TN: NYC Offline - Baller Bubbles - 2025

gavin.f · December 7, 2025, 5:32pm

Truly special evening.

General notes and pics below. Will add tasting notes when able, but wanted to get this up so others could jump in. It’s the people the make these memories special and I couldn’t be more grateful to everyone.

Per usual, the goal was to celebrate the year with top tier champagne and jovial camaraderie.
Last year - TN: NYC Offline Baller Bubbles - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers .

Instead of the usual two bottle set-up - I made a change this year and asked each guest to bring 1 large format firmly in its drinking window. I made this change because as more people have attended (which is great), last year, for the first time, there were a couple moments of “dump this great thing to try that great thing” (which is icky) and things running out before they actually open up (which is sad). There is never going to be a perfect set up, but I think this worked out really well. There was no rushing. Nothing ran out early and we were able to see things evolve over time, which is fitting for such incredible wines.

Given the cold snap and some dietary preferences, I made a last minute decision to swap fried chicken hosues from Red Rooster (GOAT?) to Hungry Thirtsy. It was a neat lense to see a more Thai flavor profile (not spicy though) against these wines. Thanks to @JoelD for the caviar add ons and @phil.lukeman for excellent homemade bread. Between all that and the amuse, I felt like we tucked in very well.

We kicked off a little after 4pm. @Sam_Kwak, very sadly could not join us this year, sent a saber along. I made my first saber attempt (success) with the sunset and no hospital visit ensued! From there, we were off to the races.

Wines - I think I’m missing something, but team will help me out!

@gavin.f - '99 Pol Roger Winston Churchill (mag)
Andy - ‘96 Pol Roger Winston Churchill (mag)
Mike B. - '06 René Geoffroy “Terre” Millesime 1er Cru (mag)
@AaronR - ‘09 Cristal (mag)
@JoelD + 1 - '99 Vilmart Coeur de Cuvee (mag) + '98 Dom mag
@J_a_y_H_a_c_k +1 - ‘99 Rare (mag) and '90 La Grande Dame (Double Mag)
@Juan_S +1s - '97 Bollinger La Grande Annee (mag), '00 Philpponnat Clos Goisses (750)
@B_Caputo + J - 09 Dom and '12 Herbrart Noces de Craie
@Jesse_W - '07 Bollinger R.D. (mag)
Jake - Grand Siecle 23 (mag)
@phil.lukeman - blind (I have deconflicted)

I’m a bad photographer, but oh well. Photos not in tasting order.

The Roc was also 1990, but original bottle thrown away before pic

Run of 90s

1999 through three different stylistic lenses

Early 00s. the Dom 750 is also 09

Fascinating contrast of Lees age vs absolute age

'98 showing younger than expected. '08 showing more open than expected. '09 just right?

Don’t drink a lot of '09. I think the biggest ordering mistake I made was putting the Cristal later in the sequence. We went roughly in age order. Incorrect

QPR Champions?

Ringers and blinds Again, the Roc de Cambes should be 1990

JoelD · December 7, 2025, 11:11pm

This was an amazing evening. Gavin is the best host. Very glad that we got to come up from DC for it. So great to finally meet him and everyone else who came (although I’m fairly sure that I’ve met at least a few folks in passing before)

I’m fortunate to get to go to and host a lot of events similar to this with the big (no pun intended) exception being that I’ve never been to a Magnum exclusive event and can count on 2 hands the number of Magnums of Champagne that I’ve likely had. Definitely never so many in one place.

A lot of these wines showed about as I expected. Not a true dud in the room. Just varying degrees of good to great.

If I get a chance, I’ll edit with more complete notes/stories later on. But for now I’ll just give the brief overview of the evening from my perspective.

The best large formats of the night to me were (in no particular order) :

-1990 Veuve Clicquot Champagne Brut Rosé La Grande Dame (3L)- The color was incredible, almost Saignee like. A little funk, which I don’t mind but that blew off and it turned into one of the most complete wines in the room. I’m not partial to rose, but I do tend to like them a lot with age.

