Champagne for New Years Eve

Champagne is made from three different grapes: Chardonnay (white grape as found in Chablis), Pinot Noir (red grape as found in Burgundy) and Pinot Meunier. Different champagne houses mixes these grapes differently, but a Blanc de Blancs Champagne is just made from Chardonnay. Below follows a list of Champagne houses that normally provides good value for money:

From the Reims area:

Krug (luxury stuff and very smooth for those with lots of money)

Louis Roederer (Blanc de blancs & vintage especially)

Taittinger (especially the vintage ones)

Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin (always reliable and affordable)

Henriot (lovely Chardonnay driven Champagne and 1998 splendid and reasonable)

Ruinart (The Blancs de Blancs ideal crispy mineral driven aperitif)

Pommery (The Brut has much improved)

Alain Thienot (Smaller producer with high quality price ratio)

Egly-Ouriet (one of the finest Blanc de Noirs, red grape only)

From Ay and Vallee de la Marne

Bollinger (Special Cuvee is always fantastic)

Deutz (discreet house with focus on quality- Amour de Deutz for those with lots of cash)

Billecart Salmon (top quality with the Rose as the best and most pricy)

Around Epernay and Cote des Blancs

Moet Chandon (sells 25 millions bottles a year, including Dom Perignon!)

Boizel (Smaller reasonable house)

Erick de Sousa (top quality from Portuguese background)

Larmandier- Bernier (Chadonnay driven with single cru Terre de Vertus with no sugar added)

Comments

Leoville Lascases 1988

Last week was a special week for me as I received my last pay check from my previous employer. An event that required some sort of celebration with some good friends. Of the many bottles opened during that evening was a Leoville Lascases 1988. This Bordeaux wine from St. Julien is second Grand cru classee but it has the quality of a first growth. This chateau was also the wine that made me change from beer to wine as I had the pleasure of tasting a Leoville Lascases 1945 back in 88. The 1945 just knocked me off my guard and I remember thinking what a fantastic wine it was and what an experience to drink this wine from the year when world war 2 ended. I was in shock and I then just decided to enter into the world of wine. I have always had a soft spot for this chateau ever since. And to my pleasure it has been performing well at much more reasonable prices than the much more expensive first growths in the 1855 classification. Nowadays a bottle of this wine costs around ...

Wine # 2 Blindtasting Ganddal

Deep dark purple colour. Dark berries, cherries and mint chocolate. Full bodied with soft tannins. Reminds me of an Amarone.. A very nice wine indeed. Panel is way out as it is from the Rhone valley. Gigondas 2009 by Guigal Score 17.60 Ca 20€ or 220 NOK

Bordeaux- Le prelat du Ch. Pape Clement 2004

This is one of two second wines of the famous and expensive Ch. Pape Clement in Graves. Although young, 2004, this wine drinks really well already if you put it on carafe a couple of hours before consumption. Dark red colour, with a very attractive smell of blueberries and dark berries, its a full bodied wine with firm but nice tannins that goes best with some food. 2004 although not the best of vintages, keep surprising me with good drinkable wines at affordable prices, because from 2005 and onwards there is a big step up in prices.... Grapes; Cabernet Sauvignon 60% and Merlot 40% Price around 20€ P+

Life is too short to drink bad wine

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