Important Update From the Founder
Read message >
Zachys Opening Celebration
Washington DC
Tasted September 21, 2017 by Matt T with 489 views
Introduction
This was a fabulous event featuring champagne from a number of top producers including a large lineup of grower champagnes. I was quite impressed by the depth and mix of wines, which included a number of vintage wines from 1995, 1996, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009. The food was also quite excellent with an assortment of cheese, hand-passed appetizers, truffles, and caviar.
Flight 1 (3 notes)
White - Sparkling
N.V. Bollinger Champagne Special Cuvée Brut
92 points
Very impressive start to the tasting. Medium-bodied, impeccable balance. The chardonnay really shines here. Great value and quality for the price.
Rosé - Sparkling
N.V. Bollinger Champagne Brut Rosé
90 points
I did not like this quite as much as the special brut. A bit less balance with more pronounced acid. Still elegant, but not nearly the value of the brut.
White - Sparkling
2007 Bollinger Champagne La Grande Année
92 points
This is still young. Elegant with a good balance of fruit and salinity. Tending more towards the fruit spectrum than prior vintages. This is approachable and fine to drink now, but may improve with a bit with time.
Flight 2 (3 notes)
Rosé - Sparkling
N.V. Duval-Leroy Champagne Brut Rosé
89 points
Solid, but somewhat unremarkable. Good balance, but definitely not a stand out in a stellar lineup of wines.
White - Sparkling
2002 Piper-Heidsieck Champagne Cuvée Rare
93 points
Really impressive wine. A nice mineral zip on the middle and back of this wine. Long finish. Great balance of fruit and acid. Interesting wine.
2 people found this helpful
Comment
White - Sparkling
1996 Duval-Leroy Champagne Femme de Champagne
93 points
This was a real treat. Medium bodied with some secondary notes of mushrooms and caramel. Long finish. Still fresh and lively.
Flight 3 (3 notes)
White - Sparkling
2006 Laurent-Perrier Champagne Brut Millésimé
90 points
Nicely balanced brut. Tending more towards the mineral side. 100% chardonnay in this. 90-91 points.
Rosé - Sparkling
N.V. Laurent-Perrier Champagne Cuvée Rosé Brut
90 points
Delicate rose with light, floral notes. A very nice wine.
White - Sparkling
1995 Charles Heidsieck Champagne Blanc des Millénaires
94 points
Full bodied with loads of brioche and cotton candy. Extremely long. Just enough acid to keep this from being overwhelming. This wine is really fun, but definitely not for everyone.
2 people found this helpful
Comment
Flight 4 (3 notes)
White - Sparkling
2009 Taittinger Champagne Brut Millésimé
90 points
Opinions were sharply divided on this wine. I like the compromise between more mineral-driven versions and brioche-filled champagnes. This was medium bodied with a nice element of fruit and brioche. A bit too sweet for some. Definitely an early drinking vintage.
Rosé - Sparkling
N.V. Taittinger Champagne Brut Prestige Rosé
89 points
Similar in style to the brut millesime. This had good balance with a bit more cream and brioche. Rich and rewarding, but the seemingly high sugar in this is not for everyone.
White - Sparkling
2006 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut
93 points
This was very similar to the brut millesime, but had a touch more elegance and balance. A bit less fruit forward, but a similar medium-bodied "compromise style" between the more mineral-driven and full bodied champagnes. I liked this a lot, but it was not for everybody. Fine to drink now, but should age well for the next decade.
3 people found this helpful
Comment
Flight 5 (2 notes)
White - Sparkling
N.V. Delamotte Champagne Brut
90 points
A bit of a revelation to me. Really excellent balance and easy to drink. More saline than many other wines. Terrific value.
White - Sparkling
2002 Salon Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut
95 points
A small pour, so a bit difficult to evaluate, but this was extremely well-balanced. Really nice mix of salinity and fruit. Tending perhaps to more fruit than is usual for this wine, but definitely not fruit forward from my perspective. Long, long finish. Elegant stuff.
2 people found this helpful
Comment
Flight 6 (4 notes)
White - Sparkling
N.V. Pierre Péters Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Cuvée de Réserve
87 points
I usually love this wine, but this immediately followed a Salon 2002, and tasted watery and unbalanced by comparison. Honestly, the weakest I have ever seen this wine perform. This did not have good fruit concentration and seemed a bit watered down. It lacked the expected zip and body.
White - Sparkling
N.V. Vilmart & Cie Champagne Premier Cru Grand Cellier Brut
92 points
A real standout of the night. This was really well balanced with the pinot noir adding a nice heft to this wine. Elegant and punches above its weight. Really great value wine.
1 person found this helpful
Comment
White - Sparkling
N.V. Chartogne-Taillet Champagne Cuvée Sainte Anne
91 points
This is another wine that punches well above its weight. Really impressive concentration and body. Lots of brioche, fruit, and cream. Long finish. One of the best values I've found in champagne.
1 person found this helpful
Comment
Rosé - Sparkling
N.V. Leclerc Briant Champagne Brut Rosé
86 points
I wanted to like this because the rep was fabulous, but this wine just couldn't compete with the other wines in this lineup. Lacking in complexity and balance. Nothing offensive about this wine, it just doesn't have the zip of some of the other stars we got to try.
Flight 7 (3 notes)
White - Sparkling
N.V. Perrier-Jouët Champagne Grand Brut
91 points
I have not been a huge fan of this bottling in the past, but it really performed well tonight. Nicely balanced. A touch less brioche and cream than the Taittinger. Medium bodied with a nice finish. Very pleasant.
1 person found this helpful
Comment
Rosé - Sparkling
N.V. Perrier-Jouët Champagne Blason Rosé
90 points
Another nice example of a medium-bodied champagne. Very easy drinking. Not much more to say in this long lineup.
White - Sparkling
2008 Perrier-Jouët Champagne Belle Epoque
94 points
This was an extremely exciting wine that shows the real potential for 2008 to be a banner vintage. Terrific acid and tension that just seemed to build and build as this crossed my mouth. Medium bodied with a super long finish of fruit and cream. This was tremendous fun. Had this wine had a bit more balance and elegance, it would have been 95 plus points. 93-94 points, but I will give it the extra point for such a good showing.
2 people found this helpful
Comment
Flight 8 (4 notes)
White - Sparkling
N.V. Jacquesson & Fils Champagne Cuvée No. 739
91 points
Very pleasant full-bodied champagne. Good complexity and well-balanced.
1 person found this helpful
Comment
White - Sparkling
N.V. J-M Seleque Champagne Brut Solessence 7 Villages
87 points
This was an interesting, concentrated champagne. Not particularly elegant or balanced, but a nice showing of fruit with a medium to long finish. Atypical, modern style.
White - Sparkling
N.V. J-M Seleque Champagne Le Quintette
89 points
Another modern take on champagne with complex floral notes. The chardonnay really shines through here. High acid. Lacking balance and elegance for my palate, but may appeal to others. Definitely an interesting wine.
White - Sparkling
2006 Pierre Moncuit Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut Millésimé
91 points
Really nicely balanced wine with a medium body. Rich and rewarding with cream, brioche, and caramel. Very well done.
Closing
This was a fabulous tasting with some real surprises. The 2002 Salon, 1995 Heidsieck, and 2008 Perrier-Jouet were the highlights, but there were many fantastic wines. We did not get to the Gosset, Laherte, Allart, and a couple others because there were too many wines to try. A terrific event. Best of luck to Zachys in DC!