Which Champagne are you drinking?

Seems like this might be a good thread for the bubbleheads here.

I’ll start it with three

2004 Jacquesson Champ Cain - love this, deep Chardonnay flavors, tons of structure and low dosage. Very young still, lots of lemon minerality and fresh apple.

2001 Vilmart Couer de Cuvée - From a terrible vintage. Not sure how Laurent managed to make this beauty, a testament to quality commitment. This is much rounder than the Jacquesson, more base notes on the fruit and less structure, no real oxidation though. In its prime, maybe not as good as the best vintages, but still excellent.

2006 Roederer Brut Nature Starck - I need to pour this for FMIII. Two parcels, one Hautvillers Pinot the other Cuis Chardonnay. Taste extremely dry and young. Lots of acid and lemony yeasty flavors. Bone dry on the back end. Maybe not for everyone, but if you like this style, definitely enjoyable.

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We had Aubry Brut last night—delicious. A couple of day before, Egly Ouriet Tradition. It was very enjoyable.

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2004 Henri Goutorbe Special Club - took it dinner Friday night. The restaurant, Dutch & Company, has a great corkage policy; bring a wine 10 years or older and corkage waived, otherwise $15. The owners are obviously wine geeks as they get it. This showed very tight when first opened. Lots of structure, with steely acidity and citrus of the lemony variety. After 30 minutes of air it calmed down some, becoming better balanced as the acidity backed off a tad and the citrus notes show better. Finish continued to lengthen over time. Obviously no rush on these and a great food wine. Nice pairing with a beautifully cooked seared duck breast with grains and seeds, salted ham, pear, charred escarole, buttermilk & bread crisps. Anyone in Richmond should definitely make a reservation here or The Roosevelt, both are in Church Hill which is the oldest section of Richmond. The Honey Pot for dessert was extraordinary and also was the perfect accompaniment to the wine. Another case of champagne being the most versatile wine on Earth. Salute!! [cheers.gif]

Russ, I’m a real fan of Goutorbe, especially the Rose.
We need a restaurant with that corkage policy around here.
We drank 06 J Michel BdB Brut yesterday.

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Vilmart is an off vintage specialist. I’ve also had the 2001 and it is excellent.

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For some ridiculous reason this was the first trip for my wife and I. We will be going on a much more regular basis with the wonderful corkage and food. I also really enjoy the Rose and probably the best QPR out there.

Over the last week: Suenen Tradition, Piollot Brut Reserve, Fleury BdN, Ledru Brut Nature 2006… and then I switched to Prosecco over the weekend :slight_smile:

Had a 2002 Pierre Peters Les Chetillons last Thursday that was off the chains, really in the zone right now unless you like them to taste older.

I love this one

Just received a 2010 Laherte Extra Brut Vigne d’Autrefois from CSW that I’m looking forward to trying.

motoring through a case of NV Krug half bottles, each one as delicious as the prior.

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Last night, we had a 1999 Charles Heidsieck Brut Rosé. No signs of age, perfect bead, just beautiful.
We followed it with a NV Franck Pascal Cuvée Tolerance. Tasty, but I prefer a lower dosage.

Not Champagne but really enjoyed a D&R 2013 Sparkling Pinot Blanc (Traditional Method) recently.

And more toward the thread, really enjoyed a G. Bruno Grand Reserve recently offered by Somm Select. It has some (15%) reserve juice, though not sure what year/s that would be, but this was delicious. About equal parts all three typical varietals, Chard, Pinot Noir, and Pinot M.

Aubry is awesome

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We visited the Goutorbes on our 26th anniversary. Beautiful, generous, “real” people. I will always have bottles of their wines in my house.
champagne.gif

'12 Ultramarine Brut Rosé kicked ass.

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Warren,

Interesting and very educational as the Charles Heidsieck has around 9 g/L of dosage while the Franck Pascal is around 6 g/L. It just goes to show how dosage numbers often don’t tell the whole story and how the wine composition/style, age of the wine, and dosage type (plus much more) all come in to play in determining the impact of the wine. Just another reason why the actual dosage numbers do not matter all that much; it is the taste of the wine and the wine’s balance that does.

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While on vacation in January, we had my last bottle of the '85 Charles Heidsieck Brut Rose. Was sublime. Still young, and could have easily gone another 5-10 years.

Brad
Thanks for that. I would have guessed the opposite! The Heidsieck was fruity but dry, with a gentle bead. The Pascal tasted sweeter, with really aggressive bubbles. Shows what I know [dontknow.gif]
I also had a fantastic '96 Jean Laurant BdN last month. You wrote a glowing review years ago.
Cheers,
Warren

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Dale,

I went through a case of the '96’s about a decade ago. Too bad I couldn’t keep my hands off of them.

Warren

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