The best champagne

[PurpleMoonlight]

Money no object, for a special occasion what champagne would you buy?

[Nat_H]

Money no object, and not impossible to find;

1993, 1995 or 1996 Rose Dom would be my choice

[hondafanatic]

Direct from a Maison that you won't find on a shelf IMHO.

[PurpleMoonlight]

Yes, it needs to be available to purchase within reason.

[FastLaneGirl]

Salon Blanc de Blanc (or any of theirs really)

[juice]

Armand De Brignac

[anonymous-user]

Veuve Clicquot - I couldn't justify spending any more on something to drink, I don't care where it came from or how old it is

[LooneyTunes]

Assuming you also want some "brand recognition" in there, any of these with not less than 15 years age on it:

Krug Clos du Mesnil
Cristal
One of the DomP Oenotheque range

Failing that, I love Selosse...

[Anthony Micallef]

yellowbentines said:

Veuve Clicquot - I couldn't justify spending any more on something to drink, I don't care where it came from or how old it is

As Ive said before on these forums, my dad lives in the Champagne region of France and I get very nice Champagne for approx £11 per bottle. The local house he is friendly with is called Paul Dangin et Fils. On a private tour of their cellars we were told that 60% of the grapes in their area are used by all the Champagne houses. Thats why I would never buy a £160 bottle of Cristal because you're just paying for the name.

[andy_s]

Pol Roger 1985.

[ErnestWorthing]

juice said:

Armand De Brignac

Average Champagne in a gaudy bottle? I think not. Krug clos de mesnil 1982 or bollinger vieilles vignes 1996 for me, but any vintage will be sublime.

[PurpleMoonlight]

Anthony Micallef said:

As Ive said before on these forums, my dad lives in the Champagne region of France and I get very nice Champagne for approx £11 per bottle. The local house he is friendly with is called Paul Dangin et Fils. On a private tour of their cellars we were told that 60% of the grapes in their area are used by all the Champagne houses. Thats why I would never buy a £160 bottle of Cristal because you're just paying for the name.

I dare say there is a lot of truth in that.

I like Bollinger myself.

[Mazdarese]

Only ever drank VCP - £25 in supermarkets

or Krug on special occasions - £150

[RDMcG]

'89 Krug works for me

[LooneyTunes]

ErnestWorthing said:

juice said:

Armand De Brignac

Average Champagne in a gaudy bottle?

... and a damned fine study in marketing luxury goods!

[LooneyTunes]

Anthony Micallef said:

On a private tour of their cellars we were told that 60% of the grapes in their area are used by all the Champagne houses. Thats why I would never buy a £160 bottle of Cristal because you're just paying for the name.

With respect, that's like saying that if the steel from 60% of all cars came from the same steel mill then there would be no point buying an Aston over a Kia.

There are a multitude of different factors - starting from the age of the vines, their location, ripeness of grapes when picked that all have an effect... and that's before you even start doing anything with them.

That isn't to say that a £160 bottle will deliver 8x more pleasure than a £20 one, especially given that a lot of pop is drunk as a bit of fun/celebration, but the two will almost certainly deliver a different experience if you're tuned in to what you're looking for...

[JADF]

"money no object" - Dom Perignon 1921

[Hoover.]

Got a case of Krug Grande Cuvee less the half price the other month ....... beauty of having a mate who works on private jets

[markreilly]

Hoover. said:

Got a case of Krug Grande Cuvee less the half price the other month ....... beauty of having a mate who works on private jets

Thought Champagne was supposed to be served chilled not hot !

[Hoover.]

markreilly said:

Hoover. said:

Got a case of Krug Grande Cuvee less the half price the other month ....... beauty of having a mate who works on private jets

Thought Champagne was supposed to be served chilled not hot !

tastes so much better warm