12/9/2009 - King Angry wrote:

'06 disgorgement. This has become a go to bottle for a few of us. While not cheap it's a bargain relative to other DP Oeno's on the market but it always delivers in a big way. There is a sweetness to this champagne, but it comes from the fruit not the dosage. Very DP with its coffee creamsicle flavors. Rumor has it the '96 Oeno is even better. While waiting for that release, I'll happily consume these. Staggering

12/9/2009 - King Angry wrote:

Black label third plenitude bottle. Airline Eddie opened a couple of bottles for the group. Eddie had his champagne epiphany a couple of years ago drinking this at my birthday dinner and this became his house champagne. He regularly opens a bottle or two whenver I see him. No complaints from me. This bottle was showing extremely well and has lost some of its pure youthfulness. Still very fresh, but it has developed many typical DP mature notes of ground coffee with levels of creamy flavors. My only potential concern is how rapidly this has developed since its disgorgement. I noticed that the last time I drank it and even more so this time. This bottle tasted ten years older (but still in a positive way) than bottles I drank 2+ years ago. This may be one to consume over the next 8-10 years. But for now Staggering Plus.

12/9/2009 - King Angry wrote:

The Evictor unwrapped this mag that he purchased on release. Another perfect example. Lighter and creamier than the Krug served before it. Mushrooms and a hint of coffee give complexity to the fruit. This mag still needs a little more bottle age before it will hit its peak. Excellent plus

12/9/2009 - King Angry wrote:

A Hillbilly selection - out of Magnum. Vibrant effervescence. This was dripping with honey covered fruit. Very rich but with the marriage of a perfect amount of acidity. Yellow fruits combined with almonds and marmalade. Served as an apertif but it was more of an amuse bouche. Staggering

10/29/2009 - King Angry wrote:

Disgorged in 2002 it's starting to show some "on the cork evolution". While still having the freshness of a late disgorgement it's not nearly as apparent as it was a few years ago. Color is getting a bit more golden and the effervescence while vibrant no longer looks youthful. Lots of smoke on the nose, some coffee and vanilla and a touch of black tea with rich yellow fruits. Creamy DP palate. Good acidity comes through on the finish. Staggering.

10/28/2009 - King Angry wrote:

Color of it looked great in the bottle, but there was some seepage showing after the foil was removed. I was pretty bummed for I never want a wine I bring to not show well, but I certainly didn't want a bottle of Krug not show well in this company. Much relief when I tasted this outstanding bottle with somewhat subdued effervescene, but a plethora of pure fruit with the mature nuances of butterscotch and a touch of marshmallow. A perfect night cap to a fantastic and extremely interesting evening. Staggering plus.

10/28/2009 - King Angry wrote:

This was extremely interesting for a number of reasons. First, I was unaware, until last night, that the was such a vintage of Krug. I sheepishly admitted that fact to Olivier who laughed and said until KOC had inquired to him about the vintage, he was unaware as well! He went through the Krug archives and discovered why he had never seen a bottle of it before. It seems the Krug family liked the '28 and '29 vintages of Krug better than the '34, so when the Germans ordered cases of Krug during the occupation, they would keep the former two vintages and ship them the '34, so much so that they didn't have any reserve stocks of it. The history of this bottle gets even better. Once the foil was removed, there was a very hard substance around the seal of the cork and the top of the bottle. We couldn't determine what it was, but it appeared to be either a paraffin wax or a melted metal that had rehardened. Olivier speculated that it was possibly a "tamper proof" closure to make sure that the bottle wasn't poisoned on its way to possibly German High Command. Obviously, no one will ever know, but I found this bottle to be one of the more interesting wines I've ever drank due to its history and potential history. The wine itself showed a level of maturity you would expect from a '34, but not the complexity and depth of flavors you would hope for. Putting aside the historical aspects it was Very Good. Add the history Killer

10/28/2009 - King Angry wrote:

