Expensive champagne
Discussion
One of our wedding presents was a 1990 bottle of Dom Perignon. We don't really know what to do with it!
Do we
A) Drink it
B) Sell it
C) Keep it
I've no idea what its worth but I imagine its £100+ and whilst we like wine (Honeymoon in Stellenbosch -nice wine and sooo cheap!)we might feel a bit guilty at £10 a mouthfull, but equally it was a present so we would feel a but ungrateful selling it.
Thoughts?
Cheers
David
Do we
A) Drink it
B) Sell it
C) Keep it
I've no idea what its worth but I imagine its £100+ and whilst we like wine (Honeymoon in Stellenbosch -nice wine and sooo cheap!)we might feel a bit guilty at £10 a mouthfull, but equally it was a present so we would feel a but ungrateful selling it.
Thoughts?
Cheers
David
Recently had the great pleasure of flyiing BA 1st class to Barbados where the drink of choice was:
Only problem was the tardy service which prevented me from getting through more than 2 bottles
Unlike a previous Virgin flight where I fell off the bar stool and the nice ladies carried me to bed
Only problem was the tardy service which prevented me from getting through more than 2 bottles
Unlike a previous Virgin flight where I fell off the bar stool and the nice ladies carried me to bed
kiwisr said:
Drink it, it's getting on a bit now and depending on how it's been stored it may be deteriorating.
Generally Chanmpagnes are quite frail and don't age well, non-vintages are supposed to be drunk immediately or within a few years. A vintage one like yours will last longer.
Not so sure about that. Champagnes are one of the best wines to age. A vintage grand marque like DP will last decades. I have had wines from the early 80s that were fantastic. Being a mixture of 2/3 red and 1/3 white grapes means the character changes over time in the bottle (ah, were you the person trying to claim Champagne was nothing more than fizzy Chablis elsewhere ?).Generally Chanmpagnes are quite frail and don't age well, non-vintages are supposed to be drunk immediately or within a few years. A vintage one like yours will last longer.
However it would be worth drinking it now. Wines kept at warmer temps age quicker than if they have been cellared. But in no way would this mean it would be over the hill.
It is worth sticking a bottle of Non Vintage under the stairs for a year or two sometime. Might surprise you how good it tastes. Far better results than trying the same thing with a £5 chilean red. Another thing that ages surprising well is really good NZ Sauvignon. My wine merchant did a Cloudy Bay tasting last year, and they had some older vintages to try. Really interesting.
Noger said:
kiwisr said:
Drink it, it's getting on a bit now and depending on how it's been stored it may be deteriorating.
Generally Chanmpagnes are quite frail and don't age well, non-vintages are supposed to be drunk immediately or within a few years. A vintage one like yours will last longer.
Not so sure about that. Champagnes are one of the best wines to age. A vintage grand marque like DP will last decades. I have had wines from the early 80s that were fantastic. Being a mixture of 2/3 red and 1/3 white grapes means the character changes over time in the bottle (ah, were you the person trying to claim Champagne was nothing more than fizzy Chablis elsewhere ?).Generally Chanmpagnes are quite frail and don't age well, non-vintages are supposed to be drunk immediately or within a few years. A vintage one like yours will last longer.
However it would be worth drinking it now. Wines kept at warmer temps age quicker than if they have been cellared. But in no way would this mean it would be over the hill.
It is worth sticking a bottle of Non Vintage under the stairs for a year or two sometime. Might surprise you how good it tastes. Far better results than trying the same thing with a £5 chilean red. Another thing that ages surprising well is really good NZ Sauvignon. My wine merchant did a Cloudy Bay tasting last year, and they had some older vintages to try. Really interesting.
And as I said, NV is supposed to be drunk straightaway, Vintage can be cellared for a few years.
PS : it certainly wasn't me who said is was fizzy Chablis.
Well, you are certainly flying in face of the people at Krug and Roederer there.
