1996 Vilmart & Cie Champagne Coeur de Cuvée- France, Champagne
This wine pours the lightest of this flight of 1996 grower champagnes, a medium/light straw. Nose is a tad tight (low intensity) with herbs, musty attic, lemon, green apple and oyster shell. The palate is alive with bright citric notes, low dosage and a biting, malic, green apple finish. Solid, but really not anything special. As I understand it this bottle was totally representative and Vilmart just wasn’t really knocking it out of the park yet. (88 pts.)
1996 Henri Giraud Champagne Fût de Chêne- France, Champagne
This was a really wild and unusual champagne. Clearly the deepest colour of the flight and perhaps the deepest colour of the whole evening. Rich honey with a deep golden brown core. Very rich on the nose with high complexity: mixed roasted nuts, sauteed mushrooms, chicken stock, game, wet forest, decaying wood, apple cider, applesauce, saline, light notes of sherry and a clear and distinct cave aged grueyre note. The rich, round palate certainly has some elevated dosage and a real cheesy finish. A very layered and multi-dimensional wine that clearly shows the oak ageing and oxidative leanings. (93 pts.)
1996 Drappier Champagne Grande Sendrée- France, Champagne
This pours a moderate lemon yellow. The nose is of lemon drop, lavendar, honey, slate, raw sugar, marmalade, some lightly sherried nuttiness, apple strudel and just a touch of applesauce. Quite a nice expression that’s drinking well. Another one that is elevated on the acid and low on the dosage. Medium plus finish. This feel like its drinking optimally now. (92 pts.)
1996 Charles Heidsieck Champagne Brut Millésimé- France, Champagne
This is really my style. I think it liked it more than anyone else in the group. Quite a nice rich nose on this wine wafting notes of light roast coffee, honey, sautéed apple, saffron, coriander seed, chamomile tea, brown sugar, chinese five spice, smoked meat and pastry dough. The palate has fairly high acid but it is rounded off and feels like this wine has perhaps been through malolactic. the dosage comes across as a pinch above moderate (perhaps 10 g/l), which works nicely for me. The finish is medium plus repeating many of the rich notes shown on the nose. In my opinion this was flat out awesome. (94 pts.)
1996 Bollinger Champagne La Grande Année- France, Champagne
In the past I’ve absolutely loved this wine. This time it was great, but I wasn’t as taken with it as in other showings. Quite a toasty nose with lots of nutshells, nut skin, toasted bread, brioche crust, toasty wood, marzipan, the lightest kiss of sherry and the requisite orchard and citrus fruit rounding out the aromatic profile. The palate is nicely rich with abundant acid and measured dosage. Nice, long, lightly nutted finish that balances the toasty side against notes of green apple. (93 pts.)
1996 Billecart-Salmon Champagne Grande Cuvée- France, Champagne
We all found that this wine was markedly effervescent. It pours a moderate golden straw. Nose is down the middle stylistically with obvious autolautolytic character in full display. The nose is of unbaked dough, french pastry, melon and mixed citrus fruit. While quite enjoyable this was ultimately simple compared to the competition. The palate is typical with moderate dosage and the expected elevated acid. (91 pts.)
1996 Ruinart Champagne Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs- France, Champagne
Pours moderate straw yellow. Here we have one of the most intense aromatic profiles of the evening. The pleasurable and expansive nose is of brown spice, cardamom, passion fruit, pineapple, mango, spices, aromatic melon skin, marzipan, vanilla and coconut. There are elements that have a slight resemblance to Sauternes or a late harvest Gewurtztraminer. The palate reveals a mouthfilling mousse and wonderfully spiced exotic notes. An unexpected standout for me. (94 pts.)
1996 Salon Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut- France, Champagne, Le Mesnil Sur Oger, Champagne
While I understand other bottles have been more open, we all kind of agreed this one was a bit tight. The nose reveals some really interesting but subtle notes of strawberry shortbread, white currants, oyster shell, white flowers, fresh ginger and fresh cut strawberry. The palate has very focused high acid with a long delecate finish repeating fresh cut strawberry, white currants and ginger. 92+ for it’s future potential. It should be excellent in time, this bottle seems to have needed a bit more age. (92 pts.)
