Vintage Champagne

[oddman]

Big Birthday coming up for a friend and I so want to take along special bottle to celebrate.

Not a massive fan of champagne but on the rare occasions I've had vintage champagne, I've enjoyed it, Bollinger Grand Annee 1996 being partcularly memorable.

I'm one of the weirdos that doesn't mind a bit of oxidation/sherry creeping in. Also interested in smaller growers if anyone has a recommendation. At the moment I'm thinking Veuve or Bollinger. Won't stretch to Crystal or Krug and don't want to embarrass friends with that level of vulgarity.

Need reliable delivery by the weekend

[LooneyTunes]

We ve opened these in the past couple of months.

NV:
Selosse (especially given the oxidative comment). The rose is especially fine, on the white front either Initiale or Substance always goes down well.
Egly Ouriet VP

Otherwise on the vintage front, with a bit of age:

Comtes 06
Comtes 07 Rose
Cristal 08 (set your preconceived ideas aside, it is excellent!)
Dom 13

Veuve 2002 / 250th anniversary is also very good and keenly priced if you can find it. Only in mags.

I d happily drink any of them again which in some cases is quite fortunate given we have more.

ETA: of all of those, as a gift I d either go Comtes (pretty much any vintage) or Egly VP if giving to a wino.

ETA2: Billecart Elizabeth 07 rose was also good.

Edited by LooneyTunes on Tuesday 17th February 12:02

[oddman]

Cheers

I've gone for the Egly Ouriet VP. Sounds like it's spot on from release. Other thing is although great fans of Champagne, my friends tend to stick to the Grandes Marques so should be a treat for them

Appreciate Crystal is a great wine but the Lucozade packaging and the celebrity associations bring out the snob in me.

[Lotobear]

Go for the Krug but balance the vulgarity, a la Jeffrey Archer, by having it with shepherds pie

[LooneyTunes]

Egly VP is lovely stuff. Really is top drawer grower champagne and, with the extended time on lees, has a wonderful complexity but without tipping over into being nerdy and harder to appreciate (like some of the lieu dit champagnes can be).

Definitely drinkable from release, but can take further post-disgorgement aging. Don't recall ever opening a bottle and people not enjoying it - hopefully you/your friends also like it!

Completely get it with Cristal... MrsLT hates the blinginess but, in spite of that, it still takes her top champagne spot. Aside from wine dinners, which don't really count, I think I've only ever bought/consumed one bottle in public... I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to trying the '13, which is apparently even better than the '08.

[Mobile Chicane]

Lotobear said:

Go for the Krug but balance the vulgarity, a la Jeffrey Archer, by having it with shepherds pie

Krug and KFC are a match made in Heaven.

[Lotobear]

Joking aside, and I'm not a fan of champagne and know very little about it, whenever I've had Pol Roger I enjoy it and unlike other champagnes it never seems to give me heartburn

[Arrivalist]

I’m a big champagne fan and have to agree with the above, Pol Roger every time for me. Light, dry and easy on the palette.

I might stray for a very special occasion, but even then I might stay with PR.

[nikaiyo2]

If you want a champagne with some punch to it the obvious answer is Pol Roger Cuvee Sir Winston Churchill isn’t it?

Charles Heidsieck Blanc des Millénaires Is meant to be a great alternative according to the chap in the wine shop, but never tried it personally yet.

Also I think Perrier Jouet Belle Epoch is massively underrated, if quite different to PRWC., the best for a summer garden party.

[bigmowley]

Another Pol fan here. Our house champagne is Pol. White label for quaffing, the excellent gold label Blanc de Blanc or black label Brut for nice meals and the Sir Winston for special occasions. The Rose is nice for a change although it can be bettered in my opinion. I like the Demi Sec with the right pairings although I am not a fan of the silver label Pure.
Hats off to Sir Winston Churchill he called that one right

[LooneyTunes]

nikaiyo2 said:

Also I think Perrier Jouet Belle Epoch is massively underrated, if quite different to PRWC., the best for a summer garden party.

It’s not bad, and certainly has a pretty bottle… but for me the underrated of the relatively mainstream are:
Of the standard cuvées, Billecart Salmon and Lanson.
Then as you move up a notch, Jacquesson.
Moving up again, Taittinger Comtes and Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle.

The key is figuring out what styles you like. Personally I tend to veer towards either blanc de blanc or rose.

If you’re serving something good, don’t over chill, consider ditching the flutes in favour of white wine glasses and don’t rule out decanting.