4 MAGnificent champagnes : 06` Taittinger Comtes, Billecart-Salmon Rose, Agrapart Terriors, 07` Cristal

[Blake Brown]

Friends celebrated their move into a new home very righteously with a grand party with lots of great food and wine. Among some of the gems were magnums of fine champagnes:

2006 TAITTINGER COMTES de CHAMPAGNE BLANC de BLANC BRUT in magnum- to have quite a few mags of champagne, I am constantly looking for just the right time to share them and this was a no brainer as our hosts are champagne centric; to make it even more perfect, this bottle was fantastic; it was full bodied, very rich and lush and lane with sumptuous flavors including fresh lemon zest, green apple, pear and white peaches; it had bright acidity and just placated the palate with each and every sip; it was gone in short time.

NV BILLECART-SALMON BRUT ROSE in magnum- on the heels of the Comtes, this was so very different and really good in its own right; it had generous amounts of fresh ripe raspberry, red cherry and strawberry with a noticeable amount of sweetness, but not to a fault; there was a nice spicy streak that ran throughout and the finish was just like the nose, full of wondrous spicy red fruit.

NV AGRAPART & FILS TERROIRS BLANC de BLANC EXTRA BRUT in magnum- dosage 5 g/l; a blend of older-vine 2009 and 2010.made from Grand Cru Chardonnay from Avize, this was really good with richness delivered in a creamy mousse all the way to the back end; it had great feel and length and a nice honeyed white and stone fruit profile to please.

2007 ROEDERER CRISTAL BRUT in magnum- 58% Pinot Noir, 42% Chardonnay; this was amazing; it was extremely rich and full on and gave and gave right up to and including the last drop which occurred quite quickly once opened; slightly honeyed spice and ginger accents enhanced the nice apple, citrus, mango and pear notes that were delivered in an ever so pleasing mousse; it had truly bright acidity and was in a state of perfect balance. I love champagne. I especially love Cristal.

Cheers,
Blake

[Warren Taranow]

Blake,

Wow, lot's of my favorites; thanks! I just opened another '06 Comte Monday night, and was shocked when I removed it from my CT database and noticed how many I've drunk since July of '17. Cristal in the 2000's has been spectacular; one success after another. The '08s and '09s blew me away.
You either have small hands and arms, or that's a 3L Cristal.

Cheers,
Warren

[Blake Brown]

Blake,

Wow, lot's of my favorites; thanks! I just opened another '06 Comte Monday night, and was shocked when I removed it from my CT database and noticed how many I've drank since July of '17. Cristal in the 2000's has been spectacular; one success after another. The '08s and '09s blew me away.
You either have small hands and arms, or that's a 3L Cristal.

Cheers,
Warren

I share the same Wow feeling as you do Warren as well as appreciate for all Cristal in the 2000s. Our bottle was a big MAG.

[Warren Taranow]

Blake,
I also love all things Agrapart, and the Billecart Salmon rosés, which have improved the last several years. It's a good time in history to be a champagne lover, with growers advancing and big houses improving.
Cheers,
Warren

[T. Altmayer]

Looks like a great night! Had the Comtes a few weeks ago and it was one of the "good" bottles and it was absolutely fantastic. Had about 7 or 8 of them over the past couple of years and only had one that was subpar.

Can't wait to try the 07 Cristal, but only have a couple so I'm going to hold off for a number of years and let it evolve a bit more.

[K John Joseph]

Blake,
I also love all things Agrapart, and the Billecart Salmon rosés, which have improved the last several years. It's a good time in history to be a champagne lover, with growers advancing and big houses improving.
Cheers,
Warren

My appreciation for champagne just keeps growing year over year as I have more and more of it. It's just so damn good!

Another great post, Blake. Love your threads.

[Neal.Mollen]

Deeply jealous. Great notes on great wines

[Jay Miller]

Sounds great. I'm curious if you have any comments on 06 Comtes from magnum as opposed to 750?

I've only had it from the latter.

[Blake Brown]

Looks like a great night! Had the Comtes a few weeks ago and it was one of the "good" bottles and it was absolutely fantastic. Had about 7 or 8 of them over the past couple of years and only had one that was subpar.

Can't wait to try the 07 Cristal, but only have a couple so I'm going to hold off for a number of years and let it evolve a bit more.