1996 Taittinger Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne- France, Champagne
Another standout with intense aromatics right out of the gate. I love this rich and open profile. The pungent nose blasts a distinct medium roast coffee note followed by wet dark soil, garlic/onion, popcorn, butter, caramel, butterscotch, brown sugar, hairspray and mixed orchard driven fruit. The palate is perfumed, mineral and highly acidic with perfect, slightly elevated dosage. I really like this style. (95 pts.)
1996 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon- France, Champagne
A bit of a difficult showing from this bottle of Dom. The nose is focused on onion, garlic, a hint of plastic, some burlap, mango skin, pine needles and pear. All in all, enjoyable but at the same time a tad odd. The palate is well balanced with high acid and typical dosage. The finish has decent length, repeating mango notes. The impression I get is that this needs some more time to settle down. (92 pts.)
1996 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon Oenothèque- France, Champagne
Really quite similar to the regular Dom but with a strong reduced overlay. Very strong plastic and rubber notes make this a difficult one to enjoy. Perhaps this will be good one day, but not really all there today. Followed over several hours without much change.
1996 Pol Roger Champagne Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill- France, Champagne
This pours a moderately deep shade of gold. While the aromatic intensity of this wine wasn’t quite as high as a few others, it still falls into the rich camp with expansive, integrated, maturing notes of candied ginger, a touch of sulfur, oyster shell, sandy beach, dry soil, poached pear, flint and smoke. The palate has the expected high acid and moderate dosage with quite a wild and long finish built on zingy ginger notes. Really lovely. Feels like it’s just entering it’s window of maturity. (95 pts.)
1996 Philipponnat Champagne Brut Clos des Goisses- France, Champagne
This pours a moderate golden yellow. The nose on this wine was so very mineral and floral via loads of crushed rock, yellow fruit, gun powder, daisy, orchid, tulip, ginger and honey. High acid and low dosage as expected with a medium plus finish. Very nice champagne and interestingly brings many of the same traits I look for in white burgundy. (94 pts.)
1996 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut- France, Champagne
This pours a moderate golden yellow. nose of yellow fruit and some secondary character: banana, caramel, vanilla, custard, mushroom, butterscotch, marzian and marshmallow. The palate is moderate dosage and very high acid. On the rich side but this still feels relatively primary and I think a bit more time might benefit this wine. (94 pts.)
1996 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut- France, Champagne
This pours on the lighter side; a light straw yellow. The nose is linear, low intensity and primary of lemon/lime, ginger and light honey. The palate is also linear and highly acidic with a moderate finish. I found this to be on the more young/closed side of things this evening. (92 pts.)
Incidentally, I opened a 1996 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne two days ago that I drank over two days. It was still quite tight and linear. Very nice drink. Much better the 1996 Dom Perigean which I opened few months ago. The Dom just did not have a lot of appeal. Bottle variation (?). The 1996 Philipponnat Champagne Brut Clos des Goisses tasted last year looks premoxed. A shame. However, we did have a great bottle of 1996 Salon last year.
Andrew was intrigued by the idea of focusing on a single great champagne vintage so decided on 1996. He scoured all of the United States and even tried to get the exact disgorgements that he wanted. As always, his dinner was matched with the incomparable cuisine and service of Langdon Hall. Canapes
Cave Aged Gruyere Gougeres, Parmesan Shortbread with Herbs and Fresh Cheese, Lamb Tartare, Marinated Trout with Cucumber and Ginger
Caviar
Caviar with Buttermilk, and Garden Herbs
1996 Drappier Champagne Grande Sendrée- France, Champagne
This seemed advanced but held up over the course of the evening quite well. Some definite sherry and bruised apple notes augmented by honey, marmalade, citrus fruits and roasted hazelnuts.
The palate is honey dominant with orange marmalade, lemon, lime, hazelnuts, minerals, creme caramel, white flowers and apple baked in bread with brown sugar and spice.
The finish is rich and round. Drink now. (92 pts.)
1996 Vilmart & Cie Champagne Coeur de Cuvée- France, Champagne
This was quite herbal on the nose and for a brief moment I thought it might have been subtly corked but the musty basement and dust aromas blew off revealing lemon, salty oyster and chalk.
Vilmart blows malo-lactic fermentation for tho cuvee and it shows…there is tonnes of malic acid…green apple, ginger, chalk, minerals, lime zest and a bit of a musty transition to the finish.
Finish is medium and a touch simple.
