Tete de Cuvee Champagne Tasting - Oct 23rd ,2010

Red Slate put together this amazing opportunity to try a bunch of top Champagne bottles side by side. What a great experience! Presentation and organization were spot on, as always. The Delamotte was the warm up, but in my opinion, it's on par with the rest of the group.

• NV Delamotte Champagne Brut 91 Points

  France, Champagne

  I love the nose here. It shows lemon zest and croissant scents, which is a wonderful expression of the bread notes I regularly see in Champagne. Soft, rich, white grape scents show as well. The fruit is just lovely on the palate. Everything is soft, bright, and round. Lemon flavors work with the bubbles to keep everything clean, and apple flavors linger on the palate. Some lemon peel touches lightly on the mid palate, giving the wine some backbone. A smoky note shows in the middle too. The finish is great, and all of the components run out enjoyably. Great QPR on this bottle. 91+

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• 2002 Pierre Gimonnet & Fils Champagne Special Club Millesimé de Collection 92 Points

  France, Champagne

  Freshly baked apple pie shows on the nose, with tart apples in the forefront. Full and zippy bubble keep the entire experience airy. The apples are crisp, and they zip across the palate as well. This evolves on the mid palate to show some richness, although not as much as I expected based on the pie scents on the nose. The apple flavors evolve enjoyably and stick around for a long time. The balance here is excellent!

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• 1997 Salon Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut 95 Points

  France, Champagne

  The nose immediately reminds me of vanilla ice cream with a light and gentle touch. This leans toward apple pie a la mode, but I'm not entirely there. The crust scents are faint and light, but the baked apple and nutmeg scents are there fully. The acidity on the palate is awesome, and the fruit is soft. The fruit evolves slowly and delivers spectacular flavor on the mid palate with impeccable balance showing throughout the experience. Some of the pie crust appears on the mid palate as well. Gentle fruit lingers on the finish as the full acidity cleans things out and makes you reach for another sip. This is complex, lengthy, and mouthwatering. A landmark champagne experience for me.

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• 2002 Dom Pérignon Champagne 89 Points

  France, Champagne

  Some interesting funk on the nose here reminds me of Pinot Noir, showing notes of wood on the forest floor as well as some red fruit. Red apples show on the palate, along with a hint of raspberry. Some hibiscus shows as well. The bubbles are gentle but the acidity is solid and it gets big late while lingering on the center of the tongue. Some earth shows on the mid palate, and light apples linger on the finish. While my experience is limited, this is the best Dom P. I've tasted. 89+

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• 2000 Perrier-Jouët Champagne Belle Epoque 94 Points

  France, Champagne

  I think some people will give me a hard time for this one, but I also think I need to own up to the fact that I've got a sweet tooth when tasting. The nose is captivating with depth and complexity. I get scents of morel mushrooms, apples, fresh dinner rolls, and a faint touch of frosting all working together to provide an enticing and thought provoking introduction. The bubbles build slowly on the palate, starting out soft and then becoming more full and crisp. The acidity builds slowly as well to sparkle and dry the palate along with the bubbles on the mid palate. Lovely tart and rich apple flavors show up on the mid palate and last into a long finish. The acidity clings to the back of the mouth making it water. The lingering apple flavors are intertwined with hints of caramel. Awesome!!

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• 2002 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut 92 Points

  France, Champagne

  Baked apples with caramel show on the nose as well as faint sage and something that reminds me of dried roses. It's very austere on contact and the bubbles bloom quickly keeping things firm. Rich apples and strawberries explode on the mid palate along with a light sweetness. Plenty of acid shows, but it's not as strong as in some other Champagnes from this event. Everything is very clean, and the wine is approachable to a wind range of palates.

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• NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée 95 Points

  France, Champagne

  Lovely pretzel dough scents show here as well as candied apples, raspberries, and limes. This has a thicker feel on the palate, but still retains a soft touch. The bubbles bloom wonderfully on the mid palate. The sensation of this alone makes this drink enjoyable! Rich apple flavors and acidity come in late, and everything dries out very well. An amazing rich, but not overly sweet note complements the apple flavors on the mid palate. The apples and raspberries run out for well over 20s on the finish. Decadent.

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• 1995 Bruno Paillard Champagne Nec Plus Ultra 92 Points

  France, Champagne

  Grapes show on the nose as well as caramel, and some apples. The apples smell like they're fermenting into cider. This is rich on contact showing apple cider and honey. The bubbles and acidity bloom together late on the mid palate. Rich apples persist from beginning to end and the fruit has a rich, heavy feel to it. The apples have a sense of being baked, and they deliver a darker character to the flavor of this Champagne.

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• 1999 Bollinger Champagne La Grande Année Rosé 90 Points

  France, Champagne

  The nose seems lighter to me, but still complex. I get scents of strawberries, limes, some faint leather scents, and some scallops. Interesting. Marine notes always capture my attention. This is very soft on the palate, and the Pinot Noir really shows with dark, full cherry flavors. A hint of ginger lingers from the mid palate into the finish. Some light, red earth flavors show as well. The bubbles are gentle, and the acidity is slow to evolve, but full once it gets there. The structure that seemed to be leather on the nose is expressed more like bread on the palate. Cherry skins and a bit of raspberry flavors show themselves later.

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