Champagne

This is one of the better vintages of Dom Perignon.  It is truly amazing to make a wine of this quality at the amount of quantity they make.  Drink alongside some other 2008 heavyweights, and this more than held its own.  Light golden in color with a touch of green, clear and bright.  Lovely mousse with lots of small bubbles.  The nose has brioche, lemons and smoke.  Very big and powerful.  On the palate, tart lemons over a nice minerality.  Great mouthfeel.  So smooth and easy to drink.  Yet, deep and complex.  Starting to get past the baby stage and flexing some muscles at this point.  Gr

Wow.  An ethereal wine that is both intense and present yet also so light as it dances on the palate.  Silvery gold in color with a fine bead of tiny bubbles making up the mousse.  The nose has some smoke and light citrus but the minerality steals the show for m.  On the palate, the lime and tangerine come out a bit more over a nice mineral base.  More lemon on the very long finish.  It is also delicious.  This is young but drinks so easily.  Can it get better?  I would say no, it will just change.  Drink any time over the next couple of decades.  This would work with just about any food an

A stellar vintage for this luxury cuvee from one of the older Champagne houses.  In a market that has exploded in pricing, this is one of the better values in luxury cuvee's.  This vintage is 92% Pinot Noir and 8% Chardonnay.  Silvery gold in color, clear and bright with a nice mousse of lots of tiny bubbles.  There is some fruit on the nose (pears) but its mostly about minerality/chalk with a bit of smoke.  Full bodied but yet lean and racy acidity.  The minerality and chalk carry thru to the palate.  Some light cherry notes compliment it well.  This is exciting to drink and one of the bet

This is a nice Champagne with a strong marketing team behind it.  They push the Marquis de Mysteriale line as being a "new story" in French winemaking, but this wine seems pretty traditional.  Of course, in Champagne, that is not a bad thing at all!  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  There are a lot of tiny bubbles making up the mousse.  The nose is nice with brioche and a slightly nutty note.  Medium bodied.  Good acidity.  On the palate, toast, with green apples.  Moderate finish.  This drinks well on its own and is very food friendly.  A nice way to begin an evening.  

Great showing for this wine.  I did not find a vintage code that was decipherable on the label so it is unclear what vintages made this bottle (LALBU).  It was excellent.  Medium deep ruby/orange in color, clear and bright.  A thick mousse with lots of tiny bubbles.  On the nose, this is very pretty with raspberries and strawberries.  Those flavors carry thru to the palate with some apple added in along with underlying minerality.  Very lively acidity.  Nice finish.  This wine should be consumed in the next five years or so.  It will work with just about any food from pop corn to BBQ Ribs. 

A phenomenal wine in a phenomenal vintage.  Dom really nailed it in 2008.  Light green/gold in color with lots of tiny bubbles.  The nose has lemons, brioche, and slight smoke.  On the palate, this is seamless.  Smooth.  Tart lemons, chalk and crushed rocks.  A very long finish.  Delicious and deep.  This is still young with lots of energy.  It should drink like this for another ten years before starting to mature for another twenty to thirty after that.  It will work with virtually any food.  An incredible wine.   

From a grower producer in the village of  Chouilly. This is packaged in an attractive squat bottle.  It is 100% Chardonnay.  Silvery gold in color with a slight copper hue.  Lots of tiny bubbles.  The nose has seltzer, brioche and smoke.  On the palate, pears come out and a slight hint of lime.  There is a gravely base to it.  It does seem to have just the slightest bit of sweetness to it.  A long finish.  This is drinking great now and should continue for another five to seven years.  After that it should mature well for another decade for those who like that style.  It will work with just

This is a lovely Champagne and a nice way to celebrate with friends and start an evening.  Pale yellow gold in color.  It has a nice mousse with lots of tiny bubbles.  On the nose, there is lemons and seltzer water.  On the palate, this has lemon candy.  nice acidity.  Slightly sweet on the finish.  Some depth.  This is a recent release.  It is very food friendly and also drinks well on its own.  

This is the luxury cuvee of Moet & Chandon.  It might be the most well known of all of the luxury cuvees.  The amazing thing is that they make 5 million bottles of this wine every time they produce it.  Of course, it is not produced in every vintage.  They have made a 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009 and now this 2008.  So, it is made almost every year.  The 2008 is special though.  it is probably the best vintage since 1996.  It is expensive, but for a top notch luxury Champagne it is reasonable.  If you do open a bottle, pay attention.  Don't just open to start a night and let the f