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Champagne
(nv) Brut
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December
9, 2002 • Murphy Bank
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 Bubbles,
bubbles, bubbles. We picked ten of the best known, most
popular labels' non-vintage offerings and subjected them
to our collective appreciative scrutiny. We do SO like
our sparkling wines, and Champagne most of all. An
assortment of caviar, cheeses, nuts and crackers
accompanied.
While they all were
very enjoyable to taste, our panel had a difficult task
in ranking these wines. Each wine was appealing in its
own way; none were unsound. Choosing between them was
more a matter of style than quality and called for a lot
of hand-wringing and nit-picking. We may have been
equally accurate to select by coin toss or label beauty.
The final numbers
clearly separated the wines into three groups, but any of
these wines should be quite enjoyable, should you care to
make your own evaluation ...
Brand
Varietal /
"Type"
Vintage, Appellation,
Vineyard
TASTING
NOTES:
Color; aroma; flavor; body;
balance; finish. Alcohol. Varietal
composition
(if known). Summary. ($
paid)
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Wines are considered
Equal Quality
Within Categories of Recommendation
(Listed
Alphabetically by Brand)
consensus
terms appear in bold
(possible flaws? are in brackets)
* indicates a second or third party
WEBSITE
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HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED
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  Mumm
Brut "Cordon Rouge" (nv)
Reims
Clear, pale
straw, fairly active bubbles went flat
relatively quickly; clean, fresh, stark, lightly
fruity, Chardonnay, apples, citrus, grapefruit,
yeast, toast and roasted coffee aromas
(fishy? Lucite?); fairly expansive, creamy-silky
texture; clean, light, fruity, citrus,
grapefruit, nutty, yeasty,
pleasant, soft, almost sweet
flavors (bland?); very well-balanced;
pleasantly lingering finish. 12% alcohol. A
blend of 45% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay and 25%
Pinot Meunier. The Mumm Red Stripe has been a
popular favorite for many years. This
crowd-pleaser is very smooth and round, may be
too light for some tastes (one of our panel said
he preferred seltzer water). ($41)
WEBSITE
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 Veuve
Clicquot Ponsardin
 Brut
"Carte Jaune" (nv) Reims
Clear, pale
straw; very light, citric, apple, toast,
butter and yeast aromas; very expansive,
full, with a rich, soft, creamy
texture; clean, light, gentle, wispy,
faintly sweet flavors integrate fruit and
yeast well; well-balanced, very
slightly tart; lemony, yeasty flavors
linger well in finish. 12% alcohol. A blend of
Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay
(portions not disclosed). A perennial favorite
of our panel, the appeal is primarily in the
rich, creamy texture and round balance. Widely
available at deep discounts under $30. ($38)
WEBSITE
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 Piper-Heidsieck
 Brut
"Piper" (nv) Reims
Clear, pale
straw, slow rising, small bubbles; clean, fairly
deep, floral, citrus, green olive, yeast,
bread, toast and roasted nut aromas
(medicinal?); slightly expansive, frothy,
creamy; clean, light, sweet, sappy, blossomy
flavors of citrus, toast, bread
dough; slightly tart, very
well-balanced; medium-long finish.
