Have to agree with the others that the fruit is maturing slowly. Though this bottle did show lessening effervescence. Quite a bit in this particular bottle. Light notes of coffee and nougat hint at maturity on the nose. Same with the custard on the palate. Otherwise this is a moderately rich BdB in expression. Lovely purity of fruit given it's age. Wanting for more complexity maybe. Very nice.
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From magnum. Light straw color. Lemon and bread notes. Nice effervescence and complexity. Perfect celebratory bottle for Christmas eve with family. Plenty of life left; doesn't have that "mature champagne" taste yet despite the bottle age and 13+ years in the cellar.
Side note: not the best bottle in my cellar but possibly the prettiest. Gold leaf and fancy script. Fun to look at. I don't keep many empty bottles for display but I kept this one.
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Bought ten years ago. Craaaaazy! This is a Benjamin Button champagne - just seems to keep getting younger. Right now it's bracy and lemony and tastes like it could have been released yesterday.
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(DHONDT BdB Grand Cru MVV) Magnum Dear Friends, Talk about rare? I was walking out the door yesterday evening to get some much needed fresh air and to get away from wine for a few hours or so when this amazing gift was left on my doorstep (or more accurately, the “in” box of my Blackberry). Every once in a while I like to get out and just take a walk to forget about the games of the wine trade - something that we have no interest in participating in, also just to refresh the spirit and to remind myself to stop and smell the roses more often - one of life’s most basic lessons that some of us have a hard time remembering. While we’ve already offered a bunch of things yesterday, this is special enough that is shouldn’t wait. This wine doesn’t need a lot of explanation - 2002 is the best vintage in Champagne since 1996 and there are only a few dozen of these for the whole country. We’ve supported Jose Dhondt since his first appearance in the US market and here’s the reward - a very rare magnum of his 2002 Grand Cru wine. Dhondt’s artisanal Champagne remains a brilliant sparkle of light, even on the brightest of days and (if it means anything) I’ve consumed more bottles of this wine from past vintages than any other Champagne. Yes, this is more than what 2 x 750ml’s cost but if you could see what goes into hand-bottling these you would understand (not to mention, Champagne producers often save their best material for the magnums). One for a special occasion and what I would consider to be an outright bargain for a magnum of top-end Champagne - very rare: EXTREMELY LIMITED - 2/person 2002 Jose Dhondt Brut Blanc de Blanc Grand Cru "MVV" (Oger) 1.5 lt Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Champ2300
NOTE: Some content is property of Champagne Warrior and Burghound and View From the Cellar and Garagiste.
3/1/2023 - skipwine wrote: 87 Points
Very slow to open and showing lots of age on the nose and palate. Not going to get any better.
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11/25/2021 - WetRock wrote:
Have to agree with the others that the fruit is maturing slowly. Though this bottle did show lessening effervescence. Quite a bit in this particular bottle. Light notes of coffee and nougat hint at maturity on the nose. Same with the custard on the palate. Otherwise this is a moderately rich BdB in expression. Lovely purity of fruit given it's age. Wanting for more complexity maybe. Very nice.
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12/24/2020 - Magnolian Likes this wine: 92 Points
From magnum. Light straw color. Lemon and bread notes. Nice effervescence and complexity. Perfect celebratory bottle for Christmas eve with family. Plenty of life left; doesn't have that "mature champagne" taste yet despite the bottle age and 13+ years in the cellar.
Side note: not the best bottle in my cellar but possibly the prettiest. Gold leaf and fancy script. Fun to look at. I don't keep many empty bottles for display but I kept this one.
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7/26/2017 - sdr wrote: 88 Points
Not very impressive although no flaws. A lemony champagne without much finesse or complexity.
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7/3/2017 - Keith Levenberg Likes this wine: 90 Points
Bought ten years ago. Craaaaazy! This is a Benjamin Button champagne - just seems to keep getting younger. Right now it's bracy and lemony and tastes like it could have been released yesterday.
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