2008 Bollinger R.D. - This remains my favorite R.D., with exceptional balance between the rich breadiness and leesy notes with crisp acid and a bright fruit profile. Immense complexity and depth. A wonderful champagne, and the best Bollinger has made in a long while (in my opinion). Made just that much better because it was enjoyed with friends celebrating a birthday after a very fun dinner.
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Amazing Michigan entertaining this past weekend…I have to adjust my wine intake due to health issues…so I’m drinking less but drinking better.
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Opened a bottle of 2012 DP a couple days ago and it was showing really nicely. Got me thinking about the P2 - has anyone heard timing on the 2012 P2?
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I would suspect late 2027 or 2028.
Wild days along the Saar: P2 1999, late-disgorged Krug 2000, and an unexpected Yquem
My fiancée’s parents came around for a visit, so we took them to a local wine event along the Saar with some VDP producers. Many opened their cellars and poured through the whole range, Ortswein to GG including Prädikate. I know the German classifications are hard to get and somewhat nerdy.
While planning which wineries to fit into six and a half hours, we sipped my last P2 1999.
Dom Pérignon P2 1999 / Disg. 2017 (I assume) / 62% Pinot Noir, 38% Chardonnay
Nose: very intense roasted robusta coffee, burnt butter.
Palate: surprisingly fresh - I was afraid this one might already be on the decline, no sign of it whatsoever. Baked brioche, roasted coconut, and quite some drying bitterness, somewhere around grapefruit pith and quinine. Coffee in the length. Great bottle, but I think the one I had a year ago was even more autolytic.
Then it happens that my fiancée’s neighbours are cellar masters at two different local wineries. Invited to a tasting on Wednesday, which we of course couldn’t decline: the whole portfolio, plus the treasuries with wines dating back to the late 1800s. I’ll add some impressions to this post.
As I knew both liked Krug, I brought the late-disgorged 2000 to return the favour.
Krug Vintage 2000 / Disg. Spring 2023 / 42% Pinot Noir, 43% Chardonnay, 15% Meunier - ID: 223 026
Nose: white chocolate and roasted arabica coffee, maybe a hint of red fruits. Much fresher and more vibrant than the bottle in my last post.
Palate: gorgeous. A very fresh and shy start, then an impression of warmth, as if the wine were lining the whole mouth and covering it in honey. Glazed and roasted hazelnut in the mid-palate, lemon and brioche in an unmatched length. Some fruity characters too, but I stopped taking notes and started talking.
They had something planned as well. Doesn’t match this Champagne thread, but the bottle is worthy to be mentioned: d’Yquem 2023. Many Prädikate from the Mosel behind me, never an Yquem. I had read the ratings and prepared for a banger - I just never knew whether Yquem could be drunk this young. Oh boy. Unfortunately I did not take a proper picture of the wine in the glass. I only have a blurred one of my fiancée holding the Coravin. Pouring four glasses through the Vintage Needle is slow going with a wine that viscous.
Château d’Yquem 2023 / Sémillon 70%, Sauvignon Blanc 30%
Nose: very ripe exotic fruit, candied lemons, orange blossom, and at the same time something nutty and herbal. Botrytis, or is that the oak talking?
Palate: like the Krug, lining the entire mouth. Pineapple, passion fruit (very distinct!!) and I would even say some banana in the length. Despite the high alcohol and the high sugar levels, super fresh throughout.
Sorry for the Sauternes detour - normal Champagne service resumes shortly.
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A new producer for me this evening. I find quite a few posts on their vintage wines here previously, but I am just a bottom feeder, so these are my thoughts on the ~US$35 NV rosé…
- NV Franck Bonville Champagne Grand Cru Brut Rosé - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru (04/09/2026)
90/10 C/PN. A blend of 2019 & 2020 vintages. Disgorged November 2022; 8.3 g/l dosage.
A nice blood orange colour. On the nose some strawberries, some orange citrus, a hint of flowers, and a load of chalky minerality.
The palate follows: very well-balanced, easy drinking, fruit, enough acidity and a load of chalkiness, particularly on the clean and rather more-ish finish. The dosage is well-judged and not prominent.
Overall this is a decent easy-drinking rosé - fine as a crowd-pleaser, but also with some interest for those that go looking. It perhaps lacks a little in weight and complexity but it is still an excellent wine, and very good QPR indeed at the ~US$35 that I paid. (90 points)
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Thibault & Alizée Tassin, Les Fioles 2021
This is a highly seductive champagne. Rooiboos, cloves and lemon zest. On the first note there’s a good sugar and maturity level and on the finish a long but well balanced acidic end. Really a nice bottle.
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Your last note encouraged me to finally track one of these down - the Soirée. Hopefully no mousiness!
NV Famille Moussé Champagne Hommage À Cuisles 100 ANS
Opened by a friend. Disgorged 12/2022. Extra Brut with 1 g/l dosage. 100% Pinot Meunier grown on green clay from the best Meunier producer in Champagne in my opinion. This wine celebrates the 100th anniversary of Mousse Champagne. Fine bead. Apples, apples, apples with a fine minerality. This was a fuller bodied Champagne with a very fruity profile. Savory texture with some ginger on the finish. 92-93 points.
VM
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Every single note on CT has been about how there isn’t any mousiness…
I really think Karklins should have double checked before publishing his scathing review.
I hope you enjoy it! I for one am excited and will keep buying.