This is a bit of a disappointment as I have loved Vilmart in other vintage…the 2001 blew my mind. (90 pts.)
1996 Henri Giraud Champagne Fût de Chêne- France, Champagne
Wow…cheese cave central! Mature gruyere, earth, mushroom, umami, beef broth, bovril, blood, and wet dog are all wrapped around citrus, honey and nutty flavours. Beguiling nose.
The palate is quite complex with pure lemon, honey, brûlée, spice, hazelnuts, caramel, apple compote, saline, gruyere and apple cider.
Thie finish is medium+ and for me the weakest part of this wine…but a captivating style of you like an umami’d edge to your bubbly. (93 pts.)
Snow Crab
Snow Crab paired with cured Foie Gras, Grapes and Sumac
Halibut and Spot Prawns
Halibut and Spot Prawns paired with Chanterelles, Sweet Peas and Berkshire Lardo
1996 Charles Heidsieck Champagne Brut Millésimé- France, Champagne
Pretty champagne…nose of asian 5 spice, spiced pork butt, star anise, smoke, white flowers, citrus and minerals.
The palate presents pure lemon and lime, minerals, honey, acacia flowers, biscuit and a whiff of lightly roasted coffee.
Finish is medium+ and quite complex. Great showing. (92 pts.)
1996 Bollinger Champagne La Grande Année- France, Champagne
Aromas of ginger, minerals, flint, hazelnuts and lemon-lime…the nose really rounds out with some air to become rich and caramel laden with honey, peanut husk, almond paste and minerals.
The palate is so lush…typical Bollinger. White flowers, ginger, honey, minerals, creme brûlée, lime zest, saline and almond.
The finish is long and mineral driven but still lush and powerful dominated by pretty flowers, nuts and preserved lemon notes. Great bubbly. (93 pts.)
1996 Billecart-Salmon Champagne Grande Cuvée- France, Champagne
Quite autolytic…brioche, biscuit, yeast, honey, preserved lemon and minerals. This is right down the middle champagne…very typical.
Mousse on the palate is quite creamy…flavours are dominated by biscuit, yeast, honey and lemon.
Finish is long and quite correct. (91 pts.)
The Queens Risotto
Risotto with Truffle, Buffalo Milk Parmesan and Chives
1996 Ruinart Champagne Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs- France, Champagne
This was quite intense…so much going on. Saline and mineral notes mix with oysters, quince, white flowers, marzipan, lifted white fruit, pastry, smoke, ocean and tropical stone fruits.
The palate is just gorgeous…minerals, lime, biscuit, salted butter, custard, deep fruit bordering on fig with notes of passionfruit, coconut, melon and pineapple. This shows great balance and texture.
Finish is long with a lovely interplay between saline notes, ripe pure fruit and biscuits. Almost 94 points (93 pts.)
1996 Salon Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut- France, Champagne, Le Mesnil Sur Oger, Champagne
This was quite tight on the nose initially…with some time strawberry shortcake came out…then red berries and strawberry leaf. This is was a weird place aromatically…just so closed down and very different from the last bottle that I had 3 years earlier it terms of its accessibility.
The palate is utter class…so broad and expansive with ginger, lemongrass, minerals, citrus, chalk, and strawberry coulis.
Finish is long, layered and lush.
Overall this wine is definetly not firing on all cylinders…it just seems like it is holding something back on this day. (93 pts.)
1996 Taittinger Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne- France, Champagne
Nose is dominated by coffee…pure coffee grounds and then augmented by garlic scapes, grilled meat, citrus, dirt, wet coffee grounds, burned toast and and almost hairspray note.
Palate is dominated by hazelnuts, brioche, crich citrus fruits and garlic.
Finish is long and complex. Very pretty wine that is also showing a touch off piste today. (93 pts.)
Heritage Hen
Leg Presse, Morels, Baby Leek and Sherry Jus
1996 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon- France, Champagne
This was not a fabulous showing for this bottle…too young? In a weird place?
Nose was dominated by garlic, citrus fruit, sweat, mushroom, earth, burlap and an ode to Nirvana and puberty that we called “Smells like Teen spirit”
Palate is dominated by hazelnuts, citrus notes, earth and mushroom.
Finish is long but seems clamped… (92 pts.)
1996 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon Oenothèque- France, Champagne
This was utterly reduced on 1st pour…so we waited. It was utterly reduced on second pour 25 minutes later. When we checked in 2 hours later it was…you guessed it. Reduced. All rubber and plastic. Not rated.
