Champagne Blind Tasting 5/29/22
Jackie's House
Tasted Sunday, May 29, 2022 by Michael Hung with 148 views
Introduction
We wanted to try various Champagnes ranging from low to high pricing and from grower Champagnes to large Champagne houses. We blind tasted all bottles with minimal prior knowledge of what would be poured. The goal was to see the stylistic differences between the Champagnes and compare the QPR and overall quality amongst all tasted bottles. Tasted between 10 people.
The lineup was as follows:
1. NV Lallier Champagne R.012 Brut
2. NV Moet & Chandon Champagne
3. 2007 Jean Vesselle Champagne Grand Cru Brut Millesime
4. NV Egly-Ouriet Champagne Les Premices
5. NV Jacqueline Leonne Brut
6. 2012 Dom Perignon Champagne
7. NV Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne Brut
8. 2008 Mailly Champagne Grand Cru Brut Millesime
Lineup with people guessing price and the actual price in parentheses. With guesses being either low (less than $50), medium ($51-100), or high (over $100).
1. NV Lallier Champagne R.012 Brut - Majority guessed Low ($45)
2. NV Moet & Chandon Champagne - Majority guessed Low ($40)
3. 2007 Jean Vesselle Champagne Grand Cru Brut Millesime - Majority split between Medium and High ($95)
4. NV Egly-Ouriet Champagne Les Premices - Majority guessed Medium ($70)
5. NV Jacqueline Leonne Brut - Majority split between Low and High ($15)
6. 2012 Dom Perignon Champagne - Majority split between Low and High ($180)
7. NV Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne Brut - Majority guessed Low ($50)
8. 2008 Mailly Champagne Grand Cru Brut Millesime - Majority guessed Medium ($75)
Flight 1 (8 Notes)
Closing
While the majority were able to guess the correct price category for most of the Champagnes, the cheapest and most expensive bottles ended up fooling some people due to the Dom Perignon being opened too young and the NV Jacqueline Leonne punching way above its weight class. Veuve Clicquot was probably the least favorite out of the tasting with Jacqueline Leonne being the sleeper favorite for QPR and balanced. In terms of straight quality, Dom Perignon followed by the Jean Vesselle Millesime were the winners.
I found the Egly-Ouriet Les Premices to be quite exciting and the 2012 Dom Perignon was brilliant, but sadly it was opened much sooner than I would have liked.
NV Champagne Lallier Champagne R.012 Brut 88 Points
France, Champagne
Tasted blind along with seven other Champagnes between 10 people. Prices ranging from $15-180.
Med lemon. Med+ intensity, autolysis, yeast, dough, some green and citrus. Med acid, overall a fairly decent Champagne for the price. Fairly atypical of Champagne in this price range. A little strong on the autolysis notes, fruit was a little lacking in intensity. 88 pts
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NV Moët & Chandon Champagne Brut Impérial 88 Points
France, Champagne
Tasted blind along with seven other Champagnes between 10 people. Prices ranging from $15-180.
Med lemon green. Crisp and bright Champagne. Med/Med+ intensity of citrus, lemon lime, lemon peel, green fruit, apple, quince, slight autolysis, yeast, dough. More aggressive mousse than the Lallier. Med+ acid, med body, med+ finish. Tastes like a well made Champagne, but nothing standing out in particular. 87-88 pts
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2007 Jean Vesselle Champagne Grand Cru Brut Prestige 92 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Tasted blind along with seven other Champagnes between 10 people. Prices ranging from $15-180.
Medium gold. Autolysis and oxidative notes of yeast, bread dough, pastry, almond, green fruit notes, Asian pear, lemon peel. Bright and acidic, but starting to develop tertiary notes. Med+ acid, med+ body, long finish, delicate mousse. Quite enjoyable and definitely the most developed Champagne of the night. Compared to the 2010 that I have had recently, the 2007 still showing the older oxidative styling of JV that was not seen in the 2010. 92 pts
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NV Egly-Ouriet Champagne Les Prémices 91 Points
France, Champagne
Tasted blind along with seven other Champagnes between 10 people. Prices ranging from $15-180.
Med yellow. Very frothy and substantial mousse (delicate). Floral, blossoms, green fruit, pear, young apple, unripe white peach, some citrus, lemon peel, pastry and butter notes. Slight almond, crisp and bright. Very exciting mousse, not the typical bubbles I often run into. 90-91 pts
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NV Jacqueline Leonne Brut 88 Points
USA, New Mexico
Tasted blind along with seven other Champagnes between 10 people. Prices ranging from $15-180.
Pale lemon. Aggressive and frothy mousse. Med/Med- intensity, green fruit, green apple, pear, slight toast. This brut doesn't say much, very non offensive, would be great for mixing mimosas/bellinis. Hits way above its $13-15 weight class for sure. Personally prefer it over some big houses like Veuve yellow label. Great balance, main issue is the lack of intensity of flavors or fruit. Top tier QPR though, especially for a casual brut for mixing. 88 pts
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2012 Dom Pérignon Champagne 94 Points
France, Champagne
Tasted blind along with seven other Champagnes between 10 people. Prices ranging from $15-180.
Pale lemon. Delicate and frothy mousse, still very young. Med+ intensity of green fruit notes, pear, green apple, some almond, pastry, brioche, and floral notes, honeysuckle. Not overly tart, very balanced. High acid, med+ body. Great flavors and mouthfeel. Definitely holding off from opening next bottles for at least a few more years. WOTN for me. 93-94++ pts
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NV Veuve Clicquot Champagne Brut 86 Points
France, Champagne
Tasted blind along with seven other Champagnes between 10 people. Prices ranging from $15-180.
Med lemon. A very stereotypical styling of champagne with a more pronounced sour twang on the finish. Strong autolysis notes of yeast, bread dough, green tart fruit, crabapple, unripe peach. My least favorite bottle of the night, especially when comparing QPR here. 86 pts
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2008 Mailly Champagne Grand Cru Brut Millésimé 89 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Tasted blind along with seven other Champagnes between 10 people. Prices ranging from $15-180.
Somewhere in between the Jacqueline Leonne and Dom Perignon in terms of styling. Fairly balanced, lacking in intensity. Not very memorable, but not a bad brut, quite decent overall. 89 pts
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