-1996 Pol Roger Champagne Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill (1.5L)- This started out quite oxidative and almost a bit tired to me. However, as I hoped, that ox developed and integrated. Letting the fruit and spices show out more. It too became one of the more complete wines in the room. Fairly similar to a 750ml that I had earlier this year, although a touch more advanced and less fresh. Nonetheless great and might even be preferred by folks that like their Champagne older.

-1998 Dom Perignon (1.5L)- A good friend graciously allowed me to trade for this to bring as our second bottle for the evening. Very similar to a 750ml that I had two years ago. Definitely showing its age but far from over the hill. Likely at its plateau. It had a touch of funk that never quite blew off for me but it was completely in balance and one of the more complex wines of the evening, along with the 96 Pol Roger. Lovely.

-1999 Vilmart & Cie Champagne Coeur de Cuvée (1.5L)- My original contribution and one of only two magnums of Champagne that I owned. I had been waiting for a good time to open this and couldn’t think of a more perfect time. This was in a near perfect spot for me. Aged but completely in balance. Great acidity, rounded out with subtle baking spices and some lovely tart fruit on the mid/back. These aged Vilmart really speak to me and wish. that I had more. If I had to pick a favorite on the evening purely for my tastes and not speaking to the quality with some more “objectivity” then this would be the choice. However, if scoring the wines, I might lean towards others.

Other highlights of the evening for me out of 750ml were the 2009 Dom which was surprisingly aged and complete. The 2000 Philpponnat Clos Goisses, one of 3-4 wines on the evening that I thought were at true peak/plateau. And the 1990 Roc de Cambes that Gavin opened at the end for everyone. Super yummy. The Walter Scott pinot was also probably QPR of the night, although I preferred these others overall.

Some other notes on the large formats:

I really enjoyed the 1997 Bollinger La Grande Annee and the 2007 Bollinger RD. The former seemed to start a bit tired but did the same thing as the 1996 Winston for me by integrating the ox/aged characteristics into good complexity. The 2007 RD was surprisingly accessible to me and definitely my style of wine. Very serious and lower dosage. Surprisingly not too young for me (maybe the 2007 vintage helped that?) Would love to try that again in 5-10 years.

The 2008 Dom Perignon mag was another one that was on the borderline of being too young, but I’ve always found this wine to be accessible out of 750ml, despite the incredible vintage and that it will clearly age forever. Very good and fun to try next to the 09 Dom out of 750 and the 1998 Mag.

The late arrival of the 2006 Geoffrey mag was super yummy and in a great spot. I remember trying to seek this wine out and wish that I had found them. Definitely better than the 2008 out of 750, although maybe that vintage just needs time.

Alternatively, I found both the 1999 Rare and 1999 Pol Roger Winston to be very very young for my palate. Take that with a grain of salt though as I strongly prefer lower dosage grower Champagnes these days and rarely love big houses except with a lot of age. Both were clearly very well made though. I did find that the 1999 Winston developed some real complexity later in the evening, but did not noticed that with the Rare.

Other mags that were just far too young/primary for me were the 2009 Cristal and the #23 Grand Siecle. Both were clearly incredibly well made and definitely crowd pleasers as I’m fairly certain that the 2009 Cristal was the first Mag to be finished on the evening. And it was far from the first to be opened.

We had a fun side quest of taste testing some different caviar. A larger tin of Royal Ossetra from one place. Then a smaller tin of Royal Ossetra and a River Beluga Hybrid from another producer. The consensus favorite was the Beluga, although it was neck and neck with the bigger tin of Ossetra.

All in all it was a great evening. Thanks again to Gavin and Nicole for having us and putting up with all of nonsense. I think only one broken glass on the evening despite multiple drops that should have broken.

We definitely hope to come back next year and are happy to host anyone who wants to take the short train ride down to DC!

A few supplemental pics attached. And will upload Gavin’s Saber video later if I can figure out how. If anyone doesn’t want their photos all over the inter webs, let me know and I can remove it!

Dan_A · December 8, 2025, 1:05am

Man what a great event and I was very sorry to have missed it but I will be around for next year ready to go. Thanks for the notes and the pics, that last pick is hilarious. Looks like an amazing time had by all with great champagnes and great people.

