Interestingly, Laetitia took over the California operation, including winery, mature vineyards, and tasting room, of Deutz - a French Champagne house.

As a bi-weekly bubbly drinker, I am ridiculously envious of the prices quoted for some champagnes (30$ Veuve, 100 Dom, etc). Here in Ontario, Veuve is going to be about 70-80, Dom 220, Moet 70...

Yes but those prices are in loonies, not REAL dollars

presumably given as gifts!

I agree! I went 'off' piper heidsieck for a while but was at a friend's place earlier this year and was handed a glass of champagne... it was delicious! my friend (knowing I wasn't a great fan) proudly produced the bottle of PH! it's back on my list now!

Tasteless and off-topic posts deleted.

Please keep the thread on-topic, thanks.

cblaisd
Moderator, Dining Buzz

Exactly, crazy price for VC & NF is great. The real Deutz can be had in this price range as well. If I want to throw a little more at it, I'll grab a Bolly.

Welcome back into the club. We like Charles Heidieck too!^

So I ended up picking up a bottle of Moet, and then went on the day of Thanksgiving and got a bottle of Veuve-Clicquot. I like the Moet more, it tasted less acidic than the Veuve-Clicquot. How does Dom Perignon compare?

Dom has little to do with the normal Mo�t (let alone Yellow Widow). It is much more mature, more complex on the palate, and the bubble structure is more refined. Dom is not a "difficult" champagne like Krug or Salon, but it is a superbly well made and consistent prestige cuv�e.

Cheers,
T.

I rarely find vintage champagne to be worth the $$, since the grey market in the US dried up 25 years ago. I'm still happily given the opportunity more than occasionally, but not on my dime. You're paying 5X the price for something that's 10% better than NV, IMO.

While I get this criticism in concept, Dom is quite a bit more than 10% better than Moet NV Brut. That being said, I've only bought 3 bottles of it in my life (and I gave one away to a Charity Auction - long story). But that's two bottles more than I've ever bought of Moet NV Brut.

Personally, I find the worst jump in price relative to quality comes from stepping from the various French Houses' best wines produced in other regions around the world to their basic NV Brut genuine Champagne cuvee.

For example, Domaine Chandon Reserve costs less than Moet NV Brut - and IMHO, is a superior wine. Similarly, I find that the California Roederer Estate L'Ermitage is well superior to Roederer's Brut NV Champagne. (IMHO, even Roederer's base California Estate wine is superior to their base Champagne Cuvee, at half the price.)

In other words, the biggest tax paid relative to quality is to buy authentic Champagne compared to sparklers produced elsewhere by the same firms that know best how to make the stuff.

I attended a blind tasting of small Champagne producers this week. Most all retail around �20 or �30 per bottle and several stood up to the top name brands such as Krug, Bollinger, Tattinger, etc. I tried 13 whites and 4 ros�s. My top 3...

1. Beno�t Lahaye, Naturessence, extra-brut http://champagne-benoit-lahaye.ardoneo.com/
2. Maurice Vesselle, Mill�sime 2000, grand cru, brut http://champagnemauricevesselle.com/en/
3. Daniel Savart, L'Overture, Blanc de Noirs, brut http://www.champagne-savart.com/

Not sure if you can get these easily outside of France, but they are well worth the price it you can.

Did a lot of wine tasting (ok, drinking) as part of my trip to Bangkok yesterday. I thought I should offer a summary. My palette may have gotten less sensitive over time. In order of consumption:
Piper Heidseick at the St Pancras Champagne Bar - Perfectly adequate, quite light taste. 6/10
Gosset NV at the St Pancras Champagne Bar - More flavour and a lovely balance. 7.5/10
Pol Roger 2002 Vintage in the LHR Qatar lounge - A very nice champagne. Simultaneously light and bubbly as well as having some of the depth you'd expect of a champagne of this age. 8/10
Moet Rose 2004 Vintage in the LHR Qatar Lounge - Either something was wrong with the bottle (not corked) or this was really an acquired taste. Strong nose, slightly acrid on the tongue. 2/10
Krug in Qatar F - Lovely champagne and unusually fine bubbles with a strong sense of butter really coming out after all the others. 9/10
Billecart-Salmon Brut Reserve - Very solid mid-priced champagne with a very slight taste of fruit on the tongue. For the price, you can't go far wrong - it would have just been even nicer to have the Blanc de Blancs. 8/10

And yes, add a glass of vodka with the caviar and a couple of glasses of a fantastic dessert wine and I did feel awful when I woke up, thanks.

"And yes, add a glass of vodka with the caviar and a couple of glasses of a fantastic dessert wine and I did feel awful when I woke up, thanks". - Well worth it in my estimation. I've been known to utter the phrase "go big or go home". Bravo Sir, you were able to do both simultaneously.