October 1, 2022 - Beautiful reflective gold with slight signs of oxidation. Nose of curry, beeswax, old honey, on a very expressive nose. Pleasant oxidation with wonderfully alive lemon fruit at the mod-palate through the finish. Notes of beeswax as well. Exquisite.
December 31, 2018 - With great reluctance I opened my last bottle of this wonderful wine tonight. Soft-sweet sherry notes with a citric (mandarin?) undertone. Absolutely delicious, but hard to pair. We drank with caviar and crab raviolis but it is so succulent that a cheese course might have been a better match. Probably should rate higher but I will be conservative - jealous of anyone who still has more in their cellar.
December 22, 2017 - This is the second bottle of old VC I have been fortunate to taste over the past few months. Delightful, with mature hazelnut characteristics and a fresh zippy finish. Going strong. (93)
July 30, 2017 - Still lively and truly delicious. Full of that toasty, mushroom flavor that only comes from aged. vintage champagne.
May 21, 2017 - Wow...what a great champagne with lots of walnut, sherry like and still a fresh taste
December 3, 2016 - Marked difference in style from the Krug. Very yeasty with lots of brioche on the nose.
More high toned than the Krug. More youthful tasting too. Balance between fruit and acid is superb. Just as good as the Krug tonight.
October 28, 2016 - The darker one of my 2 bottles. Started a bit warm and oxidized. Very dark yellow in color, almost orange. A bit of caramel, honey, and brown sugar on the nose. After 30 minutes of additonal air and chill it picks some some acidity and exhibits some Krug-like balance between oxidized notes and acidity. The mousse is fading and it might be past peak for some, but this is drinking remarkably well tonight. Very much looking forward to the next bottle.
October 22, 2016 - Deep amber yellow. Some fine bubbles left for the first few pours. Initially, full of caramel and other maderized notes, quite weighty. Magically, air did it wonders-it freshened and blossomed faint orange fruit in addition to the old Champagne aromas and flavors. This wound up holding up for a full 2 hours and provided a great deal of pleasure, much more than I anticipated at first whiff.
July 11, 2015 - Rich and muscular, burnished, little to no oxidation, grilled nuts, dry and salty. I will say that the mousse could be more refined. With air it improves, even seems to get longer and saltier. Wish it was a magnum simply because I wanted more. Great stuff.
June 25, 2013 - Bud's 70th at Ortega Fish Shack (Ortega Fish Shack, Wellington, New Zealand): Out of Magnum and from a cold 12 degree celcius cellar, this wine was incredibly fresh and vibrant - tasting much the way it tasted upon release with subtle bottle age character that increases the wine's drinkability. . A great vintage VC which still has crisp and sweet primary fruit nuance on palate and nose - this wine showed much better than the Salon 1990 drunk a few days previously.