J_a_y_H_a_c_k · December 9, 2025, 3:49am

It would have been better if I had brought the Kitana with the 5 foot long blade, but the War Department did not allow it and I had to settle with bringing the Game of Thrones Crane.

Here is our host performing the Sabrage to start the event.

What is this BS? I can’t upload the video. Any ideas?

Otherwise, I will cause this Berserker to attack.

Dan_A · December 9, 2025, 11:37am

Jay, that look really suits you. Unfortunately I don’t have the skills to upload your video…

gavin.f · December 9, 2025, 6:47pm

You always win best dressed, Jay. Next year, we can arrange a katana smuggler.

I uploaded a version here: Instagram

gavin.f · December 9, 2025, 7:41pm

Was very cool to see different themes develop: Pol Roger and Dom vertical, '99 horizontal, Bollinger orthogonal, early 00 diversity etc. I felt like I learned a lot, while also having the best of times.

1990 La Grande Dame Rose (Double Mag) @J_a_y_H_a_c_k and @Juan_S outdid themselves here. VC has tanked it reputation because of the yellow label, but this was the best 1990 champs I’ve ever had. Needed 2hrs to open, but then truly wonderful, even the next evening (there were 3 glasses left that went to a friend’s bday party). Evolved and complete. Still time if you find a 3L. I’m not sure I’ll ever come across this wine again and I’ll never forget it.

1990 Roc De Cambes One of my end of night ringers bc… 1990 ftw. Smashing nose of earth, wood, and dark tart baked fruit. Def developed in flavor. Tannins complete. I respect the integrity of Francois and his children in making these wines that are not to everyone’s taste, but true to their vision.

1999 Pol Roger Winston Churchill (mag) Full, giving, lush. Stand alone show stopper. Hedonism in couture and it’s looking at you kindly, kid.

1996 Pol Roger Winston Churchill (mag) Opens strongly with brioche which calmed down after 30 mins. Very lively acidity. Not to say it’s some nervy angry grower, but it has an amazing freshness. Two more decades in this format sounds crazy, but that’s my sense.

The 99 was better stand alone, the '96 with food. Given the potential, Drink your 99s and let you 96s lay.

1999 Rare (mag) (Piper-Heidsieck Rare) Lovely. Makes you miss the times these were priced at a lower tier. More development to be had without loss.

1999 Vilmart Cœur de Cuvée (mag) A candidate for decanting. Initially tight and acid driven (ironic for a '99), but with time unfurled and added fruit and spice. Spiritually closer to the '96 Churchill (freshness) and '06 Geoffrey (spice with gastronomic shimmy). There was a glass left the next day and it was the best glass of all…

The age play with the Bollinger’s was such a delightful study.

1997 Bollinger La Grande Année (mag) Completely alluring. Best in first hour, autolytic with spices and pears. Dream for older champagne lovers. It faded by hour 2 and was over tired by end of evening.

2007 Bollinger R.D. (mag) Big lees influence and if you love that style - it’s actually pretty accessible right now, but otherwise you’ll want to give this more time. Only improved over the course of the evening, a fun divergence with its parent pairing.

Fun cross section of Doms into an '09 Dom vs Cristal comparison. I am not a huge Dom guy so this grouping was very educational.

1998 Dom Pérignon (mag) Ironically, the 2008 Dom seemed open for business and the 1998 came across as young to me. Delicious.

2008 DomPérignon (mag) So open for business. Shocking. Clearly more evolution ahead though

2009 Dom Pérignon (750ml) Very tidy this felt together and in the zone. Peak in this format?

2009 Cristal (mag) Opened too late in the evening and got lost in the shuffle. Oh bother. I keep missing my Cristal connection.

2000 Philipponnat Clos Goisses (750ml) Never had this cuvee. Wonderful. Complex, but open. Touch oxidative with main notes of lemon rind, brioche, spice. Full. Long finish. Would love to go deeper here.