If you said you didn't particularly like the character of aged vintage champagne (you are right, it is less fresh and more toasty/biscuity) then I could understand. Many people don't like the taste of well aged Burgundy. Doesn't mean it doesn't age well however.
If you said you didn't particularly like the character of aged vintage champagne (you are right, it is less fresh and more toasty/biscuity) then I could understand. Many people don't like the taste of well aged Burgundy. Doesn't mean it doesn't age well however.
I had a magnum of Bollinger 1990 last night. Fabulous.
Champagne will and should be aged for a while depending on the quality
Non-vintage champagne does not have to be drunk straight away - that's rubbish. It benefits for a few years in the bottle and takes the sharpness and acidity away that often appear in a young champagne.
I've been in the wine trade for 20 years now and pretty much sold and drunk anything decent ever produced.
I sell DP 90 at £1895.00 per 12 bottles at the moment.
To answer your question though - keep it and drink it to mark an Ani
Champagne will and should be aged for a while depending on the quality
Non-vintage champagne does not have to be drunk straight away - that's rubbish. It benefits for a few years in the bottle and takes the sharpness and acidity away that often appear in a young champagne.
I've been in the wine trade for 20 years now and pretty much sold and drunk anything decent ever produced.
I sell DP 90 at £1895.00 per 12 bottles at the moment.
To answer your question though - keep it and drink it to mark an Ani
Edited by Bebs on Wednesday 29th August 17:51
My Father has a can of 20 year-old Newton and Riddeley's Bitter from the set of Coronation Street at home in his drinks cabinet 
In all seriousness though, I have wondered about this myself with Champagnes. I have a bottle of DP from 97' (I think) when I got my 'A' level results. Many times I have thought to open it after a night out but haven't yet. Would it be worth keeping it?
For OP I think that you should enjoy what it means. If your anything like me the thought of drinking something so relativley expnesive (and free!) would make the event pretty special and really, what would £150 - £200 really get you these days whcih would be as much fun?
In all seriousness though, I have wondered about this myself with Champagnes. I have a bottle of DP from 97' (I think) when I got my 'A' level results. Many times I have thought to open it after a night out but haven't yet. Would it be worth keeping it?
For OP I think that you should enjoy what it means. If your anything like me the thought of drinking something so relativley expnesive (and free!) would make the event pretty special and really, what would £150 - £200 really get you these days whcih would be as much fun?
lingus, Moet & Chandon didn't produce DP in 1997. I think it was 1996 and then 1998.
Check your bottle for the vintage.
From a drinking point of view, your bottle should be reaching maturity and drink well if 96/98. It will last longer depending on how you are storing it.
I'd just open it on a special day.
Its not really possible to sell just 1 btl - unless to a mate or on Ebay etc.
Check your bottle for the vintage.
From a drinking point of view, your bottle should be reaching maturity and drink well if 96/98. It will last longer depending on how you are storing it.
I'd just open it on a special day.
Its not really possible to sell just 1 btl - unless to a mate or on Ebay etc.
- grin* I have to tell you this story.....
We open her wardrobe ready to put all the clothes in a few bags for Oxfam, and find her stash of spirits - mainly the 'odd glass of sherry' before dinner supply. She was Charles Whitbread's personal secretary so had a substantial discount at Threshers...........
ANYWAY. As well as the many bottles of sherry and tonic and gin etc, we find a bottle of Lanson champagne. Mother looks at it and realises it's from her first wedding, (she got married to my father in 1972)so we're talking mid to late 50's here.
Well it's going to be garbage she says, champagne can't really last that long can it? (can you tell our family enjoys our alcohol but we're not conoisseurs...sp?) So we open and drink it. Wowsers, that is possibly the best champagne I've ever drunk. We have since learnt that champagne does indeed keep, and anything pre 1960 is rare and desired, and we have no intention of finding out how much that bottle was worth. It tasted great and is a long lasting treasured memory of my grandmother.
