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Thu, October 16, 2008 |
Last Updated: October 14,2008 5:03:25 pm
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September 30th, 2008, By
The Champions Of Champagne
 It's time to crack a bottle of the bubbly. The NewsChampagne has never been so abundant or available in such consistently high quality. However, newbies always face the difficult challenge of trying to decide what bottle is worth buying. This handy champagne guide should help make the decision a little easier. Behind the NewsEvery now and then it’s important to crack open a bottle of the bubbly. Sure it’s expensive, but it’s also undeniably delicious and can be the perfect nightcap on a successful date (provided that date wasn’t a McDonalds and drive-in movie combination of course). Champagne has long been a beloved luxury of the upperclass, but the popularity is starting to boom. New companies are producing wonderful bottles, while the mainstays are continuing to prove why they deserve their reputations. It’s a great time be a champagne-lover, so consider these options the next time you need to Christen a new yacht by breaking a bottle.
Pierre Peters’ NV Grand Cru Brut Cuvee De Reserve: The flavors lean toward yeast and grain, but the palate is rewarded with ample richness and fine balance. Bottles retail at $40 and are well worth it. *The “NV” in the title means non-vintage, or grapes that have been harvested in different years. Pierre Peters’ Cuvee Speciale 1999: Pierrer Peters’ is a growing and dependable brand. If you enjoyed their NV offering and want to step up to an aged selection, this is the way to go. The price climbs to $70, but the French know that only superb years deserve to be awarded vintage status. If this was crap, they would have been discarded it long ago. Blanc de Blanc d’Ay: Gaston Chiquet grows chardonnay in the pinot-rich village of Ay. His ancestors have been making champagne there since 1746. Simply put, the man knows his stuff and you can trust him to give you a quality bottle. Try the regular Blanc de Blanc bottle for $40, or step up to the 1998 Club Millesime at $65 a bottle for the next level of delicious champagnery (no, it’s not a word. But it should be). Curvee Laetitia: Grand cru is a term thrown around in the wine-making to designate an area of impressive growth. Why mention that little nugget of winery info? Because H. Billiot FIls are located in the grand cru village of Ambonnay and produce a lone, but spectacular champagne. Curvee Laetitia has a demanding cost of $80 per bottle, but the second the succulent beverage hits your lips you’ll be grad to have spent every penny. If you want to appear like a Sideways-esque Champagne expert at a party, this is the ideal bottle to use to fake it. Le Nombre d’Or Campanae Veteres Vites 2000: This company also boasts an 18th-century pedigree and utilizes some lesser-known grapes (arbanne, petit meslier, and fromenteau). The result is some of the most amazing champagne on the market. For $66 you get a bottle that promises a unique flavor and extraordinary high quality. If you don’t try this champagne, none of the other kids on the playground will think that you’re cool. Ne d’Une Terre de Vertus NV: At $65, you can expect a delightful champagne, but with a twist. This bottle is prepared in a manner that many small growers swear by: it is completely natural, with no artificial sweeteners used at any time. You might think that this would lead to a rather dull and disappointing drink, but one sip and all of your concerns will drift away. Consider this champagne for your hardcore vegan friend. Vilmart & Cie’s Cuvee Rubis Rose Brut NV: This $59 bottle of rose champagne is a high quality bottle that sports a novelty pink hue. It’s the perfect drink for the Molly Ringwald fan or easily impressed sorority girl in your life. The colour doesn’t affect the flavor or quality of the champagne, it just makes things a little more aesthetically interesting. Cristal: Simply put, Cristal is the champagne of…er…champagne. If money is not object and you simply must have the best, then Cristal is your only choice. At $350 a bottle, it’s certainly a pricey venture, but one that’s instantly rewarded by the finest champagne available. Plus you can carry it around town and impress everyone you see and that’s always a plus. That concludes the martiniboys champagne guide. It’s certainly by no means a definitive list of what’s out there, but a nice selection of choices that will never fail. If you’re a serious champagne lover looking more helpful tips on your favourite beverage, look into getting Mary’s Garden’s Champagne Saver. It costs $200-$550 but does the perfect job of saving that half-full bottle of bubbly. Of course, if you were really a champagne lover you’d never leave a bottle unfinished anyways, now would you? – P.B. Comments
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audiominer says
Champagne has always been one of my favorite adult beverages but I never understood why anyone would ever pay more than $40 per bottle- even if they have money to burn!
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