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This evening another GC grower rosé is going down rather nicely… Again, some of their vintage wines have been mentioned here previously, but this is the NV.
- NV Vazart-Coquart Champagne Grand Cru Brut Rosé - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru (05/09/2026)
95/5 C/PN Bottled March 2019 (so I guess 2018 base). Disgorged December 2022, dosage 3.5g/l.
A pale salmon colour. Initially a bit reticent on the nose, it opens up with some air and then offers rich red fruit and a slight herbal note.
Initially the wine is a bit gassy, but with air and as it warms a little the palte opens up to be quite fruity (wild strawberries, pink grapefruit), but not in any way sweet - not exactly citrus either, but crisp in a slight bitter (but good) way. Just a touch drying on the finish.
Overall, after some air just a little cool (rather than cold) this is a rather good and interesting bottle of fizz. The pink grapefruit aspect to it is a little unusual, and rather nice. I think I may try decanting my other bottle to try to bring it out of its shell a bit sooner.
At the ~US$40 that I paid for this bottle I see it as very good QPR for an interesting and refreshing wine. (91 points)
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This was a revelation. I’d heard good things from the board, but this wine really stopped me in my tracks. I’d blinded, I’d have confidently called it Ulysse Collin. This all Meunier wine is complex, with lots of floral aromatics and honey. Slightly oxidative yet fresh, it rides a perfect line that enhances complexity the way so many great champagnes do. My only regret is just buying one of these - need to reload for sure. Just look at that color.
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Which year?
August was a good champagne month. Short summaries as I’m not so good on tasting notes:
Louis Roederer Rose 2013 - Magnum
I adore this - but only ever had it in magnum. I’ve had the 2016 and the 2017 in bottle so don’t know how much is vintage vs format, but need to buy more as I’m all out. Perfect for summer drinking champagne
Krug Grande Cuvee 171 - Half bottle
I’ve had 3 of these over the last year and this was the best one yet - still not as good as the 172 in my opinion. But its now very hard to find half-bottles of any other edition. I’ve followed the comments on here that GC taste much better with age hence decided to open…
Krug Grande Cuvee 165
The olderst Grand Cuvee I have - and this was a revelation. Much more of what I’ve come to enjoy about champagne - reminded me a bit of the 2006 Comtes BdB I had last year with brioche and honey notes. From now on I’ll be looking for older GC.
DP Rose 2004 - Luminous
Special occasion bottle - and this was fantastic! Probably my wine of the summer so far - but then I seem to really like more mature DP Rose. To me it is at the same level as the 2002 DP Rose.
Cristal 2008:
Hands-down best Cristal I’ve had - but again my limited experience is with younger vintages like 2013, 2014 and 2015. Tastes young but with more depth and precision is the best way I can describe it compared to the younger vintages. My oldest Cristal.
Dom Perignon 2009:
Similar to Cristal, my experience so far has been with younger DPs but this was very enjoyable - not at the level of the GC 165, but these can get picked up at attractive prices.
2018 Louis Roederer Champagne Brut Nature Cuvée Starck
I really enjoyed this - especially compared to the 2015 tasted last year. When its hot outside and you want a cold crispy champagne, I felt this fit the bill.
2012 Billecart-Salmon Champagne Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon
Heard good things but was underwhelmed by this. Not a repeat purchase at the EUR 180 it cost.
2012 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Rosé Brut
I’ve liked these in the past - super tasty and fresh, very strong red fruits. Goes really well with food. Will search out older vintages of the Rose - the 06 BdB I’ve had was my favourite white champagne last year so hoping the more mature Roses will mirror the older DP Roses I’ve had.
Slowing down now hopefully until Christmas!
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2004 Cristal last night at Côte. A little too warm and round on opening after the train ride from Bronxville. Lively with firm but not overwhelming acid backbone when properly chilled. Lemon, marzipan, tangerine, and a little burnt sugar on the finish. In a very good spot. Delicious with Côte’s Steak and Eggs.
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Love this wine! I’m curious how they’ll age. I need to get some for the cellar….
Today a rather disappointing “Special Club” wine. (Disappointing not just because of the really awkward bottles which don’t fit racks or coolers.) I didn’t realise when I ordered it how recent the disgorgement was, and no doubt I will be told that it needs more time. But I buy wine to drink it, not to put it in a cellar for years, so this really isn’t one for me.
- 2018 Paul Bara Champagne Grand Cru Special Club - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru (05/09/2026)
70/30 PN/C. Malo blocked. Bottled 07/2019. Disgorged 02/2026, dosage 3g/l. Drunk over 2 hours.
The wine is a rather pale straw colour; very reticent on the nose at fridge temperature. As it warms (and really this wine needs to be just slightly cool to show anything much) the main note is mushrooms, with just a hint of iodine. The palate follows: mushrooms, slightly drying, low-ish acidity, clean; a moderate finish follows the palate.
Overall, for me this is a very simple, straight-forward, one-dimensional wine. It's not crisp enough to be an aperitif, but it's not got enough weight to pair with food. At best I could see it as a palate-cleanser between other more interesting fare. It's not unpleasant, but I don't find anything to justify even the rather discounted price of ~US$65 that I paid. (84 points)
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Went to France for our honeymoon and included a day trip to Reims & Champagne with so,e small producer visits. Having tried at least 10 different champagnes that day, our favorite was the Laherte Frères ultratradition on offer by the glass at Sacre Burger. Was rich, complex with some deeply carmelized honey notes and went perfectly with burgers.
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