Credits: Article and images by Ken Gargett @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2023/08/21/the-joy-of-champagne-ii-an-incredible-tasting-session-of-simply-superlative-champagnes/
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Taittinger Comtes de Champagne 2002
The next wine was simply transcendent. The Taittinger Comtes de Champagne 2002 in magnum. If I was so fortunate as to drink this once a year, I would be a very happy man. We have looked at Comtes several times at Q&P, so readers will be aware of how much I love that wine and 2002, especially from magnum, is one of the truly great examples.
Taittinger Comtes de Champagne 2002 magnum
This magnum was in perfect condition. A glorious blanc de blancs, complex, incredibly long, still tight and focused. Notes of stonefruit, spices, lemon sponge cake and crème brûlée. The only reason this did not get 100 was that there was even better to come (which seems a poor, indeed unfair, reason for it not to have scored full whack). 99+.
Moet et Chandon 1964
For the first time, we moved away from a blanc de blancs to a blended champagne, in this case one which contained all three grapes – Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Meunier. A magnum of Moet et Chandon 1964. Yes, the basic old Moet. I know what you are thinking. How did this sneak into such illustrious company (you really should not think that – Moet is an exceptionally well-crafted champagne, especially considering the incredible amount made).
Moet et Chandon 1964
The reason for its appearance was that one of our number is a 1964 freak – her all-time, ultimate favorite vintage. And that is more than partly based on the glorious Dom Perignon 1964, a truly awesome (in the correct sense of the word) wine. Could we really hope that the standard Moet would perform well in that company? Could we what! For me, this was not just the best champagne of the day, it was not just the best champagne of the year to date, it was the best wine of the year so far. Wow!
Charles Curtis, in his ‘Vintage Champagne: 1899 to 2019’, which we have used numerous times here, gives 1964 five stars, “a superb vintage” and even mentions the Dom. Richard Juhlin also gives the vintage five stars.
The magnum had spent 39 years on lees followed by another twenty on cork. Complexity personified. Golden bronze in color, there were notes of cumquats, orange rind, white chocolate, mandarins and so much more.
An extraordinary champagne with such incredible length. It just never seemed to end, nor did the intensity waiver for an instant. This is still bright and fresh and immaculately balanced, but there is a decadence here that is extremely compelling. 100 points, every single day of the year. If I could drink this once a decade, I’d be an extremely happy man!
Salon 1995
Next up, a return to blanc de blancs, with perhaps the most famous BdB of them all, Salon. This one, a magnum of 1995. My view of 1995 as a vintage is that, had 1996 not come along with its impossibly seductive 10/10, 1995 would be the famous vintage over which we’d all be raving. The 10/10 phenomenon is the very rarely seen combination of a vintage with 10 degrees of potential alcohol and 10 g/l of acidity. So, it has the sugar levels seen in 1990 and 1989, but the acidity of the 1986 and 1980 vintages.
Salon Blanc de Blancs magnum
Salon is simply one of the most thrilling champagnes available, though only made in tiny quantities and only as a vintage wine. It was different to the Comtes, as one would expect, but I could not say which was better. Both so good. This was like glacéd lemon and hazelnuts with frangipani notes. Like drinking liquid crystal (as opposed to Cristal). Balanced and elegant, with crunchy acidity and a never-ending finish. 99+.
Last year, the 1996 Salon was our ‘Lord, take me now’, wine. This year, any of the last three would have more than qualified.
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Credits: Article and images by Ken Gargett @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2023/08/21/the-joy-of-champagne-ii-an-incredible-tasting-session-of-simply-superlative-champagnes/
