Birthday Champagne: Eight wines to celebrate with
Decanter's content director, John Stimpfig, went along to the annual London Champagne tasting to sample the offering and choose his top eight Champagnes - perfect for a birthday or special occasion.
Last week saw the annual Champagne tasting in London with more than 60 brands showing their wares. The Comité Champagne (formerly CIVC) also used the event to confirm that the UK remains their biggest export market, which it has been since 1996.
The eight wines feature a ‘heart-stoppingly good’ Pol Roger Blanc de Blancs 2008, ‘a supremely seductive’ Alfred Gratien 2006, Cuvée Paradis Brut and a ‘classic and classy’ Louis Roederer Rosé 2010.
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Birthday Champagne: Eight of the best
Veuve Clicquot, La Grande Dame, Champagne, France, 2006
The last in the sequence of Grandes Dames with a healthy slug of Chardonnay (47% in 2006), this is the child of a capricious and...
2006
Veuve Clicquot
Deutz, Cuvée William Deutz, Champagne, France, 2002
95
This wine is a blend of 55% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Meunier, this is a benchmark 2002, which shows little sign of ageing. Partly what attracts me to it are its various contradictions. For instance, the way it is supremely structured but also so light on its feet. Equally, it is beguilingly generous but also winningly fresh and vivacious. It has a broad palate spectrum encompassing pain grille, citrus, nougat and minerals in one very subtle, serious and accessible package. It is just beginning to drink now and will age for another 20 years with consummate ease.
2002
Deutz
Pol Roger, Blanc de Blancs, Champagne, France, 2008
Pol Roger remains Spurrier’s favourite champagne ‘by far’, he said, and you can see why in this sublime, benchmark Blanc de Blancs. 2008 was an...
2008
Pol Roger
Jacquesson, Cuvée 734 DT, Champagne, France
94
Based in Dizy the Chiquet brothers (a Jean-Herve and Laurent) are dedicated Champagne ‘terrroiristes’, who invariably seek to express the full personality of the vintage and their specific soils. They are also arch traditionalists who like to vinify in old oak demi muids (500L) ‘to allow the wine to breathe’. The Champagne Jacquesson Cuvee 734 DT (Degorgment Tardif) is based on the 2006 vintage in which 15,000 bottles were held back and received an extra four years lees ageing (eight in total) before release. This is bone dry and ripples with austere, mineral extract. En bouche, there’s also lithe pear skin, toast and great savoury intensity. Just beginning to open up, this is a beguilingly distinctive and seriously complex vin de garde.
Jacquesson
Lanson, Gold Label, Champagne, France, 2008
It’s thanks to wines like this, that the 2008 vintage has attracted such attention. True to the traditional Lanson style, developed over 250 years, Champagne...
2008
Lanson
Louis Roederer, Rosé Vintage, Champagne, France, 2010
90
Surprisingly pale, but certainly very, very interesting. Champagne Louis Roederer Rosé Vintage 2010 has a minerally nose with brioche and citrus fruit. The pink elements come more into play on the palate with rose petal flavours alongside subtle quince, citrus and savoury cox’s apple. Dry, fresh and long, the overall effect is one of delicacy, depth and sophistication. Classic and classy.
2010
Louis Roederer
Alfred Gratien, Brut, Cuvée Paradis, Champagne, France, 2006
90
One of my favourite producers and cuvees, Champagne Alfred Gratien Cuvée Paradis Brut 2006 is supremely seductive and will remain so for many years yet. Fresh, intensely savoury with hay, gingerbread and toasty autolytic flavours, it is expansive, generous and dry. If you like a richer, oxidative style of Champagne, this Epernay-based maison is one of the great ‘go to’ houses to find it.
2006
Alfred Gratien
Castelnau, Blanc de Blancs, Champagne, France, 2003
90
An impressive and surprising fizz from the warm Champagne de Castelnau Blanc de Blancs 2003 vintage. The 100% Chardonnay fruit comes from crus on the Montagne de Reims (Trepail, Ludes, Villers-Marmery, Verzy, Tauxierre and Rilly) and a number from the Cotes des Blancs, including Chouilly and le Mesnil-sur-Oger). It certainly has bags of personality, aroma and flavour. Nor is it short on acidity. Having spent eleven years on the lees, there’s a compote of creamy, hazelnut, candied citrus fruits and a dry, toasty, savoury finish. Fresh, balanced and expansive, this has real length and texture. Delicious now and for the next four years. Sadly, only 11,000 bottles were made.
2003
Castelnau
