Kim and I were talking a few months back about how good all of the different Tete de Cuvee Champagnes are and we wondered aloud how much the label (ie knowing what you are drinking and the price) affects the individual’s flavor impression and reaction to the wine. We could both think of circumstances in which extremely expensive wines were given more lee-way in having off/strange/tired flavors that other less “prestigious” wines. We decided to put together a Blind Tasting of Tete de Cuvee Champagnes and loosely pair it with some fantastic sushi from our friends from Oishii Sushi off of Maple. The line-up for the night would include 4 Bruts and 4 Roses and we would hold the tasting single blind. The thought process being that we wanted to have people debate pre-dinner what the winners would be and get excited about the event. In a perfect world maybe next time we do it double blind. It was a great time had by all! Here were some shots from the evening:
The Brut Champagnes for the dinner were these:
1998 Henriot “Cuvee des Enchanteleurs”
2002 Pol Roger “Sir Winston Churchill”
2002 Salon
2006 Louis Roederer “Cristal”
The Rose Champagnes for the dinner were these:
NV Armand de Brignac Rose
2004 Moet & Chandon “Dom Perignon Rose”
2004 Veuve Clicquot “La Grande Dame Rose”
2004 Bollinger “La Grande Annee Rose”
The methodology was pretty simple: we poured all 4 of the Bruts before people came into the room. I decanted the 4 Roses and put them in the fridge. We poured them after I had talked about all of the Bruts before we did the vote taking and the reveal. We took a vote of the room to determine the Best Brut and the Best Rose. Simon counted the votes and much smack was talked. Some people identified all four of the Brut Champagnes blind but the Rose were more elusive blind. The votes were cast and the winners were identified:
The 1998 Henriot Cuvee des Enchanteleurs won for Best Brut and 2004 Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame Rose won for Best Rose.
The Brut category was really spectacular but the 1998 Henriot was a real stand out taking 8 votes. It was by far the most mature of these bottlings with 17 years of age on it and I think that maturity really proved beneficial in this format. By contrast, the 2006 Cristal was bright, toasty, pure and taught. I loved the Cristal but it was in need of some cellar aging to flesh our the myriad of Orchard, Stone and Citrus fruits. There was a beautiful pear tart component and a salty element that were awesome there too. The Cristal only got one vote. The 2002 Winston Churchill was my personal favorite and it got three votes. It was powerful, bold, layered and expansive. It was the one Brut I wanted to pilfer a bottle for myself to drink listening to classical music with a cigar. The 2002 Salon was a bundle of power that needs a good decade of aging to reach approach-ability. Salt, green apple, electricity, chalk, citrus blossoms, iodine, sourdough and spice came through in wave after wave of spectacular flavor. That 2002 Salon is a special wine for the future.
The Roses were a lot harder to tell the difference between producers and 3 of the 4 were from the 2004 vintage so variability with age was a non-factor. The NV Armand de Brignac Rose did the least good only winning one vote but the wine was pure and delicious, even if it did lack some of the autolytic richness presented by the other, more well-received Roses from the tasting. Fresh strawberries, pomegranate and orange zest marked this slurpable Ace of Spades Rose. The 2004 Bollinger La Grande Annee Rose was also a bit more fruit dominant and more oxidative in style (like the house style would indicate) and it only managed a vote or two as well. Nice and tasty with cranberry, red cherry and strawberry notes to go with the fresh red and pink flowers and I even think I smelled cotton candy in there. It was my least favorite Champagne of the night but I would still happily kill a bottle all by myself:) The crowd was pretty evenly split between the 2004 Dom P Rose and the 2004 La Grande Dame Rose. I personally thought the 2004 Dom Perignon Rose was the best Rose on the table. Unlike the 2003 Rose, the 2004 had a precise, chalky, even funky nose of great Champagne with the toasty, autolytic richness that makes Dom P world-renowned. This is the newest Rose release and this puppy will drink majestically for 25 years from now. If 2004 is a special year for you, stock up! In comparison, the 2004 La Grande Dame Rose was drinking majestically today with a Pinot Noir dominated richness that makes this Rose so exquisite. I drank another bottle of it yesterday and there is a real plumpness of ripe sweet citrus and red berry fruit that goes down so darn smooth. The richness that LGD always has showed through as well. I would be happy to age this bubbler as well but there is no need. It is divine now!
As always happens at Graileys, several other killer bottles were opened and enjoyed. These wines included:
2005 Bellovedere
2013 Ceritas Chardonnay Peter Martin Ray Vineyard
2006 Francois Gaunoux Meursault Goutte d’Or 1er Cru
NV Krug Grande Cuvee
2010 Opus One
2011 Opus One
2013 Entre Nous Rose
1998 Troplong Mondot
1969 Faiveley Charmes Chambertin (Freaking Awesome!!)
2012 Dominus “Napanook”
2010 The Grade Cab
1976 Cos d’Estournel
2013 Arista Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard
2004 SQN Pokerface Syrah
2011 Denis Mortet Lavaux St Jacques 1er Cru
2012 Philip Togni Cab
2012 Espectacle del Montsant
2012 Futo OVSL
2008 Jack Quinn Cab
Whew… That was a great time had by all!!