit. I also worried that the wine was a bit too broad, but decided that it was not. Real intellectual interest but flawed, so 90. (90 pts.)