Tom, as good as the 06` Comtes has been, even one subpar bottle is a shock. Good call on waiting for the 07` Cristal as it can only improve with some age. I just don't seem to keep my hands off of these since I moved all of my cellar to the home premises. Off site storage is the only answer for me.

[Blake Brown]

Blake,
I also love all things Agrapart, and the Billecart Salmon rosés, which have improved the last several years. It's a good time in history to be a champagne lover, with growers advancing and big houses improving.
Cheers,
Warren

My appreciation for champagne just keeps growing year over year as I have more and more of it. It's just so damn good!

Another great post, Blake. Love your threads.

That's exactly what has happened to me as well. Year after year, my purchase of champagne has increased in the last 10 and now is #1 of all wines bought.

Thanks for your comments.

[Blake Brown]

Sounds great. I'm curious if you have any comments on 06 Comtes from magnum as opposed to 750?

I've only had it from the latter.

Jay, I've had close to 20 bottles of the 06` Comtes in 750 formats and all have been stellar plus. I think the mag was a notch better and have to admit, I was surprised that it could get there. Herein, I really understated how good it was and glowed over the Cristal, but the Comtes was an equal in class with some differences in profile not to mention, the Cristal was the last on my palate.

[Jim Stewart]

Nice!!! And good to hear that the Billecart Salmon Rosé had enough "game" to play with the others.

[Frederico L e e]

I'm a newbie on Champagne. Why does mag taste better than standard bottling? Isn't that larger bottle size needs more time for wine to mature? How does it matter to taste difference?

[Jay Miller]

Sounds great. I'm curious if you have any comments on 06 Comtes from magnum as opposed to 750?

I've only had it from the latter.

Jay, I've had close to 20 bottles of the 06` Comtes in 750 formats and all have been stellar plus. I think the mag was a notch better and have to admit, I was surprised that it could get there. Herein, I really understated how good it was and glowed over the Cristal, but the Comtes was an equal in class with some differences in profile not to mention, the Cristal was the last on my palate.

Thanks. That’s what I was curious to know.

[Steve Nordhoff]

Blake,

These have dosage. What is wrong with you?

[Blake Brown]

Blake,

These have dosage. What is wrong with you?

Bucking the trend Steve. I'm a sugar freak. Actually, just the opposite. I really prefer not to find noticeable sweetness in bubbly.

[Blake Brown]

Just had to add this to this thread/ my notes:

"A magnum is the perfect size for two gentlemen to share over lunch...especially if one of them isn't drinking" - Sir Winston Churchill

[Howard Cooper]

Sounds great. I'm curious if you have any comments on 06 Comtes from magnum as opposed to 750?

I've only had it from the latter.

Jay, I've had close to 20 bottles of the 06` Comtes in 750 formats and all have been stellar plus. I think the mag was a notch better and have to admit, I was surprised that it could get there. Herein, I really understated how good it was and glowed over the Cristal, but the Comtes was an equal in class with some differences in profile not to mention, the Cristal was the last on my palate.

I love the 2006 Comtes. But, I really love the 1996 Comtes right now. My challenge is to hold onto at least a couple of bottles of the 2006 so that they will age more. I think I will lose this battle. Great notes.

[Mike Grammer]

Missed this when originally posted---you continue to reign as the Baron of Bubbles, Blake. Way to celebrate with your friends!

Mahalo,

Mike

[Blake Brown]

Sounds great. I'm curious if you have any comments on 06 Comtes from magnum as opposed to 750?

I've only had it from the latter.

Jay, I've had close to 20 bottles of the 06` Comtes in 750 formats and all have been stellar plus. I think the mag was a notch better and have to admit, I was surprised that it could get there. Herein, I really understated how good it was and glowed over the Cristal, but the Comtes was an equal in class with some differences in profile not to mention, the Cristal was the last on my palate.

I love the 2006 Comtes. But, I really love the 1996 Comtes right now. My challenge is to hold onto at least a couple of bottles of the 2006 so that they will age more. I think I will lose this battle. Great notes.

I share the same challenge for both wines Howard.

[Blake Brown]

Missed this when originally posted---you continue to reign as the Baron of Bubbles, Blake. Way to celebrate with your friends!

Mahalo,

Mike

Nice handle Mike. I`ll try to live up to it but always defer to the experts like Brad Baker, Peter Liem, Terry Thiese, Gary Westby and the like.