K&L LA Champagne Tasting

Wife and I got a night away in LA and we had an excellent start here. Unfortunately my experience with higher end champagne is quite limited and so the intention was for this to be a learning experience. Just as when learning about other types I think it takes a while to really determine what you like an how to describe it. At this level all the champages were quite good and honestly blind I don't think I could pick out the Cristal from the $50 NV bottle at this point. Given my wine budget goes to reds not sure I'll ever develop the palate here but this was a lot of fun. Not sure where you can try Cristal, Krug, and top of the line vintage champagnes from almost every house as well as small growers.

I'm mostly going to avoid scores since I don't really know how to score these. I'd probably score them all between 89 and 92 anyway. Rough letter grades / rankings seems more appropriate. No formal notes.

• NV Pommery Champagne Brut Rosé

  France, Champagne

  B+ Quite liked this and compared well to the other higher priced roses.

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• 2002 Pol Roger Champagne Blanc de Blancs

  France, Champagne

  B+ Nice but liked the other Pol Rogers better.

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• 2002 Pol Roger Champagne Vintage Brut

  France, Champagne

  B+

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• 2004 Pol Roger Champagne Brut Rosé

  France, Champagne

  A- That touch of red fruit and sweetness makes a difference. Really liked this. In my top 3 of tasting.

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• 2004 Veuve Clicquot Champagne Brut La Grande Dame

  France, Champagne

  A : Nice and actually a bit restrained. Long finish. Wife's number 1. Probably wouldn't quite go there but in my top 3.

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• 2004 Veuve Clicquot Champagne Brut Vintage

  France, Champagne

  B+ Nice but not necessarily standing out

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• NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée

  France, Champagne

  A : Probably my number 1. Tasted this first so maybe this had some effect. But probably most complex with a long finish and quite refreshing on a hot afternoon.

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• 2004 Dom Pérignon Champagne

  France, Champagne

  A- Slightly underwhelmed actually but I can finally say I tried Dom.

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• 2004 Moët & Chandon Champagne Grand Vintage Rosé

  France, Champagne

  A- Probably liked this as much if not more than the Dom from same year (and it's just about half the price).

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• NV Ruinart Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut

  France, Champagne

  B+ Don't think the Blanc de Blancs are my thing. Still decent.

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• 2007 Ariston Aspasie Champagne Brut Millésimé

  France, Champagne

  B+ Good for the price.

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• NV Ariston Aspasie Champagne Cepages d'Antan

  France, Champagne

  B+ Decent but not good QPR relative to other Aspasie's

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• NV Billecart-Salmon Champagne Extra Brut

  France, Champagne

  B+ No dosage. Not quite as dry as I was expecting. No complaints and well made.

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• 2005 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut

  France, Champagne

  A- And now I can say I've also tried Cristal. Photo for the facebook page although missing the celebrities. Not sure I'm buying into this being worth $200 but it's quite well made and fun to try.

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• NV Henriot Champagne Brut Souverain

  France, Champagne

  B+ Good deal for the price.

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• NV Henriot Champagne Brut Rosé

  France, Champagne

  B+ Still liking the roses.

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• 1998 Henriot Champagne Cuvée des Enchanteleurs Brut

  France, Champagne

  A- Pretty nice but not dropping this kind of cash for this especially since it doesn't have the ring / cache of dom or cristal, etc. Not dropping it for those either btw.

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• NV Heidsieck & Co. Monopole Champagne Blue Top Brut

  France, Champagne

  B. Decent for price.

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A lot of fun to finally try all the big boys in one place. Can't say I'm convinced they are worth the cash but all are very nice. 2004 is our daughter's birth year so might be worth a Cliquot Grand Dame or Moet Vintage Rose since these aren't too crazy. There are a few nice values on the other end of the scale in the 35-40 buck range. Still I'm going to hope my wife keeps drinking the $12 Prosecco.