Wine Tasting: Tete du Cuvée Champagne

Once every two years, we try the prestige bottles, and this marks the fourth time we've done. Thank you all for joining us and making it possible to open $1700 of Champagne in one sitting.

Here's the thing I say every time: holy cow, these are fantastic wines. Every one. The prices are alarming, but the "prestige bottles" deliver. There's no beating the wines of Champagne when it comes to high-end bubbly.  One of these bottles and a Dungeness crab is likely to be better than most restaurant meals in SF that cost the same amount.

We had a smaller crowd than in previous years, but somehow it was just as loud. :-) The first two wines were intended to split the crowd between those who like the crisp, mineral, and chalk characteristics (Dom Perignon) and those who prefer the dark, toasty, musty characteristics that come with age (Grande Dame). The crowd was split 60/40 in favor of the darker profile (my preference), but  everyone agreed there were none that they would send back. My only regret was that I didn't have more exemplars of the crisp, mineral driven style (the '97 Salon from the 2009 tasting was perhaps the most austere example I've ever had).

My favorites in bold (if you are more of a Dom person, your favorites likely would have been 1, 3, 7, 10), but I'd say the stand-out of the evening was the 2002 Rare, which was the wine that garnered the most praise from people on both sides of the Dom/Dame divide.

1. 2004 Dom Pérignon Brut Champagne ($150): The prestige bottle from Moët & Chandon, this wine is always close to 50% Pinot Noir and 50% Chardonnay. As in previous years, this comes in on the side of crisp minerality, but still with enough complexity that you'd never call it austere. If this is the style you prefer, this is the bottle that will deliver.
2. 1998 Veuve Clicquot "La Grande Dame" Brut Champagne ($120): This is the only bottle we've had at every one of these tastings, 2007, 2009, 2012. I have loved this wine each time for its dark, yeasty complexity. Still great, but was probably better in 2012, as now it has lost nearly all of its acid. Would still be superlative with paté, but probably not with oysters. In 1998, La Grande Dame is 64% Pinot Noir (Ay, Verzenay, Verzy, Ambonnay and Bouzy) and 36% Chardonnay (Avize, Oger, Mesnil-sur-Oger).
3. 2005 Taittinger "Comtes de Champagne" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne ($125): 100% Chardonnay. Reliably excellent bubbly on the clean, mineral side of the spectrum, and cheaper than Dom Perignon.
4. NV Krug Brut Rosé Champagne ($280): Why must rosé be so expensive? This is very well made, with great balance and structure, but struck me as a bit too intentional. I think the Krug Grande Cuvée (#5) is better at half the price. From the Krug website's bottle look-up: "Bottle ID 213027: The final composition of this Krug Rosé is: 59% Pinot Noir, 33% Chardonnay and 8% Meunier. This bottle left the Krug cellars to receive its cork in spring 2013. Krug Rosé is the only prestige cuvee Rosé blended from a rich palette of wines from three grape varieties and several different vintages, the youngest being from 2006."
5. NV Krug "Grande Cuvée" Brut Champagne ($150): The most reliable $150 you can spend on fancy Champagne, showing a balance between all the best elements, forged from an unbelievable blending program built on the mightiest vintage library in the world. Yes, this was outclassed by several bottles, but this will always taste like this, and those will change from vintage to vintage. From the Krug website's bottle look-up: "Bottle ID 114004: This bottle left the Krug cellars to receive its cork in the winter 2013-2014. This bottle is a blend of 142 wines from 11 different vintages, the oldest from 1990 and the youngest from 2006. The final composition of this Krug Grande Cuvée is: 44% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay and 21% Meunier."
6. NV Launois "Cuvée Reserve" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne ($35): I usually pour one "regular" nonvintage bottle just to levelset against all the prestige bottles. In previous years, these have embarrassed themselves in this company. But not this year! While this had bigger bubbles, a clumsier nose, and didn't have the deep complexity of the prestige bottles, the general response was "this is surprisingly good, and has a lot of the good stuff you expect from a more expensive bottle."At a quarter of the price. I will be buying more. From K&L's website: "This Champagne is all Chardonnay and all Grand Cru from the villages of Mesnil, Oger, Cramant and Avize--a roll call of the finest crus for Chardonnay in all of Champagne and all Veritas-certified for sustainable agriculture. It is aged for more than three years on the lees after an iron vat vinification."
7. 2005 Louis Roederer "Cristal" Brut Champagne ($210): This was really good, striking a charming balance between the two poles of Champagne. Going to be spectacular in 10 more years. This vintage was also a favorite in our 2012 tasting. Still hard to justify the price. Champagne Louis Roederer's "Cristal" was created in 1876 for Tsar Alexander II as the first "Prestige Cuvée" and it remains as such to this day. These are the best grapes from the best sites in the best vintages. The Champagne, a blend of 55% Pinot Noir and 45% Chardonnay, spends an average of five years sur lie, and is notable for its richness. 
8. 1995 Charles Heidsieck "Blanc des Millénaires" Brut Champagne ($170): Holy cow, this is fantastic. It's the current release, which is rather amazing in a world where most prestige bottles see only 5-7 years of aging on the lees before bottling. Despite being all Chardonnay, this had all kinds of toasty, yeasty complexity, but with a substantial beam of acid still holding it all together, ensuring versatility with food. Expensive, but a real discovery. This wine is 100% Chardonnay from the villages of Cramant, Oger, Mesnil and Vertus, aged for 15 years on the lees.
9. 2004 Perrier Jouët "Belle Epoque" Brut Champagne ($120): So while it's such a pretty flower bottle, and you can sometimes find it on sale for less than $100, there's just not a lot here that distinguishes it. Clearly on the dark, yeasty side of the line, this was surprisingly soft and lacking in acid, despite being barely over the 10 year mark. For the same style, I thought the Palmes d'Or (#11) was better.
10. 2002 Piper-Heidsieck "Cuvée Rare" Brut Champagne ($145): Blockbuster in the bling-y bottle ("ooh, jewelry"). My favorite of the night, and also impressed those who preferred the  Dom Perignon style. Amazing number of tiny, tiny bubbles, delivering both bright notes and complexity, ending with plenty of acid. The successor to the well-loved "Champagne Charlie," this living up to its predecessor! Composed of 70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot Noir and vinified in stainless steel tanks with full malolactic. Made in tiny quantities and only in the very best years - only 8 vintages have been made in 36 years. 
11. 2002 Nicolas Feuillatte "Palmes d'Or" Brut Champagne ($110): a 50/50 blend of chardonnay and pinot noir. Very good, great value, in the darker style. Simply outclassed by #10.