I found this bottle in the most random store today and picked it up. Does anyone have any tasting notes or thoughts on this one? I"m pretty excited to say the least.
don’t know this one. Love their Femme bottling.
Thanks Alan! This is definitely going to the be the oldest vintage champagne I’ve ever had. How long I’ll hold onto it before actually popping is anyone’s guess.
I’ve been a “lurker” here for years, but have finally decided to start posting and contributing. I’ve discovered Burgundy after a trip there last Fall and am hooked to say the least. Cheers to everyone!
I finished up all my vintage 1990s in the last few years but I never had any of this. For my tastes, the nutty, golden hue of these aged bubblies isn’t my thing – so I’ve stopped cellaring these or even buying the vintage / better ones. Too many of them just seem flat to me as they age.
welcome, Thomas, and do post a note. I love old Champagne.
This is the 1990 Duval Leroy LeRoy Neiman Cuvee which is somewhere around 80-85% Chardonnay with the rest Pinot Noir. I haven’t had it in almost fifteen years, but it was good then. It will be interesting to learn how it shows now.
For legal reasons, Duval Leroy used both Elegance de Champagne and Fleur de Champagne interchangeably on their Champagnes starting in the late 1990s through the early 2000s (I think by the 1996 vintage releases Fleur de Champagne was everywhere). While Fleur de Champagne was used for a majority of the markets, a few (such as the US) got Elegance de Champagne and the labels were identical except for the wording. For example, you can find this same bottle with Fluer de Champagne instead of Elegance de Champagne on it - same wine. To confuse things though, the 1990 Elegance de Champagne or Fleur de Champagne without the LeRoy Neiman artwork label is not the same wine.
Wow! Thank you so much for all of this information Brad. We haven’t opened it yet, but I’m anticipating sometime in the next couple of months. I did read somewhere where this was a blend of 5 Grand Cru vineyards; do you know if that is correct?
I sold this wine and last tasted it around the Millennium. It was elegant and darn good.
Thomas,
I really don’t know. The Chardonnay they used for this wine was normally from 4-5 Grand Cru Villages in the Cote des Blancs (Avize, Chouilly, Cramant, Oger, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger), but I don’t know where the Pinot Noir was sourced from. It could have been a Grand Cru village or a Premier Cru village. Sorry, I don’t know more than that.
Thank you Brad! No worries at all; just thought I would ask. I’m excited to try it and have just the occasion to open it this summer 
Woohooo! 