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Prestige Cuvée Champagne

Whereas it can be argued that the most important wine produced by any Champagne house is the non-vintage bottling - as this serves as an introduction to Champagne for so many, and should also be a reliable representation of the house style - the wines that spark the most interest are certainly the prestige cuvées. These wines represent the pinnacle of Champagne, the result of a favourable vintage (these are certainly not wines produced year-in year-out), even stricter selection than for the straight vintage wine and great care in the cellar.

Champagne Moët et Chandon are generally accredited with producing the first prestige cuvée, even though it was predated by the forerunner of today's Cristal from Roederer. In 1936 Moët released the first Cuvée Dom Perignon, at an incredible fifteen years of age, the first vintage being the 1921. Generalising, today's prestige cuvées are released at less than half this age. The result is that they positively demand cellar time in order to show their best, and this fact is reflected in the following tasting, which features vintages ranging from 1985 to 1990. The tasting focussed on a number of the top prestige cuvées and was conducted unblinded. The wines were handsomely complimented by some fine, hand-crafted mushroom pâté on sliced baguette. The wines are presented here in the order in which they were tasted. (28/9/04)

Prestige Cuvée Champagne - Tasting Notes

Tasted in September 2004. Click to locate stockists.

Oudinot Brut 1990: A warm-up before the serious wines. A lovely, mature, malty nose. Rich, fresh mousse, a little creamy, a little sherbetty too. Nice fat richness through the midpalate. Flavoursome. Correct acidity. Very good. 16/20

Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle 'La Cuvée' NV: Believed to be the 85/82/81 blend. A mature, malty-coffee nose, with organic-vegetal complexity. Stylish, mature palate with meaty-marmite character. A gentle mousse and a soft, rounded mouthfeel that simply caresses the palate. Delightful, but lacks a little freshness perhaps. Drink now. 17/20

Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque 1988: A delicate but expressive floral nose. Lovely freshness on the palate, with caramel-meaty richness offset by the floral character that marks this cuvée I find. Soft mousse, but still has some firm acidity showing on the finish. Toffee notes on a decent length. Still needs cellar time, a feature of this vintage. 17+/20

Bollinger Grande Année 1985: This is Bollinger's vintage wine of course; sadly no RD or Vieilles Vignes Françaises tonight. The colour stands out compared to the other wines. Classic meaty-cheesy Bollinger nose, of honey and nuts, oiled oak and Stilton. Big, concentrated, flavoursome palate. Mature, honey and oil. A gentle mousse though, with a full, creamy palate and fresh, firm acidity. Lovely. 17.5/20

Krug Grande Cuvée NV: Purchased 1998, so six years of post-release bottle age here. Very pure nose, honeyed white fruits with a sweet, honey-caramel edge. Full and yet stylish palate, firm and structured, still with very fresh, almost biting acidity. Creamy mousse, great elegance. But it is still very youthful I think - I would advocate a further five to ten years bottle age. 18.5+/20

Pol Roger Cuvée Winston Churchill 1985: Very evolved, mature, organic nose. Very correct palate, balanced, creamy palate with great finesse. Still has some pure, honeyed white fruits. Lovely freshness, but evolving with great style. Ready now but should drink for a further five to ten years without difficulty. Beautiful. 18.5/20

Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs 1988: An impressive, coffee and caramel nose. Very firm, very dominant acidity still. Quite evolved coffee flavour, with honey and butter edges. Great elegance and concentration, but also a great need for further bottle age I think - a vintage characteristic. Needs ten years yet. Should be fabulous when fully mature. 18+/20

Moët et Chandon Cuvée Dom Pérignon 1990: Fine, elegant nose; almonds and cream. Fresh and balanced palate, vibrant acidity with a creamy-edged texture. Full, almond notes. Great finesse here. Wonderful structure for future ageing; needs a further five to ten years and should probably drink beyond that. Excellent. 19+/20

Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 1990: A full, powerful, nutty nose. Lovely palate, nuts and cream with an orange peel edge. Very firm, tight palate with a still powerful mousse. Vibrant acidity. Incredible length - it goes on and on. Wonderful potential here - this needs another five to ten years of bottle age at last. 18.5+/20

Roederer Cristal 1989: Full, mature, evolved, oily-brioche nose. The palate has finesse, great balance, and a very gentle mousse. Good structure beneath it all though. There's also just a hint of sweetness to it. A fat texture, and great flavour. Impressive length. Ready now. 18.5/20

Pol Roger Cuvée Winston Churchill 1986: A second vintage which slipped in at the end! Delightful, mature, very expressive nose of oiled wood and cheese. Mature fruit on the palate, with a fresh and foaming mousse. Very firm acidity. Much fuller and more mature than the previous vintage, but with a little less finesse. Ready now. 18/20