You can buy Pierre Peters NV Cuvee de Reserve for pretty much the same money. Just the right richness and slightly nutty. Amazing depth for the tariff. So delicious. I’m sure there are other bubbles for the same money that deliver this level of quality, and I would love to know their names. But why oh why buy yellow label!!!
Had this a few weeks ago and was a little underwhelmed. You’re right, it is better than VC though.
I find Veuve to be a bit of an insult, but if it was my brand…well done!
Marc Hebrart, Pierre Peters, Rene Geoffroy, Chiquet, Corton-Taillet, Drappier, Veuve Fourny & Fils, Simonnet, Paul Barra… all of these guys have bubbles around the same price point or below that of VC. This is just off the top of my head, should be a good start. Don’t drill me on spelling, just got done with a Saturday double and my brain is fried. Plus, spell check/auto-complete owns me.
Check out Naverran if you want some awesome prosecco.
Paging Brad Baker, The Champagne Warrior
Ahhh, the power of a Brand.
Yeah, but the nice yellow box makes an impressive gift!!
Yeah it comes down to brand. Same as Santa Margherita and Dom Perignon. They charge what they do because people will pay it. It’s always a head shaker when I hear someone order a glass of SM at a restaurant for 12 bucks. ![[snort.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/b/bdc3944606213c4dca6c1169cf0a166c8bc4f8c9.gif "snort.gif"){kind=small}
There’s the size of the rock, and then there is that nice little blue box it comes in…
Well… I’m sure that many buy SM or VC because of brand recognition. They may know little or nothing about wine, a spot we all were in at some point, let’s not forget. They buy what they have heard about, and it’s not likely they have seen many ads for Paul Bara. And while there may be other wines that are `better’, they aren’t going to know about those or be able to find them at retail or maybe even on many wine lists. So… I’m just kinda glad that they are having wine with dinner or lunch or breakfast or just for the heck of it.
Now… DP is a different animal. They may be buying for name recognition many times, but you would have to agree it’s a step up… a big step up…
well said Doc. Safer to buy/order what you know than to experiment for non wine geeks.
Shocking as it may seem, It IS possible they might actually like the wine!
Yes, but they haven’t tasted it multiple times in a rigorously scientific, controlled environment, with white lab coats, test tubes, and flasks!
Bruce
I thought that giving a robin-blue, ring-bearing box confers ownership of two rocks…not one.
In Noo Yawk, the outer-borough chickadees are impressed when Area Code 201 thicknecks order VC bottle service at Meatpacking District night clubs, for $300 each. ![[tease.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/c/c5b32b76bebaa359b0452ae247b61189ffe5fa7e.gif "tease"){kind=small}
I by it all the time. Walk by it.
I know a ton of fringe wine-lovers- by which I mean folks that like and appreciate good wine, but aren’t serious about it enough to really go nuts, start cellars, etc, and waste time on the interwebs reading about it. Veuve is very popular among this set, particulary women. The ones that eventually get more serious, I have turned on to Vilmart, Aubrey, Camille saves, and other really nice choices in a similar price range, but still have an emotional attachement to veuve.
Also: Pierre Peters NV Cuvee de Reserve… meh… not that great IMHO.
That was kind of my reaction when I had it a month or so ago along with a bunch of other small grower Champagnes. In past years it was a real stand-out for value and interest level in that price range, but this year not so much. Still, it’s way more interesting than the regular bottlings of the mega-brands.
A friend of mine who is a great Champagne lover and a Peters fan says she thinks the current release isn’t quite as good as those of the last few years.
Do you really lump all the “mega-brands” together? No distinctions? To chose just one example, you equate Roederer Brut Premier with Veuve Clicquot Brut?
What’s great about the masses not knowing what bubbly (or still) to order is, it leaves more of the farmer fizz and small batch good stuff for us.
Yes, it seems like many of the “mega-brands” still produce some pretty good Champagne. I think Veuve Cliquot is in a league of its own now for over-priced mediocre Champagne…