Strawberry
Strawberry with Rhubarb, Ginger Cream and Brown Butter Biscuit.
1996 Pol Roger Champagne Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill- France, Champagne
This was rocking from the get go…such a powerful and complex nose filled with 20 different citrus and stone fruit flavours layered in white flowers, ginger, honey, caramel, hazelnut, dough, biscuit and mushroom.
Palate was so rich, textured and layered…lemon, lime, acacia flowers, brûlée, biscuit, dough, minerals, ginger and honey.
Finish is never ending…stunning champagne. (96 pts.)
1996 Philipponnat Champagne Brut Clos des Goisses- France, Champagne
Wow…oh wow…unreal nose of liquified flowers galore followed by waves of honey, ginger, hazelnut, thyme honey, sweet strawberries and minerals.
Palate is so svelte…flowers, flowers, flowers, honey, ginger, mineral , a myriad of nutty and autolytic flavours that end in a note of fresh cut strawberries.
Finish is beguiling…stunning…never ending. Amazing champagne. (97 pts.)
1996 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut- France, Champagne
Similar to the Salon…this seemed to not be showing its best on this evening. The nose was a bit muted and showing some reduction that blew off after some time in the glass revealing honey, ginger, minerals, ripe fruit, biscuits and coffee.
The palate had seeding acid…very citrus driven but still showing some rich honeyed character, ginger, citrus and minerals.
Finish is long.
Have to admit that I expected more from this bottle… (93 pts.)
1996 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut- France, Champagne
This was so closed on first pour but opened to show lemon zest, lemongrass, wild honey, biscuit, minerals, and ginger. Quite linear, crisp and mineral driven.
Palate is like biting into a lemon…so tart and dominated by lemon zest, ginger, lime, and hazelnuts.
Finish is where this wine really shows its pedigree…complex and layered wine. (94 pts.)
Cheese from the Trolly
Mignardise
What a tasting! Excellent food (the Queens Risotto required a second order) paired with great wines. Many thanks Andrew Posted from CellarTracker
Great tasting! I’m surprised by the Krug. It remains, alongside the '88, the greatest Champagne I’ve had the pleasure of drinking. '96 Clos des Goisses is up there too.
I’ve decided Taittinger Comtes de Champagne is the best deal going among the big house tête de cuvées. It seems under-rated to me and is very consistent.
Having had a few of those, I was also disappointed with the Krug. The Salon was the most compelling one for me, one of the best ever. Cristal is also fantastic for me. Bollinger GA is a wine that I find inconsistent.
The Clos des Goisses is a bottle I will probably open up this New Year. Bought at the Addison restaurant for $210, and that is restaurant price!
Agreed that a few of the top wines were just not really open for business on this night. Dave and I had previously had the '96 Salon a few years ago and at that point, it was one of the best Champagne examples of my life. The bottle on this night showed much younger, closed and subdued. Too bad, but there was plenty to enjoy that night.
love that 96 Guiraud Fut de Chene and the bottle–the shape is allegedly copied from the shape of glasses way back when–and the string holding the cork is interesting–but the wine sings.
What Neal said. Thank you for the superb notes. I’m going to have Champagne on the brain today. Not that this is different than any other day but it’s a good thing that most of my 96s are in offsite storage.
Very interesting. I have tried to increase my champagne consumption over the past three months because I have neglected it and the one I have enjoyed the most were also the Comtes and the Churchill, although not the 1996. I think your bottle of 96 Dom must have been bad. I have had it a few times and I never got any of those flavors. I found it to be rather hedonistic, which is fine with me, but no “onion, garlic, a hint of plastic, some burlap” on the nose.
I just picked up two bottles of the 2000 Charles Heidsieck. I do not recall having it before. Your note increases my interest.
My back story on Cuvee Creation vs. Coeur de Cuvee was that the Creation received more new oak than the Coeur and the Couer was limited to the heart of the pressing juice (the Coeur). Certainly my tasting experience has been that the Creation seemed to have more new oak influence than the Coeur in the '96 and '97, which are the vintages I bought heavily in. I can’t honestly remember where I heard or read that…it may have been the Thiese catalog at the time. Price-wise, the two weren’t too far apart back then, but I think the Coeur was just a hair more expensive in my market.
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