Wine Tasting: Tête de Cuvée

 

Another epic evening with some of the top prestige champagnes. I can hardly believe we've been doing these tastings since 2007 (see here for notes for all of them). Thanks to all who attended despite my hiking the cost to $100/person to make up for the shocking inflation on these wines (and believe me, I still did not break even!). 

This was a year of stability in my preferences: I don't like Dom Perignon, and I do like Cristal and Rare. And it's still too soon to drink the 2008s, but not too soon for the 2014 Grande Année Rosé! 

Ten different bottles from 8 different vintages, my favorites in bold (more details here): 

1. 2015 Dom Pérignon Brut Champagne ($230): This classic bottle, synonymous with luxury and once James Bond's preferred bubbly (supplanted by Bollinger since the 1980s tho), is always a nearly 50/50 blend of chardonnay and pinot noir, it always features a pithy, citrus finish that is not my thing. That said, if it's your thing, this is another solid vintage that will only get better with age, as demonstrated by our next wine...
2. 2004 Dom Pérignon Brut Champagne ($330): Yup, 11 more years in the bottle makes it more complex, with a hint of yeastier notes, tamping down the citrus characteristics (but they are still very much there!). The older it is, the better I like Dom Perignon, and given the 5 million bottle annual production, it's usually pretty easy to find older vintages if you look around. 
3. 2008 Veuve Clicquot "La Grande Dame" Brut Champagne ($190): Still a perennial favorite, fully 92% pinot noir in this vintage, I continue to think this wine is both a (relative) bargain and a clear contrast to Dom Perignon, consistently staking out a darker, yeastier style that represents its pinot noir dominant blend. True to the 2008 vintage generally, however, this had a lot of acid and structure, promising a long future. Too bad I don't have any more of it! Especially because it was $127 at Costco in 2019! Should have bought a case. 
4. 1999 Ployez-Jacquemart "Liesse d'Harbonville" Brut Champagne ($130): a tête de cuvée from a small grower-producer to mix things up! A blend of 70% chardonnay and 15% each of pinot meunier and pinot noir, all barrel-fermented (like Bollinger and Krug) and aged for six months before being bottled and then aged for more than 12 years (!) on the lees “sur pointe” (vertically, cork down) prior to disgorgement. Super-high acid on the finish put some folks off, but I think this would be a great food wine. Despite being the oldest bottle of the evening, I thought this could go many more years. A relative bargain, but more of a "specialist" bottle than a more typical big house bottle. 
5. 2008 Taittinger "Comtes de Champagne" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne ($240): Always 100% chardonnay, this tete de cuvee has always been a strong performer at these tastings, and this was no exception. But as one person put it, "this wine is perfect, but it's not my favorite." I agree, and suspect this needs more time -- in contrast, the 2007 vintage, which is still available, is fantastic right now and less expensive. 
6. 2009 Louis Roederer "Cristal" Brut Champagne ($350): We've poured Cristal at every tete de cuvée tasting and two constants have emerged: (1) age is very important -- too early and this wine disappoints; and (2) when it's had some time, it's very, very good. I wish I didn't love it so much, given the increasingly indefensible price (current release price is $300 at Costco). The two things that stood out for me this time were the bubble structure (so tiny, yet also everywhere on the palate) and the excellent integration of all the flavors (so smooth, so of-a-piece). My favorite Cristal since the 2000 that we had in 2019.
7. 2002 & 2006 Piper-Heidsieck "Cuvée Rare" Brut Champagne ($240): This blingy flagship from Piper-Heidsieck has since been spun out into a stand-alone concern (similar to Dom Perignon, once the flagship for Moet). Since 1976, only 14 vintages have been released (basically, two or three vintages per decade). I mistakenly pulled two different vintages (I was pouring the 2002, while Orion was pouring the 2006) and while I liked the 2006, I thought the 2002 was the wine of the night. Despite being 70% chardonnay, it struck me as presenting as more yeasty and dark than anything else we had. The Rare has been a favorite of mine every time we've poured one and remains a relative bargain (current release is 2008 at $200). 
8. NV Krug "Grande Cuvée" 170ème Édition Brut Champagne ($260): As always, the nonvintage Krug is consistent and delicious. It might not be the pinnacle of the field, but it is also never disappoints, thanks to the blending of reserve wines to meet the Krug profile. Built around the 2014 vintage, the 170th édition is composed of 51% Pinot Noir, 38% Chardonnay, and 11% Meunier and is made from a blend of 195 wines (!) from 12 different years from 1998 through 2014 (reserve wines make up 45% of the final blend). As usual, I thought this was very good. However, coming after the Cristal and Rare, I thought the bubbles seemed huge by comparison. 
9. 2008 Deutz "Cuvée William Deutz" Brut Champagne ($175): A very good bottle from this less well-known, medium-sized house owned by Roederer. This fell on the darker side of the spectrum, along with the Rare and La Grande Dame, and I thought was a relative bargain (I might choose this ahead of the La Grande Dame for $50 less). They also make a blanc de blanc (Amour de Deutz) that has shown well in previous tastings. 
10. 2014 Bollinger "La Grande Année" Rosé Champagne ($240): The only rosé of the evening, the La Grand Annee Rosé 2014 is a 63% Pinot Noir and 37% Chardonnay blend with 5-6% of still Pinot Noir added. Relatively inexpensive for a rosé, I really liked how the added red pinot noir seems to have lent this a calmer, more serious demeanor than the rest of the field. I dearly hope I'm not developing a rosé champagne habit, because no one can afford that...