I really don't understand Champagne myself. It may just be that I've not had a particularly good one - the most expensive ones I've had are probably Louis Roederer Cristal and Krug Cuvée Rose, but I have no idea if they're actually considered good or not.
The Krug wasn't bad, but I certainly wouldn't have paid for it myself, but the Cristal - the best thing I could think of to do with that would be to reduce it down to a couple of tablespoons and mix it with molten butter and cream to form a sauce for a nice bit of sole. Even then, you'd actually get a better result using Sauternes!
The Krug wasn't bad, but I certainly wouldn't have paid for it myself, but the Cristal - the best thing I could think of to do with that would be to reduce it down to a couple of tablespoons and mix it with molten butter and cream to form a sauce for a nice bit of sole. Even then, you'd actually get a better result using Sauternes!
Cracked open a bottle 1998 Bollinger a couple of months back. Only Champagne I have ever kept for any time. I have had it since 2001. The taste was sublime and the best champagne I have ever had. to be fair, I'm no expert and don't drink a lot of it but have had the pleasure of some more expensive bottles before such as the odd Dom and Krug and it was every bit as good if not better, although it's not often I drink quality stuff so my memory may be muddled. Had a lovely rounded flavour and none of that acidic edge that you get sometimes. This did mean of course it was quaffed in double quick time...
Kermit power said:
I really don't understand Champagne myself. It may just be that I've not had a particularly good one - the most expensive ones I've had are probably Louis Roederer Cristal and Krug Cuvée Rose, but I have no idea if they're actually considered good or not.
The Krug wasn't bad, but I certainly wouldn't have paid for it myself, but the Cristal - the best thing I could think of to do with that would be to reduce it down to a couple of tablespoons and mix it with molten butter and cream to form a sauce for a nice bit of sole. Even then, you'd actually get a better result using Sauternes!
Which is precisely why English Sparkling wines do so well in blind tastings. They are immediately likeable. Many people don't actually like the bready/yeasty/biscuity taste of vintage or aged NV. I think this is why Cristal is so popular, it is more appley fresh. The Krug wasn't bad, but I certainly wouldn't have paid for it myself, but the Cristal - the best thing I could think of to do with that would be to reduce it down to a couple of tablespoons and mix it with molten butter and cream to form a sauce for a nice bit of sole. Even then, you'd actually get a better result using Sauternes!
"Good" champagne should have very small bubbles, and have a depth of flavour beyond that of mere freshness. It is that depth of flavour that makes it "good" but if it just "fizz on a summers day" to make you feel good, why do you need all that ?
Must say I do like Krug Grande Cuvée (one day I will get to try some Clos Du Mesnil, but am going to have to save hard for that !) and Cristal (had a case of the 1996 saved for my 40th birthday last year) but for a great fizzy treat at not too much cost I always go for Denbies.
Krug, Cristal and Dom Perignon are undoubtedly fine Champagnes, but IMO they tend to mostly be drunk for status rather than for their actual drinking qualities.
As such I don't particularly think they are worth buying other than for special occasions, certainly the NV champagnes of Roederer, Moet, Bollinger etc are all fantastic wines anyway.
Interestingly the market in France is almost non-existant for these premium champagnes.
It's also certainly worth branching out from the big names, we've been trying 1-2 bottles of Champagne a week and halve the fun is trying all the different brands, many unheard of before and some very surprising finds. It's also a good excuse to go to Reims every 6 months and return with a few mixed cases.
As such I don't particularly think they are worth buying other than for special occasions, certainly the NV champagnes of Roederer, Moet, Bollinger etc are all fantastic wines anyway.
Interestingly the market in France is almost non-existant for these premium champagnes.
It's also certainly worth branching out from the big names, we've been trying 1-2 bottles of Champagne a week and halve the fun is trying all the different brands, many unheard of before and some very surprising finds. It's also a good excuse to go to Reims every 6 months and return with a few mixed cases.
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