Olivier's birthyear, so KOC opened a bottle for him last night. Olivier said the only other time he had a Vintage '66 was with KOC including a super rare Blanc de Blancs. A little darker in appearance with less effervescence than I was hoping for upon the initial pour. However, it was a bit misleading for there was little oxidative notes on the nose or palate. Still a fair amount of fruit, but it was slightly in the background to the mature notes of caramel, marzipan, and creme brulee. The impressive thing about this champagne was the intensity on the palate and the extremely long finish. Acidity was still there to keep things in check. As much as I liked it, others liked it some more. Staggering.

10/28/2009 - King Angry wrote:

at first I thought the Returner was going to go 0 for 2 when the cork broke in the bottle and then a few more rough moments to remove the cork with a corkscrew seem to seal this bottle's fate. However, when finally removed a loud "pop" was heard and hopes were raised. Wow was this a sound bottle, with the cork that couldn't be removed blocking any oxygen from entering the bottle. Gave the '49 a run for its money, but couldn't quite get there. Staggering plus.

10/28/2009 - King Angry wrote:

was a KA selection and out of the gate I thought it was good but not great. KOC and Olivier were more upbeat but the South and the Returner were poo-pooing it. At first the finish was my issue with the wine - mouthpuckering tartness reminding me of not quite ripe green apples. However, with time in the glass, this really gained richness and the tartness disappeared. Hard placement between the previous and the next wine, but in the end it sort of held its own. Excellent plus.

10/28/2009 - King Angry wrote:

KOC usually supplies the heaviest lumber and this night was no different. Only my second time having this vintage of Krug, but I still can't imagine a better showing than this bottle. A classic Krug with big brooding fruit that expands on the palate and then finishes into an eternity. Honey, coffee, a touch of creme brulee. Still structured, this bottle surely could have lasted another 20+ years, but I'm glad it didn't . Killer minus

10/28/2009 - King Angry wrote:

donated by the New England crew this was a perfect palate refresher. Yellow fruit, some minerals and chalk with vivid acidity reminiscent of a wine half its age. Excellent plus.

10/28/2009 - King Angry wrote:

the midwest made its presence felt with this rock solid mag. The only downside to this was that we didin't have the luxury of watching this evolve in the glass over a few hours which always improves with some air. It still offered some vivid fruit, with grilled nuts and honey. The beuaty of the Collection wines is they always deliver. Excellent plus

10/28/2009 - King Angry wrote:

Another Hillbilly offering, this bottle was from the same batch he's generously shared with us in the past. At a perfect level of maturity, this showed a fair amount of white chocolate on the nose. Very rich, some oxidative notes, long finish. Excellent plus

10/28/2009 - King Angry wrote:

the Hillbilly started us off with this wine. Big and rich showing its vintage traits. Some hints of green apple, touches of honey and custard. Terrific acidity cuts through it like a knife. Terrific example. Staggering minus.

10/28/2009 - King Angry wrote:

Very tropical with some melon and cantaloupe aromas. Big juicy red fruits on the palate. Soft finish without any rough edges on the finish I usually get with young rose's. However, not overly complex but I would still be a buyer if the price point was lower. Olivier made an interesting comment in that he felt the Rose should be drunk in its youth otherwise it will taste similar to the Grande Cuvee as it gets older. Excellent minus

10/28/2009 - King Angry wrote:

What an eye opener! Hands down the best '93 Champagne I've tasted and can easily stand up with top champagnes from '90 and '96. While it shows its youth and the acidity is there, its elegance belies that this comes from an off vintage that is only 16 years old. Excellent yellow fruits with a touch of smoke. Out of mag and there are a couple of different disgorgements so ymmv. Excellent plus.

