Stephen, for sure, and this is semantics but I believe this…there are no ‘right’ bottles. There are bottles that may align best to where your palate, budget and unique appreciation may be today.
I’m happy to suggest you a duo to try, of different styles, both under $50, if you want. I assume shipping would be about $20 (maybe less/more but a good round #) and another, call it 10% for the state tax. That would put you at $130 all in. And it’s still cool-ish to ship before all that goes to heck in the next month or so (although already warm in Phoenix which seems to be not far from you).
If you want to spend the $130, I can send you a list of duos to pick from and then you order.
Total Wine is a minefield for Champagne with some states better than others. There are occasional deals to be found and with coupons, you can do okay, but you have to be selective. In general, you are going to do better going elsewhere. That said, one wine that is usually $40-$50 at Total Wine (depending on coupons) that I would recommend is the NV Camille Bonville Blanc de Blancs. This is from Olivier Bonville (of Franck Bonville) and Camille is his negociant line. The grapes are predominantly from Avize though you will sometimes find other Grand Cru Cote des Blancs villages in the mix as well. It is a crowd pleasing wine with plenty of fruit. It isn’t overly complex, but it is very drinkable in a more classic, fruity, Chardonnay style.
As Bonville has ended the Camille line with it only continuing for as long as bottles remains, I don’t know how much longer this wine will remain at Total. Bonville will continue a negociant line under the ‘Odyssee 319’ name moving forward with a completely different range of wines from vineyards he will continue to work, but doesn’t own.
Frank as far as my palate is concerned, my cellar is mostly Rhone-based with BdM and Ridge Zinfandels thrown in. And yes it is getting warm here in Las Vegas. Mid-90s this weekend, but then two to three weeks of 70s and probably the last shipping window until October
Looks like the ship maybe has sailed for this particular occasion, but for the next Champagne celebration the Taittinger La Francaise Brut would be my choice from among those available at LV Total Wine stores for under $50.
And I mostly agree with Brad’s statement about shopping elsewhere. He mentions doing ok with Coupons, which is absolutely true, but they also rotate Champagne that go on fairly deep discounts most months. When you can combine those sales with a good coupon, some of these purchases are pretty risk free.
After exploring pretty much all of their exclusive brands, I would say only Mailly, Tsarine, and Apollonis are really worth exploring. Georges Vesselle and some of his secondary labels, and Gobillard, can be decent purchases below the $50 mark with a good coupon, but only if you stick to vintage offerings.
Vesselle and Gobillard are labels I’ve regularly bought elsewhere, Tsarine is another label I’ve mainly seen in TW and has fancy bottles. haven’t run across Apollonis that I recall.
I love the Tsarine range, if not the pretentious bottles. The entry level is solid, but the mid-tier is a big step up quality wise. The wines are very ripe with a sexy texture buttressed by firm acids and minerals. The Cuvee Orium with sashimi or poke is magical. The weight and sensual thrill it gives on the palate just jives well with the fresh raw fish and the electric acidity gives it gravitas and cleanses the palate. With coupon it runs about $60.
The Apollonis wines are all 100% Meunier from Festigny. They are playful, fun, and pleasantly idiosyncratic. They deliver a lot of joy at $40 but aren’t the most complex bottles you will ever have. This estate used to be known as Michel Loriot, and K&L used to direct import his range at very attractive prices, but he changed it to Apollonis as there was another wine maker using that sur name in his region.
There’s no one best because it depends on your palate and what you’ll pair the Champagne with but I recommend you try Ployez-Jacquemart Extra Quality Brut.
At the TW inflated regular price it’s in the low $50s (instead of $40 elsewhere) but I’m sure you can figure a way to get it discounted.
It’s like Roederer Estate. it is meh. It’s champagne, it’s not bad, it’s not super complex, but is made in an appealing accessible style. I would way rather have a glass of Piper.
Vesselle is not my fave, stylistically, but it’s sometimes hard to find Hebrart and Diebolt-Valois for under $50 and Veselle is well made in a big friendly style. It’s a wine I’m fine drinking off a by the glass list and would include it in my suggestions for wines at this price point for someone exploring champagne. For sure.
Before the end of the world there were several large champagne tastings every year in DC. It was really informative for me to try 40+ Champagnes at one sitting and compare. For my tastes, although never my top wine of the night, Turgy BdB NV was consistently my favorite under the $80-100 range. Still am quite a fan of that champagne even though the tastings haven’t returned to their former glory.
