Spec me Some Good Champagne

Martynt74 · 9 Dec 2014 at 15:13

Beautiful

I'm off to Berlin next Friday and the hotel has a Magnum of 1999 Salon de Mesmil. Really trying to convince myself it isn't a brilliant idea to buy a bottle!

randomshenans · 9 Dec 2014 at 15:30

They have a bottle of Salon at the shop down the road. Pretty sure they have a 97. Tempting. Always is.

Anyone had any Ace of Spades / Armand de Brignac? It's not something I've ever had, but wondering how it compares to the Cristal/Krugs?

Martynt74 · 9 Dec 2014 at 15:32

Ooh you should buy it me!

No I never have, I imagine it's reasonably priced over there but here its over £200 for the cheapest version. I've always took it to be more a fashion statement due to the bottle than anything else.

randomshenans · 9 Dec 2014 at 15:39

That's what I've thought too. I really don't see it very often tbh.

Martynt74 · 9 Dec 2014 at 15:47

I tend to only see it in places like Selfridges/Harvey Nichols rather than any specialised Wine shops.

The Asgard · 10 Dec 2014 at 19:39

Taittinger is really nice, highly recommended.

taB · 11 Dec 2014 at 10:24

Not had Ace of Spades but have been told it's nothing special by a couple of friends. A chum was telling me about Boerl & Kroff the other day, he was very impressed with it. Makes all the grand stuff discussed in this thread look bargainous...

On the Taittinger front, just had the first bottle of NV from a case I bought 6 years ago and have stored (Morrisons £16/btl). It was glorious.

The Asgard · 11 Dec 2014 at 12:16

taB said:
On the Taittinger front, just had the first bottle of NV from a case I bought 6 years ago and have stored (Morrisons £16/btl). It was glorious.

I can remember buying a box on that deal, unfortunately it all got drunk within the year. I bet it tastes absolutely amazing.

Great flavor with a hint of honey at the end, divine!

We tend to buy when its on offer and don't usually pay more than £24-£26 a bottle. It's usually on offer around Valentines which is when we stock up.

molinari · 13 Dec 2014 at 21:02

Any good deals for champagne at the moment? Majestic are doing 33% off, but that's for 2 bottles. Would like something nice to drink on Christmas day.

Tuppy_Glossop · 13 Dec 2014 at 21:11

Keep an eye on this site

HazardO · 14 Dec 2014 at 09:40

Tuppy_Glossop said:
Keep an eye on this site

I took advantage of the 10% my waitrose card discount on the already discounted bollinger NV magnum yesterday. It was significantly cheaper than 2 standard bottles, and I've always been lead to believe that within reason, the bigger the bottle, the better the champagne.

randomshenans · 15 Dec 2014 at 09:47

I went in to the wine shop on the way home on Friday, which is always dangerous.

I've got mates over tomorrow night for a mini Christmas and we always tend to one up each other/ the bottles as it's a bit of a laugh. Last time we got the jeroboam of Louis and this time I've ordered a Methuselah of Tattinger.

While ordering that, I also saw that they had some nice new limited edition Louis called "starck" it's an Extra Brut, which seems to be popular at the moment.

Got a NV Louis as well, too, as I thought it needed to be done.

That's where I got a bit carried away and thought I'd see if they had any 97 Salon left. They had a couple left (they only get sent 6 of each vintage) and so I had to get one.

On top of that, I got a supermarket Christmas deal of a Magnum of Pommery for 39EUR which seems a bargain.

Martynt74 · 15 Dec 2014 at 09:51

I want magnums of Pommery got 39euros. I'm moving to France!

Interested in how that Louis "starck" is though.

randomshenans · 15 Dec 2014 at 09:55

Yea, I had a Rothschild Extra brut the other week and that was nice. Obviously dry, but I prefer a bit drier. Demi sec has a place, but it's not something I could drink all day.

There are some great deals at the moment on crement too. I got a case of 6 for 30euros and it's a really nice one too. Found another fantastic one for 6EUR which I'd say rivals a lot of shop main brand Champagnes.

Martynt74 · 15 Dec 2014 at 10:02

Yeah, my wife prefers drier champagnes as well.

I always struggle to find a Crement that I like as much as champagne, although selection is fairly limited over here.

randomshenans · 15 Dec 2014 at 10:27

It's a weird / good place to be for it to be honest. You have the choice of 10s of different crements in the supermarket and as it's so cheap here, due to being local, it doesn't matter if you have a crap one. Spoilt in that way.

molinari · 15 Dec 2014 at 10:33

I'm trying to find something special and reasonably priced to have on Christmas Day. Those bottles look special, but I'm not sure how reasonable the price would be over here!

I'm also very tempted to plan a trip to the Champagne region at some point next year. My brother has done it a couple of times and has brought back some lovely bottles.

NickK · 15 Dec 2014 at 15:10

randomshenans said:
Yea, I had a Rothschild Extra brut the other week and that was nice. Obviously dry, but I prefer a bit drier. Demi sec has a place, but it's not something I could drink all day.

Bolly RD is very different in taste to the house style NV/Grande Annee and is, by it's definition, Extra Brut.. so it would be interesting to see what the taste is of the LR in comparison.

Ninja edit because I thought it was the Tat rather than LR..

Martynt74 · 15 Dec 2014 at 15:12

molinari said:
I'm trying to find something special and reasonably priced to have on Christmas Day. Those bottles look special, but I'm not sure how reasonable the price would be over here!

I'm also very tempted to plan a trip to the Champagne region at some point next year. My brother has done it a couple of times and has brought back some lovely bottles.

What kind of price are you thinking of?

Gosset Grande Reserve would be my go to choice for anything at a mid price point.

Otherwise see if you can get some Delamotte Blanc de Blanc, should be around £40 a bottle and it's cracking stuff. From memory they get their grapes from Salon for when they don't quite meet the vintage standard.

molinari · 15 Dec 2014 at 16:15

Marvt74 said:
What kind of price are you thinking of?

Gosset Grande Reserve would be my go to choice for anything at a mid price point.

Otherwise see if you can get some Delamotte Blanc de Blanc, should be around £40 a bottle and it's cracking stuff. From memory they get their grapes from Salon for when they don't quite meet the vintage standard.

Up to about £50, although would obviously consider more if it were a magnum. I'll have a look at those, and I'll pop into Hedonism Wines which is round the corner from my office. I don't expect great prices, but they should have a decent selection.