While in Amsterdam as I am now, I often stop by one of my 2 favourite wine shops, Chabrol, and look over their inventory as well as engage in conversation with their staff.
On this occasion, I noticed large, unusually shaped flask like champagne bottles. Two were of the de Venoge des Princess line and 2 were vintage Louis XV line which I believe is their top echelon line. The $280 [converted from Euro] price tag would certainly suggest that.
I looked up the champagne house, reviewed info on Wine Searcher and other sites and did not come up anything linear or any organised list of all of the champagnes they make. I found what I think is their entry level, Cordon Bleu which offered a NV brut, vintage brut, Brut BdB, Extra Brut and Demi Sec.
I also found a line called Le Marquis as well as des Princess and Louis XV. Some are vintage and others are not.
It appears Total Wine has a direct house connection as I see numerous stores listed as sources in the US with a note “Winery Direct”.
I remember having and liking the entry level brut rose while in Paris a few years ago, but that has been the only exposure thus far and I`m interested in pursuing others.
Anyone have in depth knowledge about all of the possibilities as well as tasting impressions?
Hopefully one of our champers specialists will chime in. A couple of years ago I had the 1993 Grand Vin des Princes and it was quite good, especially for a 93.
Edit: Yes, the bottle is unusual. It looks like it should contain salad dressing!
I grabbed a bottle of the 96 Louis XV from Envoyer last year and drank it about six months ago. It was pretty toasty and completely mature with light mousse; delicious.
Thanks. Great to know Envoyer had it as I buy a lot from them and trust Gregs palate to compare closely to mine. Ill need to have a chat with him when I visit them in mid May.
The funky bottle shape line of deVenoge is the Cuvee des Princes for the current upper end NV releases (Extra Brut BdB, Rose and BdN) and the Louis XV for the vintaged prestige wine (Brut and Ruse). The Cuvee des Princes is the sweet spot in the range for me with lots of bright fruit and a nice roundness. This tends to be $55-$85 in the US and is a decent value especially at the low end of the price range. You can sometimes find old vintaged versions of these wines as well; the Princes used to be the prestige wine through the early 90s). Louis XV is the official prestige wine and is a more precise and cutting wine than the Princes, but without as much fruit. I do find it to be a tiny bit better, but not at the price uptick. The Louis XV goes on closeout quite a bit and should be in the $100-$140 price range though it sometimes drops to $75. It is a solid, but not amazing bottle.
deVenoge is improved, but still trying to sort itself out. In the early to mid-20th century it was a top producer, but has fallen a lot since then. I like the progress they have made, but some of the pricing is a bit aggessive. I tend to buy the Princes range on sale or look for late released older vintages at bargain prices- that is where the value is at.
I should add that the Le Marquis line is simply deVenoge using an old label/name they own. From what I have seen this is a normal shaped bottle with an old looking/styled label. It is all marketing and not worth it IMO although the label does look cool.
Perfect Brad. Just what I was looking for. Ill dive into the Cuvee des Princes line and see whats there. Think I`ll wait until lI return to the US though as the prices are much higher here in Amsterdam. Thanks for your help.
Yes, that’s it! Unfortunately it reminds me of those halcyon days in the 1970s when everything was instant. The packaged salad dressing often came with a promotional bottle that looked like this. But I digress.
