TN: 1985 Champagnes

WINE TALK
1

Wines were not served blind and are presented in the order tasted. What I like in
champagnes is a good body, lush, citrus, toast, yeasty, chocolate. The
lean and/or earthy champagnes are simply not for me.

  1. 1985 Salon Le Mesnil $115
    white chocolate, tropical fruit, yeasty in the nose
    green apples, hint of white chocolate, nice finish,
    medium-light body, high acid
    B+/A-

    \

  2. 1985 Dom Perignon Brut $160
    earthy, chalky nose
    chalky, earthy, lt lemony, light body, very light toast
    C+

  3. 1985 Bollinger R.D. $110
    citrus, white chocolate, light green apples in nose
    citrus, green, tart, apples, very light toast, very light
    white chocolate
    B- (improving, wish I had another glass to let sit)

  4. 1985 Krug $165
    subdued, light toast, butter nose
    hint of chocolate, gren apple, citrus/lemony
    B+

  5. 1985 Gosset Grand Millesime $60
    big, white chocolate, very light green apples, very light
    toast nose
    white chocolate, green apples, tart
    B+

  6. NV Gosset Brut Grande Reserve $38
    dirty nose
    bright, tart, lemons, light body
    C

  7. 1985 Jacquesson Brut Late Disgorged $60
    white chocolate nose
    full body, balanced, medium light chocolate, light green
    apples
    A-

  8. 1985 Heidsieck Monopole Diamont Bleu $42
    earthy, wet stone, toast
    wet stone, earth, green apples,medium-light body
    B-

  9. 1985 Roederer Cristal $190
    toasty, yeast, hint of green apple
    toasty, rich, green apples
    B+/A-

Commentary:

Overall I think these wines were very good. I was quite impressed by
the few lesser expensive bottles (1985 Gosset, 1985 Jacquesson
LD). Not only are they excellent QPR but were also some of my
favorites overall. The Bollinger RD was coming around but my glass ran
dry. Luckily I have a few more bottles to play with in the future to
see if it really comes around to my liking. The Dom was a disappointment. I’m not a big
chalky/earthy fan so if this is what this wine offers I’ll remember to
not buy any more. I’ve rarely liked Dom and this just confirmed that.

I’ve had better bottles of 1985 KRug, the Rare Wine late disgorged bottles have always blown me away. I may like Cristal better younger than older, I’ll need to keep experimenting.

I think the middle priced bottles are perhaps where you get the best
QPR. I like the NV Roederer Brut Premier at $30 and the 2 QPRs
mentioned above. They are not only excellent wines but easy on the
wallet as well.

2

Nice prices from yesteryear.

Late disgorged Krug is a different animal from the original release - not even close.

Your bottle of '85 DP seems amiss to me. While I don’t think it’s a great DP, I’ve always found it to be round and creamy.

I’m not a huge fan of Cristal whether young or old, but there are exceptions to the rule for me - '75 is consistantly great. But I agree that in general they tend to drink better at 15 years old rather than 35+ years old.

3

Prices listed were what I paid on release so yeah, the good old days.

I just don’t like Dom, enjoyed one bottle of IIRC the 1996 but that’s it. So take that into consideration, their house style doesn’t match my palate.

And yes the LD Krug 85 is a totally different beast and my pinnacle of champagne drinking.

4

My impressions are very close to yours except when it comes to the 85 DP. To me that’s one of the best 85s around, along with Salon. We did a 1985 round-up in 2005 and those two came out on top, and each time I’ve had them since then they’ve been on point.

BTW, those prices make me cry. [cray.gif]

5

The good old days for prices. I remember even back in 2002/3/4 buying Cristal in CDG for US$80, and as much as I could carry. My arms are probably 2" longer because of those trips to France.

6

Thank goodness for this bad boy, eh?

7

Overheard this story about our friend Todd who was complaining to this guy…

Todd was sad.
He donates lots of money and time to the animal shelter, but no one calls him a lover of animals
He donates lots of money and time to homeless children, but no one calls him a lover of children

but he sucked one little cock…