Grand Siecle N 23 (mag) Did not show its age at all. I’ve yet to have fireworks with these wines, but they are real crowd pleasers. I will say, texturally, this was really smooth. 58% Chard, 42% PN, 7% dosage. 15% 2002, 20% 2004, 65% 2006. Deg 05/2019

2006 René Geoffroy “Terre” Millésime 1er Cru (mag) First time here as well. Very food friendly, cherry, mineral, disgorged in 2021 and the less influence shows strongly.

2012 Herbrart Noces de Craie. Churchbells and a leaping embrace of long lost friend. Herbrart consistently qpr champion in a region set on every higher prices. So open and giving. This was wonderful.

2012 Walter Scott Pinot Noir Cedar and gently fermenting strawberries. Testify!

2015 Collet Esprit Couture New one for me and fun blind by @phil.lukeman. 50/40/10 pinot noir, chardonnay, and pinot meunier. Fermentation in oak then aged for 5-7 years. Yellow fruit, some brioche and nuts. Nice texture.

Caviar comparison was very thoughtful addition by Joel. I’m a complete novice, but enjoyed with the fuller champs.

Surprisingly, there were no duds!

How do you pick favorites in a line up like this this? Even the wines that I didn’t think were showing their peak or peaking to my taste were still good and I learned a ton.

A couple awards:
QPR: 2012 Herbrart Noces de Craie
Biggest surprise: 1990 La Grande Dame Rose
Best moment in time: 1997 Bollinger La Grande Année
To my taste: 1999 Pol Roger Winston Churchill
Forward looking: 1996 Pol Roger Champagne Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill or (shocker) 2008 2008 Dom Pérignon

phil.lukeman · December 10, 2025, 7:29pm

So, thanks Gavin for an awesome night for all the reasons he stated above…

For someone who waxes lyrical about wanting “big” “rich” champagnes, I was surprised by how subtle most of these wines were - probably a function of my oxes palate. The notes above by Gavin capture these better. I remember loving the Hebrart, but no notes or memory of it. I’d like to focus on just 4 that made an impression in an embarrassment of riches.

The two Bollys

07 RD - this was, as someone put it in another thread “yeasty, layered”. Super biscuity texturally fascinating but not in a “this is viscous in interesting kinda way”, but in a “now a new kind layer of raspy-carbonation with biscuity undertones emergeth!.” Super dry dry dry; almost no significant fruit. As someone who claims he wants this, I now realize that I would actually like a small amount of primary flavor! The dryness was almost astringent, I guess I want something that has a little more “digestive biscuit” or “hint of almond” quality, and less fizzy saltine meets stack of graham crackers. I like the idea of this wine much more than drinking it. Maybe as some people said, it needs more time?

97 La Grand Annee. The opposite of the RD! The most, imho, vinous of the wines. There was some autolysis there but it was drowned out by a symphony of fruit notes - some pear, blood orange, lemon curd and definitely something slightly sherrylike - a whipser of manzanilla like flavor. Really beautiful, texturally it had noticable viscosity which in combination with the bubbles is a winning kick. Not enough leesy-ness for me, and of course more oxidation would be a bonus… but #3 WOTN

I wanted the bastard child of these two wines. Had I been smarter I would have made a 50/50 mix (mags! not a waste!) …heresy I know,.

Surprise of the night. Soon after the '09 Cristal was opened, it had a fantastic mushroomy/umami aroma that really set off the clean, sweet acidic tangerine and tangelo (?) fine-bubbled high-tonedness in a manner that would make the grungiest of natty funkseekers happy - it made me happy!. The nose blew off, and it became merely excellent aged champagne… Crazy how the bling association with Cristal in my mind disguises it’s nature as superb fizz…for me this was #2.

For me the most intriguing wine, and WOTN was the 750ml 2000 Philipponnat Clos Goisses . It struck me, (with my limited experience of drinking it twice!), as kind of a baby Selosse substance. Really kaleidoscopic flavors, some beautiful interplay between toast, some mild sherry-ness, and agree with gavin on the lemon rind/spice thing. Intrigued by this house. Was this just a Great Bottle, or is this a new discovery?

Cellartracker likes it, but doesn’t think it’s GREAT

They have an LV version which would be killer to try

It lived 15 years on the lees.

Perhaps a “long lees contact night” should be on the cards?