12% alcohol. An appealingly elegant style, walks
the middle line between delicacy and yeasty
fullness. ($24) WEBSITE
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RECOMMENDED
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  Deutz
Brut "Classic"
(nv) Ay
Clear, pale
straw, steady, even bubble stream; very light at
first, but warming released fresh, floral,
sweet, pear, apple and
citrus fruit with rich, biscuit
dough and autolyzed yeast aromas; slightly
expansive bubbles, pleasant mouth feel; light,
roasted nut, apple, soft citrus, quince and
slightly sweet, rich flavors turn somewhat
tangy, grapefruit or aspirin-like; crisp
balance; medium to short finish is
tart, slightly bitter, peppery,
aspirin-like. 12% alcohol. Another fruit-forward
style, although this wine overall seemed a
little odd, disjointed, jumpy, schizophrenic,
bipolar, and full of intrigue. While lacking
internal harmony, it got along quite well with
our food. ($38) WEBSITE
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  Laurent-Perrier
Brut "L.P." (nv) Reims
Clear, light
straw, fast rising, pinpoint bubbles; light,
restrained, clean, apple, citrus,
toast, yeast, smoke and vinous
aromas; very expansive mousse; clean, brisk,
faintly sweet flavors of fruit, green
apple, citrus,pear, yeast and lees
(bland?); good balance, soft, faintly low acid;
medium to somewhat short, crisp finish
(metallic?). 12% alcohol. This house boasts a
"large portion of Chardonnay", although the
exact percentage remains undisclosed. A
youthful, delicate style, where fruit plays as
much of a role as yeast development. ($35)
WEBSITE
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  Moët
& Chandon
Brut "Impérial" (nv)
Epernay
Clear, very
pale straw, small, active bubbles; very light,
almost no aroma, barely suggests flowers,
vanilla grapefruit, yeast; light, mild
mouth feel; flavors show fruit, slight
sweetness, toast, bread dough and yeast
(matchstick? medicinal?); excellent
balance, slightly tart; pleasant, flavorful,
if somewhat short, aftertaste. 12%
alcohol. A blend of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier
and Chardonnay (portions not disclosed). Will
never steal the show, but very easy to drink;
for those who prefer a light, delicate touch to
their bubbles. ($46) WEBSITE
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  Louis
Roederer
Brut "Premier" (nv)
Reims
Clear, medium
straw, very small, lazy, slow-rising bead;
complex, lots of fruit, citrus and yeast,
but also faintly earthy, chemical, green
smelling (musty? oxidized?); lightly expansive
bubbles, creamy texture; toasty,
yeasty, bread dough flavors are fat,
rich, ripe with succulent fruit, grapefruit;
slightly tart, good balance (sour?);
long, dry, somewhat rough, bitter, aspirin
finish. 12% alcohol. Blend of 56% Pinot Noir,
34% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Meunier. The
flavors of this wine were well-liked are very
appealing; little nervous tics, however, in the
aroma and finish kept it from being top-ranked.
($42) WEBSITE
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  Taittinger
Brut "La Francaise" (nv)
Reims
Clear, straw
to light gold, lively bubbles; fairly assertive
fruit, citrus, apple, smoke, toast, nut,
biscuit dough and yeast aromas with
faintly vegetal and mineral notes (metallic?);
light, very fine mousse with a rich mouth
feel, creamy texture; clean, mouth-filling,
big flavors of fruit, lemon, almonds and
biscuit dough; crisp, slightly
tart balance; fairly long, green apple
finish (angular? stiff? rough?). 12% alcohol. A
blend of 60% Pinot Noir with 40% Chardonnay.
Abundant aroma and flavor here, not at all
delicate or reticent (one panelist thought is
was beer-like). The relative abundance of or
lack of acidity was quite controversial, but the
wine continued to please, even after warming up.
($35) WEBSITE
also 2
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TASTED
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  Nicolas
Feuillatte
Brut (nv) Epernay
Clear pale
gold, not very active bubbles; vanilla,
apple juice, dried cherry, citrus, herb, perfume
and yeast aromas (dull? medicinal?
oxidized?); more foamy than expansive;
yeast, vanilla, floral, apple and dry,
green, buttery, seem oxidized at
the same time; balance is citric, quite
tart (sour?); finishes with tart and
medicinal, mouth-coating flavors. 12% alcohol.
This wine was not balanced and left an overall
impression of unripe and oxidized fruit; some
panelists thought it needed a chaser (luckily,
we had several at hand to choose from). ($24)
WEBSITE
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  Krug
Brut "Grande Cuvée" (nv)
Reims
Clear light
gold; complex, floral, talcum powder, pear,
nutty, toasty, woody, Sherry and
caramel aromas (oxidized?); very slightly
expansive, very fine bubbles; older, mature
cuvée, fino sherry, yeasty and
toasty flavors with citrus, Mandarin orange,
lemon and a hint of oxidation; good
balance, tart; very long finishing
flavors are even better than in-mouth flavors
(medicinal?). 12% alcohol. Unmistakably older
style cuvée, from the color to the
minuscule bead, does not suit all palates (quite
controversial among our panelists), but is
considered to be a classic style. Best
served without food accompaniment, where it can
be the center of attention. House of Krug is now
owned by Clicquot. ($110) WEBSITE
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This
Panel
included Regulars Deanna, Bob, Roy, Jon,
Ray, Tammy, Jim L., Betsy, Ron and Jim V. and
Guest Peter
About
Champagne
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