I picked up some Bride Valley rose on LastBubbles.com the other day. It’ll get here before Christmas, but I think it’ll be more of a NYE wine.
I was really happy with the acidity levels in the regular blanc Bride Valley 2017
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So, I gifted my kid three bottles (magnums) of Champagne I was lucky enough to find at Robert Panzer’s Liquid Culture:
Laherte Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature;
Larmandier Bernier Longitude Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut 1er cru; and,
Nathalie Falmet le Val Cornet Brut 2014.
I know nothing about Champagne. Any recommendations I can pass onto her for when she might want to open any of these? Thanks, all! 
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Last time I had it was in August with Blake. It was a very good bottle, great depth but still seemed a bit shutdown. In a line-up of '02/'08/'11/'12 served blind it clearly was not the '02 and the '11/'12 did not have the depth, so I think we all called it based on which one is was not.
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Happy Birthday Blake! What a great way to celebrate.
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So I opened it around 5:30 last night. I would have preferred earlier, but timing just did not work out. Even after 3 hours, it was showing reductive on the nose with seabreeze, oyster shell and just a touch of white flowers. The palate seemed to driven by dosage. The most dominant flavors I could find were brown sugar and cinnamon. The acidity, chalk and texture were great. No info on the bottle or gift box regarding disgorgement, but I am going to wait another 6 months to check in.
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apparently this video is going viral…
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Well done. 
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I buy 6 bottles of Special Cuvee each year around this time and put them away. Have been doing this for the last fifteen years or so and have had generally excellent results. Three years post-purchase (for example, this year I’m opening bottles with lot numbers starting L20) the wine usually, but not always, shows really really well. Older bottles have been great too - recently opened an ‘L7’ bottle and it was amazing. I’m starting to experiment more with the NV rose too - opening an L18 rose in magnum for Christmas dinner…
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Welcome to the board! And this is great color, exactly as I expected. My lots are all early 21 disgorgement, so certainly ready to go.
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Terrific first post! And in the best thread on the internet. 
Super fresh and chalky BdB Brut Nature from Calsac. Was just going to have a glass with my wife today and keep the rest for Christmas dinner prep tomorrow. Now I am not sure it will survive until tomorrow. Dangerously easy to drink.
Not the most complex Champagne, but perfect for what it is. Will be a rebuy for sure.
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Word. Mine was a “shut the fuck up, Donnie” comment.
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I love love love this wine
Enjoy !
Spot on. 
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Any love for the RD? (IIIC it is effectively 2nd disgorgement of the GA with extra lees time)
Pop
Pop
Pop
I’m sure they will all hold for years, but I wouldn’t hesitate on any should the occasion strike!
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I would drink in the order you have them listed, but all should be delicious, although the second two will def benefit from some time in bottle. I have very limited experience with brut nature champagnes so the first may do well with the same; just not sure.
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Bollinger PN VZ15:
This had me at hello. I am enamored by the overt Pinot Noir character, its concentration and complexity, and its smoky, red fruited extroversion. I found it a bit of head scratcher, however, as it had a rather lightweight frame and was somewhat lacking in textural interest relative to the concentration. The paradox doesn’t temper my enthusiasm, and I would happily buy this again at $90, but this lacks the greatness I was hoping for after reading the gushing critical reviews. That having been said, my curiosity is sufficiently piqued to make it a point of trying the Tauxières and the Ay bottlings.
This is the last bottle of Champagne I have not tasted previously to be consumed prior to the end of the year. As I sipped on it, I contemplated my top bottles of the year. The longer I thought about it, the more futile the exercise became. I fell hard for every wine that was worthy of my full attention, and there were many. Few of them were apples to apples comparisons; there is a tremendous depth of terriors, a host of differing wine making techniques and philosophies, and an array of farming practices. To make any resolute statements about quality would have necessitated a great number of normative judgments I feel entirely uncomfortable making. Is Bach or Beethoven the better composer? Is the symphony inherently superior to chamber music? Is lobster more delicious than a properly dry aged ribeye?
I stopped torturing myself over this impossible exercise and realized what did make sense was identifying the bottles which would be appropriate to open on any occasion. The bottles that have the right ratio of complexity, beauty, intellectual appeal, and ease of drinking , such that it would never be a bad time to pop the cork. These are not necessarily the best or the most exciting bottles, just the ones I would always feel like drinking without regard to mood, energy level, weather, dinner choice, or who I am spending time with:
- 2014 Jose Michel Special Club.
- Vilmart Grand Cellier
- 2012 Laurent-Perrier
- Taittinger Prelude
- Veuve Fourny Grands Terroirs
I do mean in that order, but I could probably spend a lifetime rearranging the order of the first four, if I perseverated over the rationale. I also think the list represents a bias toward my more recent bottles, except for the Jose Michel.
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This is exactly why he left WB.
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