nice summary, KJ Joseph. I agree.
Agreed. Like nearly all of his posts, a very well constructed comment. He must be an attorney! 
Otto, you’re correct. But for the sake of this discussion I think the VVF is like the Krug Clos…if you’re questioning whether the jump from Moet to Dom P is worth it, you’re not going to contemplate jumping from a $50 bottle of Bolly to a $650 bottle of VVF. I have also never once seen one in a retail liquor store around me. I’m sure a couple of stores in Dallas probably carry a bottle or two, but it’s largely unattainable in my market, even aside from its absurdly high price. So for the sake of this discussion, I cited to GA or RD as they’re market level competitors with the Doms, Comtes, and Cristals of the Champagne world.
I have a lot of DP and no VVF.
You’ve missed the point entirely. I’m saying Salon is not really the Tete de Cuvee of Delamotte - they are described as sister houses. If you want to go in that direction, then technically Salon would be the Tete de Cuvee of Laurent Perrier. Which it’s obviously not.
Krug CdA and CdM are closer to Tete de Cuvees than Salon could be regarded, but even then they are simply specific vineyard(or specific terroir I guess) bottlings - something many producers have. Salon simply produces Salon and that’s it.
“Salon simply produces Salon.” I love it!
This thread put me over the edge. Just ordered my first bottle of Comtes 06. Will be my first Tete
The correct question is whether the non-tete-de-cuvees are worth the cost. The answer is no.
Yeah that’s mostly accurate but for the sake of this conversation it really is the Tete of Delamotte. After their acquisition by Laurent Perrier in 1986 or so they’ve basically been quasi same-house. I think from an ownership perspective the houses were actually joined in 1988 or 1989. They’re overseen by the same management group, and while Delamotte makes a rose, both are known for their BdBs made from grapes sourced from the same area and both are now produced in a nearly identical extra brut 5-6g/l dosage style.
I prefer tetes in pairs ![[snort.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/b/bdc3944606213c4dca6c1169cf0a166c8bc4f8c9.gif "snort.gif"){kind=small}
Fair enough, I see what you mean.
Huh? That’s clearly only a 92-point retort. You’re slipping. But feel free to PM me re: any bottles of Roederer Vintage Brut (if you have any). I have preference for the 1995, but any vintage will do.
Funny you should mention Roederer. Just had a great bottle of the 2000 Cristal last night. Unequivocally 93 points
Even the NV Roederer is well worth drinking
I’m not saying that the non-tete-de-cuvees aren’t worth drinking. It’s that given the choice between, say 6x NV Roederer, I’d rather have the one bottle of Cristal.
Went to an event to showcase the '08 Cristal and for the first hour they poured NV Roederer out of magnum. I drank maybe a third of a glass and then switched to sparkling water.
So, what did you think of the 2008 Cristal?
I got bored waiting for them to eventually open it and left before it was poured.
Certainly a respectable viewpoint, and one I have been gravitating to over the years as a general proposition. We only drink a couple of bottles of wine a week. Buying “cheap,” “daily drinkers” makes no sense for us. I wonder how our habits will change when I retire? Cellar may need to be re-balanced along with my 401k!