Served double blind. Moderately reduced on the nose but not so on the palate. Very clean and crisp with a bit of richness that made me think this was a blend. On the other hand, the citric quality of the chardonnay this vintage shines through here. The palate still feels slightly raw and unintegrated, and I think this would absolutely benefit from more time to round out the edges.
Served double blind. Unmistakably a large-scaled, powerful wine with a slight bit more oxidation. It was the brightness here that prevented me from making the outright call of Krug though I should have calibrated for the vintage. White fruits and flowers, powerful acids, and a very complex wine. One of the winners today.
Served double blind. This bottle was not showing well -- there seemed to be a bit of volatility (not VA, but VOCs) and the palate had a bit of a flat texture too. Clearly a little bit of a weirdo, with a lot of pinot character. I guessed Goisses or Bollinger RD.
Served double blind. Unmistakably CdC -- this was one of the easiest calls. The chardonnay character here is refreshing and brilliant; so bright and lifted, with a slight muskiness that is actually quite sensual. It's not a very powerful wine (such as the Krug) but it's more vinous and racy. For the price this has got to be one of the best values in champagne.
Served double blind. I generally liked this more than most of the others at the table. Floral and honeyed on the nose, but a little prickly owing to its youth. The palate isn't too concentrated or complex, but this is drinking remarkably well versus some of the other wines in the lineup. Bright acidity and nice overall cut.
Served double blind. Some high-toned almond thing on the nose here. Really nice white fruit; quite lean in character. I guessed this was a blanc de blancs based on the more linear character here. Not too complex, but drinking nicely and fairly pleasant.
Served double blind. A touch reductive on the nose here, and that flintiness had me going straight to Dom Perignon. Had good complexity and weight on the palate as well. Not showing much fruit; this is more of a structural wine. The acidity is fresh and bright here as well.
Served double blind. A huge dud. The dosage is wrong here. The nose is sweet and slightly skunky with some white grape juice thing. The palate has a distinct taste of sugar and is unintegrated. Not only that, this is frankly just kind of simple. Needless to say, the reveal was very disappointing.
Served double blind. White grape juice again here, with relatively low acidity. Nondescript, but not offensive either. Just kind of boring and foursquare. This also seems to have a bit of sweetness and the dosage here also seems to stick out quite a bit. Again, a little bit disappointing on the reveal.
Served double blind. Immediately obvious that this is pinot heavy, especially with a fair bit of dirty earth as well. Fairly weighty and heavy on the palate, but not too rich either -- just feels a bit of a plodding wine. Very high acidity, and not particularly complex. Fairly run of the mill.
Served double blind. Immediately identified as Krug just based on the scale of the nose and palate here. This is a very immense wine with tons of mineral extract and a good dose of oxidative character. There seems to be a hint of oak involved as well, but it's absolutely well done. The acidity is high and counterbalanced by the weight, as well as a hint of white fruit. A very complex wine -- probably my favourite of the tasting.
Served double blind. The classic Dom reduction is here as well -- this is kind of sweet and has some white grape elements, but overall, this is again a fairly foursquare and nondescript wine. It's not offensive or bad, but especially after the reveal, this doesn't have the complexity I would expect. Potentially a question of needing more time?
2004 Charles Heidsieck Champagne Blanc des Millénaires 93 Points
France, Champagne
Served double blind. Moderately reduced on the nose but not so on the palate. Very clean and crisp with a bit of richness that made me think this was a blend. On the other hand, the citric quality of the chardonnay this vintage shines through here. The palate still feels slightly raw and unintegrated, and I think this would absolutely benefit from more time to round out the edges.
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NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée Edition 160eme 93 Points
France, Champagne
Served double blind. Unmistakably a large-scaled, powerful wine with a slight bit more oxidation. It was the brightness here that prevented me from making the outright call of Krug though I should have calibrated for the vintage. White fruits and flowers, powerful acids, and a very complex wine. One of the winners today.
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2004 Vilmart & Cie Champagne Premier Cru Coeur de Cuvée 88 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
Served double blind. This bottle was not showing well -- there seemed to be a bit of volatility (not VA, but VOCs) and the palate had a bit of a flat texture too. Clearly a little bit of a weirdo, with a lot of pinot character. I guessed Goisses or Bollinger RD.
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2004 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut 93 Points
France, Champagne
Served double blind. Unmistakably CdC -- this was one of the easiest calls. The chardonnay character here is refreshing and brilliant; so bright and lifted, with a slight muskiness that is actually quite sensual. It's not a very powerful wine (such as the Krug) but it's more vinous and racy. For the price this has got to be one of the best values in champagne.
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2004 Ruinart Champagne Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs 93 Points
France, Champagne
Served double blind. I generally liked this more than most of the others at the table. Floral and honeyed on the nose, but a little prickly owing to its youth. The palate isn't too concentrated or complex, but this is drinking remarkably well versus some of the other wines in the lineup. Bright acidity and nice overall cut.
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2004 Gaston Chiquet Champagne Special Club Brut 90 Points
France, Champagne
Served double blind. Some high-toned almond thing on the nose here. Really nice white fruit; quite lean in character. I guessed this was a blanc de blancs based on the more linear character here. Not too complex, but drinking nicely and fairly pleasant.
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2004 Veuve Clicquot Champagne Brut La Grande Dame Flawed
France, Champagne
Served double blind. Corked.
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2006 Roederer Estate L'Ermitage Brut 93 Points
USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley
Served double blind. A touch reductive on the nose here, and that flintiness had me going straight to Dom Perignon. Had good complexity and weight on the palate as well. Not showing much fruit; this is more of a structural wine. The acidity is fresh and bright here as well.
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2004 Pol Roger Champagne Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill 85 Points
France, Champagne
Served double blind. A huge dud. The dosage is wrong here. The nose is sweet and slightly skunky with some white grape juice thing. The palate has a distinct taste of sugar and is unintegrated. Not only that, this is frankly just kind of simple. Needless to say, the reveal was very disappointing.
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2004 Philipponnat Champagne Brut Clos des Goisses 88 Points
France, Champagne
Served double blind. White grape juice again here, with relatively low acidity. Nondescript, but not offensive either. Just kind of boring and foursquare. This also seems to have a bit of sweetness and the dosage here also seems to stick out quite a bit. Again, a little bit disappointing on the reveal.
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2004 Bollinger Champagne R.D. Extra Brut 90 Points
France, Champagne
Served double blind. Immediately obvious that this is pinot heavy, especially with a fair bit of dirty earth as well. Fairly weighty and heavy on the palate, but not too rich either -- just feels a bit of a plodding wine. Very high acidity, and not particularly complex. Fairly run of the mill.
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2004 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut 93 Points
France, Champagne
Served double blind. Immediately identified as Krug just based on the scale of the nose and palate here. This is a very immense wine with tons of mineral extract and a good dose of oxidative character. There seems to be a hint of oak involved as well, but it's absolutely well done. The acidity is high and counterbalanced by the weight, as well as a hint of white fruit. A very complex wine -- probably my favourite of the tasting.
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2004 Dom Pérignon Champagne 90 Points
France, Champagne
Served double blind. The classic Dom reduction is here as well -- this is kind of sweet and has some white grape elements, but overall, this is again a fairly foursquare and nondescript wine. It's not offensive or bad, but especially after the reveal, this doesn't have the complexity I would expect. Potentially a question of needing more time?
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