Third Thursday Champagne Night

This month's gathering was focused on Champagne, with a white Burgundy to warm things up. It was wonderful to taste all of these side by side, and Vilmart and Heidsieck are cemented in my mind as my current favorite producers in this style. To be fair, I don't drink a whole lot of Champagne, but most of their bottles have been very enjoyable.

• 2004 Domaine Leflaive Mâcon-Verzé 86 Points

  France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Mâcon-Verzé

  The wine shows pizza crust and green apples on the nose, along with some cardboard that confuses the heck out of me. I don't really feel that it's corked, but at the same time, I can't get away from a cardboard scent. The wine delivers clean apple flavors on the palate, and everything has a light texture. Golden apples appear on the late mid palate, and the fruit is pretty juicy and watery with out tasting diluted. Light apple flavors and some oak show on the finish. The nose detracts a bit for me, and the flavors aren't quite showing as a cohesive package.

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• 2005 Domaine Carneros Brut 89 Points

  USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros

  The nose is fairly complex with Braeburn apples showing on top of a fried buttery scent, like the edge of a fried egg that you've left in the pan just a little too long. The wine is zippy on entry with clean and tasty apple flavors hitting fully on the mid palate. Everything gently fades, and apple juice lingers late along with a hint of sweetness. The wine is clean, and the acidity is even from beginning to end. 89+

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• 2003 Vilmart & Cie Champagne Premier Cru Grand Cellier d'Or 93 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru

  This nose delivers full on spicy apple pie, with a hint of oranges and some leather lurking in the background to keep it from being too friendly. The bubbles are full and zippy on the palate, but they don't overwhelm the flavors. Light oranges peek out from behind delicious apple flavors. Some caramel notes show up later as well. The acidity has a light touch, but should not be mistaken for weak, as it keeps everything clean and lets the minerality show on the mid palate. The wine has a delicate touch and I wish it lasted longer on the palate. Later in the night, some apricot and nutmeg flavors appeared on the mid palate as well, knocking this up another step. Rock solid bubbles. 93+

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• 2002 H. Billiot Fils Champagne Grand Cru Brut Millésimé 89 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  This is a little funky on the nose with pretzel dough and wet autumn leaves showing along with some lighter apple scents. The bubbles start soft on the palate and show alongside some slightly over-ripe apple flavors on the mid palate. The wine is definitely on the "bready" side. Lighter acid shows up and lasts for quite a while with the other flavors. Some grapefruit appeared later in the night. It's nice wine, but the over-ripe apple wasn't really doing it for me.

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• 2000 Piper-Heidsieck Champagne Brut Millésimé 93 Points

  France, Champagne

  The nose is wonderful here, showing wheat bread crusts wrapped around sparkling apples topped with a drizzle of butterscotch. The wheat bread crust hits the palate along with sharp bubbles right out of the gate. As the bubbles settle down, lovely apple flavors come in and become more full as they evolve. Great acid settles in on the sides of the palate as the apples become more rich and some light caramel flavors play from the mid palate onward. The flavors are rich, but the bigger bubbles and the acid dry things out and make the mouth water as the fruit and caramel gently linger for a good amount of time. 93+

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• 1999 Delamotte Champagne Blanc de Blancs Millésimé 90 Points

  France, Champagne

  The nose is kind of faint, with some apple scents and some rye bread showing a little bit. The flavors are very soft and delicate, with full bubbles and a hint of buttery apple and vanilla ice cream showing later. The bubbles aren't so zippy, but they add a fantastic feel of finesse to the whole experience. The acidity is on the lower side, but it lingers nicely on the back and sides of the palate during the finish, and it has a good feel to it. The flavors are light, and there's a hint of sweetness, but everything is perfectly clean and luxurious.

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• 1999 Louis Roederer Champagne Vintage Brut 91 Points

  France, Champagne

  The nose reminds me of apple pie with a very thick crust, and perhaps some lime squeezed over the top. It's light on contact with the palate. Bubbles, apple and lime flavors all wait until the early mid to show themselves. The flavors crest like a wave on the mid palate and recede to leave vanilla flavors. That's a cool experience! Some sweeter apples show later as well.

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• 1998 Comte Audoin de Dampierre Champagne Grand Cru Grand Vintage 91 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  Faint apple scents show on the nose as well as some citrus zest, and a peculiar note of black olives. The bubbles are full and zippy, and there's a pervasive note of butterscotch, as if someone had drizzled it across all of the fruits. The touch of black olives actually shows on the palate as well. Aged apples make up the bulk of the fruit, and they linger on the finish along with some vanilla bean.

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In order, our favorites of the night were the Vilmart, Heidsieck, and Roederer.