The Year of Champagne: WCM Preps For the Big Summit in France
As we gear up for our 20th anniversary trip to Champagne, our recap of the past two tastings feature the big name producers and under-the-radar gems that prepped our palates for the iconic region
“Remember gentlemen, it’s not France we’re fighting for, it’s Champagne!”
In the heat of World War II, Sir Winston Churchill broke through the uncertainty and fog of war by sipping Champagne, where a single glass could brace nerves, stir imagination, and sharpen the mind in his words. Our past two tastings have trained our troupe well for our trip to the revered region in less than a month.
Back in June, member Jesus, his incredible wife Pamela and her sister Geraldine, hosted the annual Champagne tasting, an event we do to kick off the summer and our break for June, July and August. We paired the lineup with our classic: fried chicken, along with some local dishes prepared by our hosts. The soldiers:
Champagne Piper Heidsieck RARE Millesime 2002
Champagne Chartogne-Taillet Hors Serie Grand Cru 2020
Champagne Louis Roederer Cristal Rosé 2013
Champagne Pierre Peters Cuvée Speciale Les Montjolys Blanc de Blancs 2016
Champagne David L’Eclapart L’Amateur Premier Cru NV
Champagne Kairos Vielles Vignes Rares 2015
WESTBORN Rosé 2019 (*California sparkling served blind, throwing people off between Old and New World!*)
Although the David L’Eclapart ‘L’Aphrodisiaque’ stole the show in our 2024 annual summer tasting, the L’Amateur didn’t come up as a WOTN contender. The Taillet got everyone rowdy for its tremendous complexity and extended finish, while the Cristal Rosé was unstoppable like Michael Phelps showing up to a kids swim meet. Not fair. The Cristal Rosé is one of the world’s greatest wines, period. Louis Roederer is one of the most famous Champagne houses that never breaks under the enormous pressure of its icon status. And this Cristal showed the epitome of Champagne on all fronts: acidity, flavor, utmost purity in fruit expression, and long lasting in the glass. A true icon. Pierre Peters wasn’t too far behind, a great lesson in structure, finesse, and shape of a wine, plus the signature lemon meringue layers didn’t hurt. The Chardonnay comes from the soils of “Le Montjoly” located in the Grand Cru village of Les Mesnil sur Oger, so this rare wine was a treat to taste.
Part II
Fast forward to the evening of Sept. 10, and we opened another round of heavy hitters. Two Champagnes were served blind, and it was great to see that all of our palates were in tune and able to pick up on lots of details. Our confidence is strong heading into France. What we drank in order:
Champagne Diebolt-Vallois a Cramant Blanc de Blancs Fleur de Passion 2013
Champagne Bereche & Fils Les Beaux Regards Premier Cru Millesime 2020
Champagne Eric Rodez Maceration Ambonnay Grand Cru NV (Served BLIND)
Champagne Krug Rosé 28eme Edition NV (Served BLIND)
Champagne Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle Grand Cuvée N’23 MAGNUM NV
Our president Jeff Tenen hosted the dinner and went the extra mile with what a majority believe to be the highlight of the night: miso glazed sea bass. Don’t worry, we had fried chicken for the main dish, but right before that bucket came out, we paired the rich sea bass with Eric Rodez and Krug Rosé B2B and BLIND. The pairing was unbelievable and showcases why Champagne is such a versatile wine to eat with: the acidity and sharpness cuts through all the fat and gives the palate a soft whip of cool flavors. Finally, it resets the palate for the next wave.
Overall, the order of the wines was impeccable. Kicking off with Diebolt-Vallois and Champagne Bereche & Fils was a great warm up as they displayed very different styles, the Diebolt being very fruit driven especially with loads of lemon and citrus, while Bereche showed a more classic lees-y, warm butter, brioche form of flavors. We drifted to the main event which was a blind tasting of two wines which had one thing in common: the winemaker.
Winemaker Eric Rodez used to make the wines at Krug, so it was interesting to compare that rosé sparkling with the Krug today, and it was even better to see how different they were. The Rodez had a pink salmon color while the Krug was deep pink and expectedly richer and more concentrated in red fruit flavor (one guessed ‘06 Dom Perignon!) The Rodez had a coolness to it and kept opening up to reveal more and more aromas over the course of the night.
Finally, the Laurent Perrier magnum hit hard. Only released in magnums, this wine is a heavy dose of power and airtight tension that’ll stun palates left and right. The wine is 58% chardonnay and 42% pinot noir from the 2006, 2004 and 2002 vintages, all delivering different characteristics of the year. Add to that an astounding 14 years on the lees, and you got a complete picture of one of the most age worthy Champagne's on the planet.
Thanks for reading, and stay tuned as we embark to the greatest vineyards of France.