Wine Tasting: Tete de Cuvee Champagne

Tete du cuvee 2017

Thanks again to all who came and helped subsidize the ~$1600 of bubbly that we drank! 

It's been 10 years that we've been doing these (see notes from 2007, 2009, 2012, 2015), and as I've come to expect, these are all fantastic bottles of wine. But as usual, the differences in style really stand out when you taste them side-by-side.

Some things stay the same, and one of them is the Dom/Dame divide between the younger, brighter, more acid-driven style (this time: Billecart, Dom Perignon, Comtes, Celebris), and the older, darker, yeast-driven style (this time: Grande Dame, Grand Annee, Krug). I know I prefer the darker style, so I'm always going to choose Grande Dame or Krug if I'm spending $175 on a bottle of bubbly. But this time I liked this Dom Perignon better than the others we've had. And, back in 2007, I thought the 99 Dom was the darker, yeastier bottle and the 98 Grande Dame the lighter! So I'm keeping an open mind -- maybe an older Dom will someday change my mind.

There were some great values at the $100 price point, too. The consensus crowd favorite in this category was the Taittinger Comtes de Champagne, which is always a great choice (now up to $135 tho). The Gosset Celebris, Deutz Cuvee William Deutz, and Bollinger Grand Annee were also very strong $100 bottles, but in more distinctive styles that were not for everyone (although I think the Gosset would be my #1 choice to go with scallops, and the Deutz was very nearly the equal of the Comtes). And special recognition for the Amour de Deutz rosé, which at $130 is cheap by bubbly rosé standards. 

The big surprise, however, was the 2000 Louis Roderer Cristal. We had this bottle in 2007 (also in 2009), and here's what I said then: "Disappointing! probably too young, tight, metallic, showing little fruit, but improved the longer it was open, I'd love to try this again after 10 years!" Well, my wish came true, and now, 10 years later, this wine was pure magic and the clear crowd favorite of the evening. Amazing balance, out-classing the Krug for complexity and poise. Lesson: Cristal rewards patience. Buy and hold, or buy it from someone else who bought and held. I wish I bought a bunch more when it dipped to $179/bottle. That day will not come again. 

But I still love the 1998 Grande Dame, which we've had at every one of these tastings from the very beginning. Based on the notes, it has changed drastically, and is now probably not what anyone thinks of when they think of champagne to go with oysters or sushi. But I think it's lovely, almost sherry-like. I have one last bottle left. Not sure it will make it to the next of these...

The "levelset" bottle that I poured (entry "5a") was the Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Réserve Champagne, which is on sale for $25 at K&L right now. Unlike some years, where the "regular" champagne is embarrassed in this company, I thought this bottle did pretty well. At $25, this is one I'm going to buy more of.

Here's the complete list (the longer pre-game version here), my favorites in bold:

1. 1999 Billecart-Salmon "Cuvee Nicolas François Billecart" NFB Brut Champagne ($99): very strong start, and very similar to the Dom Perignon, I thought. Strong grapefruit and pith at the finish, suggests this might still have lots of years ahead. Not as complex as the Dom, but half the price! 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay.
2. 2004 Moet & Chandon "Cuvée Dom Pérignon" Brut Champagne ($180): my favorite of any Dom, with more toast and complexity than many others, but still finishes with the grapefruit and pith finish. Surely a great food wine and still young. Always close to 50% Pinot Noir and 50% Chardonnay.
3. NV Krug “Grande Cuvee” Brut Champagne ($160): I can't say it better than I did in 2015: "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." The first bottle we opened was ID 114004, blended of 142 wines from 11 different years, the oldest from 1990 and the youngest from 2006, aged 7 years before release. The second was ID 214025, blended of 121 wines from 12 different years, the oldest from 1990 and the youngest from 2004, aged 10 years before release.
4. 1998 Veuve Clicquot "La Grande Dame" Brut Champagne ($150): now an aging, familiar friend, bubbles fading, showing lots of dark, yeasty, aged-sherry complexity. So good, if you go for that style (and I do). 64% Pinot Noir (Ay, Verzenay, Verzy, Ambonnay and Bouzy) and 36% Chardonnay (Avize, Oger, Mesnil-sur-Oger).
   
5. 2002 Nicolas Feuillatte "Palmes d'Or" Brut Champagne ($100): in the distinctive "pineapple" bottle. It frankly didn't leave a strong impression on me this year, and I thought the Cuvee William Deutz was better at the same price and in similar style. A 50/50 blend of chardonnay and pinot noir.
6. 2002 Gosset "Celebris" Vintage Extra Brut Champagne ($100): the only extra brut of the evening, with less added sugar ("dosage" -- here's a good article describing the different sweetness levels of champagne) than the others. Very focused, pure, and mineral driven. On first impression, there's less overt complexity here than in the other bottles. But wow this would be great with scallops or oysters. Good value here. Aged 10 years before disgorging, then more after, released in 2015. 
7. 2000 Louis Roederer "Cristal" Brut Champagne ($225): ok, so this was the consensus favorite of the evening, which is very interesting, since we hated it in 2007, and only warmed up a little in 2009. But now, now this is pure magic in a bottle. All the balance and complexity of the Krug, but more. Finds the perfect line between the two poles of champagne. Likely the best bottle of champagne I've ever had.  
8. 2005 Bollinger "Grande Année" Brut Champagne ($250 for magnum, $100 for 750ml): A bit polarizing, but I thought it was very good and a good value. Probably too young, especially in the magnum format we poured. The 2005 is almost all estate, and composed of 70% Pinot Noir (mostly Ay and Verzenay) and 30% Chardonnay (mostly Mesnil, Avize and Chouilly). Like all Bollinger vintage, treated to long ageing on the lees on a cork instead of a cap, so the cork that you pop before enjoying is the 2nd that has been in the bottle.
9. 2006 Taittinger "Comtes de Champagne" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne ($135): an unfairly overlooked standard next to the Dom/Dame/Cristals of champagne, this blanc de blancs (100% chardonnay) has been a winner at every one of these tastings. The price has gone up a bit, but if you can find it on sale for $100, you should buy it. A standard-bearer for the lighter, crisp style, and more predictable than the Dom Perignon's I've had. This all Cote de Blancs Grand Cru Champagne sourced from primarily estate vineyards in Avize, Chouilly, Oger and Mesnil. 
10. 2006 Deutz "Amour de Deutz" Brut Rosé Champagne ($130): a lovely surprise, this rosé leaned to the darker side of champagne, but extremely well done, reminded me of the Krug. Really nice. I wonder how it stacks up against the benchmark $75 Billecart-Salmon non-vintage rosé. The blend is 55% Pinot Noir (from Aÿ, Verzenay and Bouzy) and 45% Chardonnay (from Avize, Chouilly and Villers-Marmery.).
    
11. 2002 Deutz "Cuvée William Deutz" Brut Champagne ($100): coming at the very end of the line-up, I thought this was very good, maybe my overall favorite in the $100 category (now that the Comtes has gone up to $135). Great balance, well integrated. Would quaff again. :-)