Great recommendation!
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My recommendation is to attend a La Fete du Champagne grand tasting to find out what other producers have styles you like
Champagne preferences vary widely so it’s difficult to buy based on other people’s palates unless you’ve gotten to know them
For example I’m so so on Dom and don’t like Krug. Love Taittinger Comtes , Vilmart, calsac and many others, would my advice be useful to you? Quite possibly not.
A friend of mine loves Krug and doesn’t think Comte’s ages well. I think he’s crazy
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Thanks for the concrete suggestions! I’ve been lurking on some of Dom P vintages coming on auction in Denmark in the coming weeks (see below if you have a minute). Anything jumping out that would be a good try?
Thanks, Mark. $425 on WS in the States seems like a fun starting point. Can you elaborate a bit on why this jumps out for you? I’m curious 
That’s fair, Jay. I guess what I was looking for was more directionally from a producer standpoint, also if there were some to “avoid”. If someone posed the same question on e.g. California Chard and said they liked Aubert I could quickly point them in the direction of some other producers I would be pretty confident that they would like.
I know I listed three producers above so if we are to simplify it:
I have found that I like Dom P. So I guess I am in to full bodied champagnes. I have never had Cristal. Would that be something I should try or is it very opposite style to Dom P? Is Dom P unique or is there a range of producers who in style and approach mimic?
I know that we are in the very basics of Champagne 101 here.
And noted on La Fete du Champagne. I guess I have to wait to November or so this year but thanks a lot. Did not know of the event before now.
I loved this discussion
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I’ve been liking 95s in general. Krug, Dom, Comtes all superb.
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Young Taittinger tends to be on the apple side of the spectrum, but with age becomes very complex and multilayered. And the 1995 is an exceptional version.
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Are you sure you will enjoy older Champagne? It’s a different beast. We love Champagne, but not much older than 20 years.
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I am not. With that said I could probably have done a better job at defining old It was more in relation to me liking the 2004 and not only looking at latest releases. Fully valid point.
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Thanks. Reading through it now. I suspect I would probably have similar taste/opinion as Blake (also considering his love for Williams Selyem 
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@EmilDyrvig - Looking at 5 wines you listed, the grand marques are sure standouts. And no doubt Selosse is a good one to include. I agree with @Jay_Miller. La Fete is a good place to taste around. Also, if some are willing to go in and share a bottle, that’s another approach. Here is my list of some others worth adding to the bucketlist:
- Philipponnat Clos des goisses (if you like the Pol Roger, this is on a similar level, ripeness, power)
- Benoit Dehu Le Rue des Noyers (an unbelievable wine; the crunchiness and sensation on the palette was like pop rocks. Benoit’s blending hit it right.)
- Roses de Jeanne Les Ursules (one of the greatest wines I’ve ever tasted in my life)
- Vilmart Rubis Rose (so fresh, bright berry, amazing tension)
- Larmandier-Bernier Les chemins d’Avize (it was a showstopper when we tasted with Arthur). He opened a 1990 of their special club. It was truffley, biscuity, with wet stone, with a lot of chiseled acid still.
- Doyard Clos de l’Abbaye 2016 (small plot of Chardonnay; amazing tension and minerality)
Older vintages of the above:
- Dom P - 2006
- Pol Roger WS - 1990
- Krug vintage bottling - 2006
Can you invite me to your next tasting 
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If you like 2004, I would summarize you like richer, fullbodied styles of champagnes. An interesting vintage going backward might be 1998 and 1990. Going forwards there are plenty of options,
If you are drinking at such a level probably difficult to recommend grower producers. We find Dom Perignon drinkers enjoy Bedel’s aged champages Autrefois and L’Ame de Terre.
Lenoble might also be interesting.
For full bodied also Egly-Ouriet.
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This is fantastic, Kenny. Thank you so much. Will let you know (and invite you if you are in the NY City area some time in March…).
Thanks again!
Truly appreciate it. And your summary sounds like my Chardonnay taste (which is also what I suspected.). Will look in to both the two vintages and producers. Thank you!
I’d say take a step back first and explore some of the old school producers/growers/houses who aren’t necessarily on the Marquee. Bara, Dhondt, Gimonnet, Vilmart ect ect ect.
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I think with these types of threads people tend to list things they like. I would do the same - I certainly have champagnes I like and don’t like! But I’m not entirely sure how much that helps.
From the bottles you’ve listed, I don’t really get the sense you have a strong preference for a style of Champagne yet - 2004 Dom, 1996 Krug and Selosse are really different to each other stylistically. There are a fair number of other big houses you can try which are not hard to find with age that will give you different characteristics - Glos de Goisses for almost all pinot, Comtes for all chardonnay, etc. I’d suggest drinking fairly widely until you start noticing you’re gravitating toward a specific preference. A lot of the names listed here are good places to start, but I don’t think you need a particular road map - it’s more a matter of turning off road and figuring out where you’re going along the way.
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What Greg said. I’d add, as someone who drinks Champagne 99/100 bottles now, that the beauty of the region for me is the diversity. Embrace both the learning about the various styles as the styles themselves. Any occasion, any meal, there’s a Champagne for it.
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Agree. Champagne styles are so diverse. Saying you like “Champagne” isn’t all that different from saying you like “red wine.” The diversity is wonderful and maddening, and the only way to sort through it is to drink widely – big producers and growers alike. At least the process is fun!
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I love Dom and Krug and Comte.
Cristal tastes sweeter/less acidic to me and I’m not a big fan. Has saved me a bundle.
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