Perrier Jouet Belle Epoque was freely flowing in the club lounge at the Ritz-Carlton Huntington Pasadena this past weekend when I was there. I probably finished a bottle on Saturday.

Thanks for the interesting suggestions, both the "traditional" French and "alternative" American bubbly. Normally, my champers intake is limited to planes, but even then I´ve noticed some labels do not really match fish dishes.

I rarely drink any spirits with or without food, but I´d rather go for Stolichnaya than Akvavit in case.

I've had the 1995 and it was quite nice.

i prefer dry and not fruity, and thought Louis Dornier et Fils Brut was pretty decent. how would that product be categorized? and can anyone recommend higher end products with those things in mind?

Another vote for Billecart-Salmon Rose. It is my favorite by far. Cristal is my favorite overall champers. I also like Veuve Cliquot Demi Sec (Silver Label) and their Rose as well. Charles Heideseck is quite nice and inexpensive ($30ish). I'm not a huge Dom Perignon fan, but will get it for others to drink as most people think it's impressive. There are so many drinkable champagnes and sparkling wines - you don't have to spend big bucks to have good fizz.

If you don't know what to choose, hit up a few wine magazines. Statements such as XXX bottle is great and better than XXX bottle are not accurate as they don't take into account the vintage.

If you want impressive labels, get a cristal or a krug or a dom. for super exotic, get a bolly rd of your or your wife's birthdate.

for probably the finest collection of champagne, buy a terry thiese import


http://www.skurnikwines.com/msw/docu...gnecatalog.pdf

these are the finest, made by very small vineyards. they sell most of their grapes to the big houses, which cook them in big pots, and advertise a lot.

to find this stuff, go here:

http://www.wine-searcher.com/prof/lo...14XBVNMP5200C2

if nothing shows up, buy the pro version, or call skurnik and ask.

[QUOTE=USAFAN;3418428]Brut it is... ^

I recommend the following California bruts....

I believe the OP was asking for champagne, not sparkling wine...

I'll split up my response at various price points.

Luxury Cuvees

If you ever see it, do not hesitate to try any vintage of Bollinger Vielles Vignes Francaises. At a comparative tasting, it beat out Pol Roger P.R. Reserve Special, Krug Grande Cuvee, Louis Roederer Cristal, Bollinger R.D. and Louis Roederer Cristal Rose. I have been lucky enough to try three different vintages of it and it is always stunning. The only problem is that not only is it the rarest luxury cuvee out there, it is certainly the most expensive. In any given year there are only about 2,000 bottles. After that I would suggest Vintage Krug with enough bottle age. As Krug does not undergo a malo-lactic fermentation, it needs time to develop. For those with sufficient cash, consider Krug Collection. Third place goes to Bollinger R.D. and it is a wonderful meal time champagne. I had a bottle of the Bollinger R.D. 1990 on Christmas Eve. Excellent balance, big in the mouth and oaky.

Past disappointments include Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame Rose, Salon, Taittinger Comtes de Champagne and Laurent Perrier Cuvee Grande Siecle but I am always willing to try them again to see if they have changed.

Vintage Champagnes

Bollinger Grande Annee with at least 10 years bottle age. Pol Roger's Blanc de Chardonnay and Pol Roger's Rose. Drink the Rose on release but the Chardonnay can age. Much better value for money than Salon.

Non-vintage cuvees

My first choice for a rose would be Laurent Perrier's Rose. This is made by skin contact rather than by blending red and white juice. I have heard very good reviews of the Billecart Salmon Rose but sadly have never tried it.

For a straigh non-vintage champagne, my most recent pleasant memory was of Piper-Heidsieck. According to critics, Charles Heidsieck has made a big jump in quality over the last few years. Again one that I must try.

California

Roederer Estate is very good but in Ontario, Canada at least, it is a bit pricey.

Loire

Consider trying a Chenin Blanc based sparkler from the Loire valley.

I hope this helps.

My favorite is Krug, and although more than I usually spend the Krug Clos des Mesnil is wonderful. I dont like Perrier Joeut at all I have to say. The Bollinger Grand Anne I have had and some other Bollingers as well I have liked a lot. One brand I didnt see mentioned was Pol Roger. I have had their non-vintage brut a number of times and it is very good for the price. I prefer their premium bottle, the Winston Churchill Cuvee to Dom or Cristal and it is typically cheaper.

Chares Heidsieck has greatly improved in the past 5 years; it is considerably better than Piper-Heidsieck, drunk side by side (but not at a tasting). The two companies are unrelated now, as are the wines (the names stem from being the same company a century ago). Piper makes a good California brut, btw.

Obviously you like the full, rich, heavy champagne style (which is traditional, but steadily going out of favour in the past 50 years). PJ Belle Epoque is maybe the epitomy of the opposite style (light, scented, floral); I like to call it the world's finest apple juice (it is a good champagne, and worth buying in its own right, but smells more of apples than grapes).

Krug is served by several airlines in F (despite its price of about USD 150 a bottle now). SQ offers a Dom/Krug tasting (both are often available); Krug regularly wins. BA used to serve a dozen different noteworthy champagnes on the Concorde (and in the Concorde Room on the ground); their staple was the Bolly Sir Winston, often augmented with something better (rarer). Sadly the Concorde cellar was liquidated (mostly sold off) after the Concorde was grounded (the wines were in insufficient quantity to add to the F service).

We opened the Salon Le Mesnil on Christmas Eve and while I was somewhat disappointed by it, the rest of the family and my best friend from Japan all loved it.

On New Year's Eve we will uncork the Deutz Rose ($150 at D&M in San Francisco).....

$150? Luxury, you do NOT want to know what I pay for Deutz at my local grocery store in France. ;)

Since I live no too far from Champagne, I usually buy local small brands that don't have the huge marketing expenses of the major brands. Nor do they export. That way I can get a bottle of Champagne that is on par with Veuve Cliquot for less than $10 per bottle. I bought a couple of cases of Urbain et Fils recently which is quite good. The price is cheap since their only marketing expense is their email address at [email protected]

An acquitance arranged us champers for our New Years celebration in Brussels in a similar way. Basically after enough orders are taken his French partner will visit various Champagne vineries and then bring the bottles over in his van. Grassroots business that I´m happy to support ^

Best non-vintage champagne?
 

Didn't find a similar thread, so I started this one. I'm not that much of a champagne drinker, but I'd like to keep some bottles at home for special occasions. What is your favourite champagne in the range between approximately $30 to $50 (I don't know about US prices, but in Germany it's normally 30€ +/-5€).

Which one of the "mainstream" brands is your favourite? I'm asking for the well known ones (M&C, Veuve Clicquot, Pommery etc.), as they are available everywhere.