French champagne outsparkles all bubblies
Published 9:00 pm Saturday, December 23, 2006
No sparkling wine compares with French champagne. Almost no one can resist its immense complexity, ethereal lightness and the dance of its pinpoint bubbles across the palate.
Although it’s possible to spend $100 or more for a memorable champagne, you don’t have to. Nonvintage brut champagne remains an affordable luxury.
Piper-Heidsieck Brut is a price leader among the major-brand nonvintage bruts. It is being pitched at under $30 on sale. If you are in a hurry to beat the long checkout lines, look no further. Most stores feature Piper-Heidsieck prominently. Though not my top pick, it’s a terrific bottle of bubbly, offering a warm, toasty style at a great price.
The most exciting discovery last season was the revived Perrier-Jouet Grand Brut ($29 to $35), reformulated in a brighter style thought to appeal to younger, vodka-savvy drinkers. Its daring, ultra-dry style is thrilling. (Note: The new blend has “Imported by Allied Domecq Wines” printed on the back label.) In a similarly new wave style, Pommery Brut Royal ($35) is bold, lively and delicious.
If your taste is more House of Lords than new wave, Bollinger Special Cuvee ($37) and Pol Roger Extra Cuvee de Reserve ($30 to $35) are still made in the beefy, pinot noir-dominated style loved by Winston Churchill. Because Bollinger is the ultimate food champagne, it’s a clear first choice for a New Year’s Eve champagne buffet or dinner. Pol Roger is one to stock up on at the sales this year, to be enjoyed next year. A year-old bottle may be the best nonvintage brut on the market.
Other standouts this year are Charles Heidsieck and Heidsieck-Monopole, which, despite their names, are unrelated in the present day to each other or to price leader Piper-Heidsieck. Heidsieck-Monopole “Premier Cru” Blue Top ($40), packaged in a bright yellow bottle to distinguish it from the regular Blue Top ($30), is a hard-charging chardonnay-dominated blend with a finish that lasts an astonishing 30 seconds. Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve ($40), though not vintage-dated and priced at the high end of the nonvintage category, offers the mellow refinement of a luxury vintage cuvee.
Champagnes from smaller houses are also worth exploring. Although they are obscure (perhaps because they can’t afford the national advertising campaigns of the major brands), many are well priced, often as low as $19.99. Although the ones I tasted were not as good as the best of the major brands, they are indubitably champagne, which means they are very good indeed.
The following nonvintage French champagnes are listed in order of personal preference based on price and quality. Prices are approximate.
Outstanding
Perrier-Jouet Brut Grand Brut ($29 to $35); Heidsieck-Monopole “Premier Cru” Blue Top in the yellow bottle ($40); Piper-Heidsieck Brut ($25 to $28); Pol Roger Brut Extra Cuvee de Reserve ($29 to $38); Pierre Peters Brut Blanc de Blancs Cuvee de Reserve ($45).
Very Good
Pommery Brut Royal ($35); Pommery Brut Champagne Royal Apanage ($45). The regular Royal offers the brisk style of the top-rated Perrier-Jouet. The Royal Apanage adds finesse.
Bollinger Brut Special Cuvee ($37), Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve ($40), Heidsieck-Monopole Blue Top ($30), G.H. Mumm Brut Cordon Rouge ($32), Henriot Brut Souverain ($39), Montaudon Brut ($35), Besserat de Bellefon Brut Cuvee des Moines ($42), Pannier Brut Selection ($33), Taittinger Brut La Francaise ($35-$40), Joseph Perrier Brut Cuvee Royale ($36), Gosset Brut Excellence ($33 to $38), Vve Fourny &Fils Brut Vertus Grande Reserve ($35), Eric Rodez Blanc de Noirs Grand Cru Brut ($36).
Good
Larmandier-Bernier Brut Blanc de Blancs Vertus ($50), Lamiable Brut ($45), Laurent-Perrier Brut Nature Ultra ($42), Pascal Doquet Brut Blanc de Blancs ($45), Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Brut ($38), Moet &Chandon Brut Imperial ($33 to $38), Louis Roederer Brut Premier ($35 to $40), Gaston Chiquet Brut Tradition ($36), Chartogne-Taillet Brut Cuvee Sainte-Anne ($38), Charles Lafitte Brut Cuvee Speciale ($33).
