Wine Tasting: Tête de Cuvée, OpenAI edition

A very special edition of Tête de Cuvée tasting, organized for the OpenAI legal team holiday party. This marks the 8th of these I've done since 2007 (you can see notes from them all here). 

Another amazing line up, including several that I've never had before. And yet another lesson in how these wines just keep getting better with age, and maybe we shouldn't be drinking them until they are at least 15 years old (or, in the case of the amazing 2008s, perhaps 25 years). And how the Taittinger Comtes de Champagne is always such a great value. 

It now seems so quaint that just a few years ago I considered $260 an outragiously expensive bottle, now that you can't find any prestige bottles under $200 and so many are well over $300. I guess I should have bought a lot more when I had the chance (especially the 2008s). 

Here's what we had, favorites in bold (tho every one of the prestige bottles was delicious): 

1. 2007 Taittinger "Comtes de Champagne" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne ($200): Always a strong performer, and a favorite in the 2022 tasting, still going strong. A crowd favorite. Complex and relaxed, this just keeps getting better every time I have it. This is a blanc de blanc (100% Chardonnay) from grand cru sites in the Côte des Blancs, a small portion aged in oak barrels, the blend then aged ten years on the lees. Only 36 vintages have been produced since the first cuvée in 1952. Annual production is estimated between 100k-300k bottles.
2. 2008 Dom Pérignon Brut Champagne ($300): No longer part of Moet & Chandon, Dom is now a brand unto itself. I'm still just not a Dom person, mostly because I'm put off by the citrus pith finish that I associate with almost every bottle I've had, but this 2008 is more persuasive than most (tho I like the 2012 even more). Like most 2008 bottles, this still felt very young, with an intensity and acidity that presages a long life ahead. Almost always a near equal blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, production is reportedly in excess of 5 million bottles. The 2008 is the first vintage ever released out of order (the 2009 was released first), dosage 5g/L.
3. 2015 Veuve Clicquot "La Grande Dame" Brut Champagne ($200): A crowd favorite, and always a solid pick for me, this was maybe the most balanced wine of the night, without any one characteristic leaping out ahead of any others. First released in 1972, La Grande Dame is named after “Widow Cliquot”, who inherited the winery in 1805 (don't miss the 2023 movie about her!). The 2015 is the 24th vintage of La Grande Dame, 90% Pinot Noir/10% Chardonnay, disgorged in October of 2021, and finished with a dosage of six grams per liter. The colorful boxes (now 100% recyclable!) result from a collaboration with Italian ceramicist Paola Paronetto. Production estimated at 350k bottles.
4. NV Veuve Clicquot Brut Champagne ($60): our baseline interlude to illustrate what you get for (way) less money. Although this wine often gets a bad rap, I thought it was a pretty solid rendition of champagne's virtues. Sure, it lacks in distinct personality and has big bubbles compared to the pricey bottles, but there's nothing wrong with it (it is, after all, the best-selling champagne in the US). Made from 40% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay, and 30% Meunier, with 35-40% reserve wine. Entirely fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks, it spends three years on the lees.
5. 2012 Louis Roederer "Cristal" Brut Champagne (magnum) ($700): This was delicious (and a crowd favorite), but way too young. I loved it more for the promise of what it would eventually be, than how it's drinking today. Nervous, high pitched, intense now, it will relax into something more with time. Originally created for Tsar Alexander II in 1876, who requested a clear bottle with a flat bottom so that no explosives could be hidden in the punt. Almost always 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay, made from the same 45 plots, and only in the best years. The 2012 is the first vintage made entirely from biodynamically grown grapes, with 32% fermented in oak. Nine years spent on the lees and with a dosage of 7.5 grams per liter. Annual production is estimated at 300k-500k bottles (about 10x smaller than Dom Perignon).
6. 2008 Pol Roger "Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill" Brut Champagne ($350): Wow, so different from the rest, this carried the "dark, yeasty" flag for this field. I loved this bottle, but I expect that many who prefer a lighter, more acid-driven style will dissent (tho, as a 2008, there was actually long, persistent acid on the finish). This prestige bottle was launched in 1984 to honor Churchill, who loved champagne and preferred Pol Roger. The blend is secret, but led by Pinot Noir to get the robust, full-bodied character that Churchill liked. The fruit is from grand cru vineyards that were under vine during the lifetime of Churchill and this is only made in the best vintages. Total production is not disclosed, but since the entire production for all Pol Roger wines is ~1 million bottles, the prestige Winston Churchill production must be tiny by Dom/Veuve standards.
7. 2006 Piper-Heidsieck "Cuvée Rare" Brut Champagne (magnum) ($480): Another repeat favorite, and still a good value. The Cuvee Rare since been spun out into a stand-alone brand, but this vintage was still under the Piper-Heidsieck banner. Since 1976, only 14 vintages have been released. The 2006 Champagne Rare is a 70/30 split of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from 8 different Grand Cru vineyards. Approximately 100k bottles made.
8. NV Krug 25 Ème Édition Brut Rosé Champagne ($450): This is the one that will haunt me. So different from the rest of the field, this drank like a light red wine to me, with a dominant pomegranate note. I got a good deal on this bottle at auction, but it's punishingly expensive at retail. This multi-vintage rosé is a blend of 28 wines from 5 different years, based around the 2013 vintage, blended with previous vintages back to 2008. Its final composition is 45% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay and 25% Meunier. Total production for all of Krug is estimated at fewer than 500k bottles, so the rosé is almost certainly less than 100k.
9. Laurent Perrier "Grand Siècle" Iteration #23 Champagne (magnum) ($530): Another testament to multi-vintage blending, especially when drawn from older stock (see also Krug's Grand Cuvee), I thought this delivered the most balanced rendition of the evening, combining the citrus elements with the yeasty notes. Grand Siecle is always a three-vintage blend, released in numbered “iterations.” Since 1959, Grand Siècle has only 26 vintages in bottle format and 23 vintages in magnum. Using only Grand Cru fruit and marrying 58% Chardonnay with 42% Pinot Noir, the Iteration 23 blends reserve wines from the 2006, 2004, and 2002 vintages (making it the oldest wine of the evening) sourced from 11 different grand cru sites and was aged in bottle for 14 years on the lees. Dosage: 7g/L. Disgorged April 2020.
10. 2012 Dom Pérignon Brut Champagne ($250): For those who lingered till the end, we cracked open this 2012 Dom. The contrast from the 2008 was startling, with this younger vintage showing a lot more complexity and darker notes (but still that citrus pith on the finish!). This one ranks among my favorite Doms (along with the 2004). 51% Chardonnay and the rest Pinot Noir and has 4 grams per liter dosage.