WTN: Tete de Cuvee Champagne Bash

[David M. Bueker]

Friday, December 28th, Laura and I were invited to attend the year-end Champagne bash held by a wine group in New Jersey (our close friends Beth Sheligo & Joe Huber are members of the group & we're good friends with several other folks). The theme was tete de cuvee Champagne, and needless to say things were amazing. I didn't take lengthy notes on all the wines, but did for some.

As a bonus the group played a little game where we each had to come up with one word to describe each wine. Since I have the info, I will provide my word and Laura's word for each wine.

1988 Dom Perignon
We started the evening with what would be my wine of the night (and the group's number 2 WOTN). The freshness of this '88 was stunning. Great creaminess and a hint of toasted rye bread. Fantastic length. Just amazing. 96 pts
David's word: creamsicle
Laura's word: spicy

1988 Salon
Something not quite right about this botle, though it did get a lot better with air. Initially there was a lot of sherry and cabbage on the nose, but it eventually showed some crisp apple and toast, but always in a somewhat obscured state. judgement reserved
David's word: mahogany
Laura's word: funky

1985 Bollinger R.D.
Disgorged in 1998, but for those who say you need to drink these up shortly after disgorgement please taste this bottle. It was salty, mineral, lemony and crisp, with a an added pine element that made it perhaps the most complex wine of the evening. This was the group #3 wine of the night, and my number 4 (I would not vote it in the top 3 as we brought it - Laura had it #2)94 pts
David's word: alpine
Laura's word: stony

1993 De Venoge Grand Vin de Princes
A new Champagne to me, and a very good one. quiet on the nose initially it came out to play after some coaxing. Quite bright on the palate with lots of fresh citrus and a subtle nuty edge. While this was nowhere in the league of the two big guns of the prior flight, it would make for great drinking any time. 91 pts
David's word: stealthy
Laura's word: Toblerone(hazelnut)

NV Mumm de Cramant
Another new cuvee for me, and again very fine. Hazelnut skin and buttery toast on the nose & a very fruity and floral palate. Light but simultaneously rich and full (great persistence). A lovely finish of spice and pepper. 92 pts
David's word: brioche
Laura's word: lavendar

NV Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle
The most interesting aromatics of second flight of three. This was like smelling warm sugar on stone. On the palate more fruit came out with the warm rock element creating a very firm base. This was drinking very well. 92 pts
David's word: layered
Laura's word: citrus

NV Krug (from magnum - old label)
A bottle of NV Krug with some age on it is always a treat. This wine was constantly changing in the glass for the rest of the night (I held some), but was always big, rich and powerful. Amazing intensity, and great length. Like a cat though, because every time I reached for it the wine just jumped away. My number 3 wine of the night & Laura's #1 93 pts
David's word: Parisian
Laura's word: cola

1998 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne
After some oddly chemical aromatics blew off this opened up to be a stunning wine with some of the most interesting aromatics I have ever encountered: salt, eggs and a hint of toast with bacon! It was slippery in texture and had great fruit and a long, long, refreshing finish. A real stunner, and very early days for this. My #2 wine of the night, Laura's #3, and the group's WOTN. 92 pts++++
David's word: slippery
Laura's word: breakfast

We then did a flight of three 1996s (Dom Perginon, Veuve Cliquot Grand Dame & Pol Roger Winston Churchill. They were not happy to be awakened, and gave up nothing at all, even with air. Huge wines, but closed up like George Bush's mind. Doing the words was still fun though:

1996 Dom Perignon
David's word: tight
Laura's word: cocoa

1996 Grand Dame
David's word: lumbering
Laura's word: fishy

1996 Winston Churchill
David's word: infantile
Laura's word: limestone

We then finished with a rosé.

NV Gratien Cuvée Paradis Rosé
Much more subtle than I was expecting, and a little hard for it to make an impression after our palates had been subjected to forced democracy by the 1996s. Still it had lovely strawberry fruit and an almost lacquered wood element that added real complexity. I would like to have this again on its own. 89 pts
David's word: baroque
Laura's word: etherial

And that was that! Oh when we got back to Beth's house she poured us a wine that she had been holding in her fridge (stoppered) for 4 weeks. I was expecting it to be dead, but boy was I wrong:

2006 Alfred (and Rolf) Merkelbach Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Beerenauslese
Berries, pear, spice, honey and orange marmalade in a bright matrix that is simultaneously rich and refreshing. Probably a "starred auslese" at many other estates, but it really is a BA in a more classical mode, and served on its own after a long evening it was a real treat. Sold in full bottles, and a real value (in the $40s) this is something to seek out, even though it was made in minute quantities. Delicious wine.

1985 Bollinger R.D.
Disgorged in 1998, but for those who say you need to drink these up shortly after disgorgement please taste this bottle.

I thought that drinking RDs soon after release was a general rule of thumb, and that Bolly was one of the exceptions. But what are the other exceptions?

-O

[David M. Bueker]

Otto,

I've always heard to drink up all RD type bottlings soon. Never heard of any exceptions, but I am now making one with Bolly.

1985 Bollinger R.D.
Disgorged in 1998, but for those who say you need to drink these up shortly after disgorgement please taste this bottle.

I thought that drinking RDs soon after release was a general rule of thumb, and that Bolly was one of the exceptions. But what are the other exceptions?

-O

I'm a firm believer in this general rule, although in this instance, David and company were, of course, the winners. I don't know of more than a handful of bottles of RD with, say, over 5 years of bottle age after disgorgement that have rocked my boat, and that knowlwedge accumulated over a 20+ year period. I've always wondered why this is so, especially when I've enjoyed so many bottles of the grande annee' with considerable bottle age that have remained true to the "holy grail" status this marque receives in so many quarters. With the exorbitant price on the GA these days, I've long stopped buying both, although the NV can be quite excellent, especily with some bottle age and appropriate food to match the rather robust, broad and aldehydic characters.

And FWIW, I've tried (and this is some years ago, too) this disgorgement of RD Bollinger from a reliable merchant who held back many cases of this Champagne stored in a constant 12 degree celcius temperature cellar and every bottle was cactus - an oxidised, sherry- and burnt apricot- smell and taste. I opened one and returned the bottle (and the 5 other bottles I purchased along with it) with about 90% remaining in the bottle with the store manager (an experienced wine collector and associate judge on the Australian wine show circuit) concurring with my assessment. The merchant, with my expressed reluctance to do so, opened bottle after bottle on the counter and every bottle was similarly spoiled. The wine was, quite properly, immediately withdrawn from sale. I'm sure there's a good reason why there's such a discrepency between the two experiences. I do advise anyone looking to outlay big bucks on "cork-aged" RD is to tread very warily here. Make sure you have full recourse to a refund from the point of purchase before buying if the wine happens to be stuffed.

[David M. Bueker]

David,

All I can say is that it sure sounds like your bottles of the '85 RD were damaged in transit.