This Holiday Season, It's champagne vs. Champagne
Is real Champagne worth the price premium it commands over a welter of imitators? The sound of a cork popping, after all, is the same, whether announcing a wine from Champagne or one from Tasmania. At this holiday season, the question of whether it's worth paying more for the real thing is especially relevant.
Champagne makers play by rules all their own. The region's name is jealously regulated, yet it is perfectly legal for one producer to slap its label on a bottle of Champagne made by another. Specific vineyard and vintage sourcing, sacrosanct to other elite French wine regions, is all but meaningless in Champagne. A single bottle of a nonvintage brut is typically a mosaic of wines from multiple unnamed growers and vintages. The miracle is that, more often than not, the wine turns out to be pretty good.
At a premium price, however, "pretty good" isn't good enough. And, in fact, at its best and truest, Champagne is still the champion of sparkling wines while all the rest are contenders. The best Champagne's edge comes from the extra intensity, energy, and flavor complexity that is beamed straight to your taste buds and even to your spirit. As winedom's most northerly major wine region, Champagne's seasonal struggle to ripen its grapes certainly contributes to the vivacity of its wines. But in the wine culture of Champagne, as in no other place, winemakers seem to hold secrets not yet fully disclosed to their competitors elsewhere. Call it sorcery, if you will. The ineffable essence of Champagne can dazzle you as surely as a dove pulled out of a magician's sleeve.
The trio of Champagnes recommended below — all tasted in the last month — differ in style, yet all speak the language of their origin. My feeling is that the best way to appreciate Champagne is to drink it less often than bubblies from elsewhere, five of which are listed below. They'll bring pleasure on their own terms, but when you do drink the real thing at its best, you'll know the difference.
Veuve Clicquot Rare Vintage 1988 ($79 at Zachys) Long after other sparkling wines have faded, this classic, late-released Champagne keeps its bloom. Its scent, merging floral and almond notes, is delicate yet enveloping. It manages to be both calm and vivacious in the mouth, and its essence echoes long. Would that we humans could age so gracefully. Along with the equally superlative Rare Vintage Rosé 1985 ($90 at Zachys), this wine comes in a stackable orangeand-silver "cellar box" designed by Pablo Reinoso. It just may be the season's snazziest new premium Champagne packaging.
Duval-Leroy Brut Champagne NV ($29 at K&D) So different from Veuve Clicquot, this Champagne bristles with smooth-muscled yet purposeful energy. Think Roger Federer on his game. Aswirl with fresh notes of toast and citrus, this wine would be best with food rather than as an aperitif. Baked ham would be perfect. Duval-Leroy is not yet up there with Champagne's most familiar names, but it's on the rise.
Gosset Brut Celebris Rosé 1998 ($129 at Martin Bros.) The red grape pinot noir gives a coppery tint to this rosé, as well as exotic hints of ginger and cardamom underpinned by a richer note of ripe plum. The wine seems to be all nuanced flavor and no weight. To be sipped and admired, ideally, on its own.
Superior Sparklers Made by the Traditional Champagne Method
Schramsberg "J. Schram" 1999 ($80 at Astor Wines) California's sun-charged climate lends itself to muscular, rather than refined, sparkling wine styles. Here, winemaker Hugh Davies's skillful juggling of 80 vineyard lots from the coolest parts of five counties has produced a bubbly that shows real finesse, along with candied fruit notes that say "California." Finishes gentle and long.
Saint Hilaire Brut 2001, Blanquette de Limoux ($9 at Martin Bros.) From the cool Pyrenean foothills of southern France comes this charming, best-value sparkler. The principal grape, Mauzac, has been used for centuries to make sparkling wine in Limoux. Upmarket packaging is a plus. Whenever I've served this wine, no bottle goes unfinished: the truest indicator of how guests rate your wine.
Chamalou Brut Vouvray, Methode Traditionelle ($21 at Pop's Wines) Sparkling wines from the Loire are often forgettable, but this one, from one of Vouvray's best winemakers, has just enough extra fruit and depth to make it interesting.
Ca'dei Mandorli, Brachetto d'Acqui ($16 at Gotham Wines) Throw off the shackles of convention and try this off-dry, red sparkler made from an obscure Piedmontese grape whose vivid scent of roses can fill a room. Beguiling as it is offbeat, this wine is likely to be new to even the winesavviest guests. It's a perfect partner to biscotti or other no-too-sweet holiday cookies.
Last Minute Gift Idea: Thrill a wine lover with a ticket to La Paulée de New York, the Burgundy bash coming to New York on March 3. Twenty of the region's most sought-after winemakers will be on hand to generously pour their wines. The biannual event is the brainchild of the wine director for Daniel Boulud's restaurants, Daniel Johnnes. It is inspired by La Paulée de Meursault, which caps off three wine-drenched days of post-harvest festivities in Burgundy each November. The Grand Tasting will be held at 3 p.m. at Skylight (275 Hudson St., $250). For information and reservations, go to www.lapaulee.com.