10/28/2009 - King Angry wrote:

this just keeps getting better and better and better as it steamrolls anything drunk alongside it. Rapidly gaining ground on the '79 and '88 CdM, I'm becoming more and more convinced it will pass them by with some more bottle age. Drink it now or drink it when it's 60+ years old, either way it's only a matter of when it moves into Killer/Killer plus territory. Currently Killer minus.

10/28/2009 - King Angry wrote:

although the fill on this was a touch low it was an outstanding example of one of my favorite champagnes. Lively effervescence good structure with some white chocolate, caramel, coffee and almonds. Yellow fruits peeking through. Staggering minus

10/28/2009 - King Angry wrote:

Solid example of this classic CdC. Still vibrant with excellent acidity but with mature notes of toffee and a hint of coffee. The popcorn flavors are still there along with the lemons but they're no longer in the front seat. Excellent

10/28/2009 - King Angry wrote:

Initially the nose is a bit off putting with some dirty sweat sock aromas. However, after it sits in the glass those notes blow off to reveal a classic CdC. There's a definite tie to the '89 drank a couple of days ago in the butter popcorn and sweet lemon profile. Excellent plus.

10/28/2009 - King Angry wrote:

still extremely youthful and vibrant. Pale color. The palate delivers with big red fruit, surely pinot dominated but with no heaviness. Not a hint of oxidation, but there are some complex and mature flavors of nuts and toffee. Great stuff. Staggering minus

10/28/2009 - King Angry wrote:

one of, if not my favorite '89. Bright and clean yellow fruit. Sweet lemons. Some buttered popcorn with a touch of cream that finishes with crisp acidity. CdC's are still a bargain for what they deliver. Excellent plus

10/28/2009 - King Angry wrote:

a big powerful wine with heavy rich fruit that is cut and kept in check by the acidity. To me, very obvious pinot fruit, more so than the '95 version. I'd heard that this was strikingly similar to the '96 Krug vintage, but drinking them side by side, it is not. Already some mature notes and good complexity. The million dollar question - How will it age? Is it a 25yr or 50 yr wine? Olivier was refreshingly candid and said "We'll have to wait and see, nobody knows". It will be interesting to track these wines. The '95 has improved each of the four times I've tasted it and was more austere on release than the '96 was last evening. The release price will be lower than last year, but its still extremely high tariff limits how often you can check its evolution. With room to move up the trademarked KA rating scale, it's currently an Excellent plus.

10/19/2009 - King Angry wrote:

Black label also disgorged in '06. Much more floral and feminine than the '69. Lilacs, violets and perfumed. Was drowned out a bit by the previous wine and would have surely shown even better than it did had it been served alone. Excellent plus.

10/19/2009 - King Angry wrote:

Black Label disgorged in '06 was lights out on the nose alone. Classic DP aromas of smoke, cream, vanilla, coffee, yeasty bread and toffee. A touch of walnuts as well. Smelled rich and tasted even richer. Perfect acidity to balance the creamy roundness. Ridiculously good My WOTN as well as several others. Killer minus

10/14/2009 - King Angry wrote:

Light gold color more reminiscent of a 25 year old wine than a 45 year old wine. Light but steady stream of rising bubbles in the glass. Some coffee, honey and a touch of burnt caramel. Very long finsih with surprisingly crisp acidity. One of the best bottles of Rene Lalou I've had, and I'm a big fan of other vintages/bottles. Staggering.

10/14/2009 - King Angry wrote:

Dark golden colored with what looked like little effervescence based on sight, but plenty of liveliness on the palate. Very rich, dripping with honey with enough touches of fruit to make it complex. A touch light on the acidity, but still vibrant enough. Not the best example of this wine, but still quite pleasurable.

10/14/2009 - King Angry wrote:

Black label. This was crushing it, the real deal, deep ocean and lumber all wrapped up in one. Smoky, creamy and rich. Touches of honey, almonds, hazelnuts, coffee and more. This is a bottle for all of you DP haters out there. Find one, buy one, drink one and you'll be a convert -guaranteed. Monumental plus.