Champagne Help

Hi All,

Looking for a little input here. I am hosting a party in a few weeks and need about 6 bottles of champagne…

Pick one:

1. 2008 Dom Perignon (~$160)
2. 2006 Comtes (~$120)
3. 2007 Comtes (~$120)
4. 2007 Dom Ruinart (~$130)

(Is '08 Dom really worth the extra $30 to $40 per bottle?)

B

Just had the 2006 CdC and it continues to be glorious. Assuming that 3 bottles will serve everyone, why not get 3 08 Dom and 3 06 CdC?

I would go with 3 and 3 as well or all 6x 06 cdc.
You will probably get most ppl here telling you 08 dom.

2006 CdC will always be a crowd pleaser taste-wise. If for any reason you’re looking to “impress” folks that are only casual wine drinkers, Dom Perignon typically does that more than Taittinger. Both the 06 CdC and the 08 DP are great champagnes.

It feels pretty hard to go wrong with any of these choices… but I’d agree with either 06 CdC or the Dom being the better options.

Do this.

I vote for 3/3 06 cdc 08 dom

If you have any doubts regarding the 06 CdC, this critique might convince you:
97 points Decanter: “The 2006 brings back all the wonder of classic Comtes: the innocence of a joyful childhood, a free-as-air dash through endless blue daylight and a breathless plunge into an icy mountain rock pool. A wine of coiled energy, focus, precision and minerality that bores to the very core of the finest chalkfields of the Côte des Blancs. (JR)” (01/2016)

Honestly, you can’t go wrong. I haven’t found the 08 Dom nearly as good as everyone else claims it is, but I’m clearly very much in the minority. I actually really liked the 07 Ruinart when I had it recently.

If you can only pick one, I would go 2007 Dom Ruinart BdB. I think it actually drinks the best right now of all of the wines listed. It has plenty of flavor and structure to satisfy a variety of drinkers - those who want something flavorful, who want something that tastes crisp and clean, and who want something complex. It is probably the best 2007 I have had to date and is an overlooked gem of a wine. The 2008 Dom Perignon will likely be the better wine over time, but drinks a bit too easy and plain right now; it needs more development IMO. I understand those who really like the 2006 Comtes as it is very pleasurable, but can also come off as a bit too round and bottles can be variable. Even without considering the variation, the 2007 Dom Ruinart is a better wine to me. 2007 Comtes is a nice wine, but the weakest of the four.

The Dom Perignon will have the most label appeal and the Dom Ruinart the least.

Interesting. . . and in general I enjoy hearing a thought-out and backed-up “contrarian” point of view. Thanks.

I haven’t had the Ruinart. Personally I prefer the 06 Comtes to the 08 Dom but I think all my wine friends disagree with me.

I respect Brad’s opinions (as I know most here do) but I find that he often has contrarian opinions as when he said that he prefers the 2009 Cristal to the 2008, for both the near and LONG term. It’s all on the palate of the imbiber.

Michael,

Too much emphasis is put on acidity in Champagne equalling long term potential/improvement and overall quality. The perception of acidity is one aspect, but not the most important. Also, while hard to believe, most 2009s have a slightly lower though quite similar acidity level to their 2008 peers. It doesn’t come across this way when tasting, but the end result is a number of 2009s are more balanced. This is not to say 2008 is not a great or better overall vintage because it is, but 2009 was another big lesson to a lot of folks about balance, numbers on paper, and factoring the taste of the grapes.

I still prefer 2009 Cristal to 2008, but think the 2012 is better than both.

First let me say, Brad, you are one of the last people with whom I would want to be adversarial. I’ve had the 08 twice and the 09 once, so I do have limited first hand experience. But when the chef de caves says that the 2008 Cristal is the best he has made in 30 years, I’ll roll with that.

Same here. I haven’t had the Ruinart, but I’d be happier with '06 Comtes over the other choices.

I had the 2007 Dom Ruinart recently and it did not show that well. I am a big Dom Ruinart fan and hopefully it was just that this bottle was a bit off, but I would go with the 2006 CdC, which is fabulous

Brad has been giving me expert champagne advice for nearly a decade, and I’ve been a subscriber to his Champagne Warrior newsletter for years. I’d never go against his recommendations (except in this case, if it were me, I’d open 3 '06 Comte and 3 '08 Dom).

Thank you for all of the input…

Well, I decided to purchase 3 Comtes and 3 Doms… (and 1 Ruinart )

Michael,

Good discussion is what this is all about. I don’t want people to agree with me if they feel differently. If we all agreed, it would be boring. Different opinions not only make things interesting, but should encourage us all to try a wine again (when possible) and look at it from a different angle to maybe discover something new or at least gain an appreciation that we didn’t have before. I never stop learning or discovering and am happy to be shown a different perspective.

Just remember that the 2008 Cristal was the 30th Cristal that Jean-Baptiste had a hand in at Roederer… what about number 31? Joking aside, Jean-Baptiste loves the classical style of the 2008 and is very, very proud of it and the potential it has. There have since been Cristals made that he likes more, but I won’t disagree with you that he has a preference for the 2008 over the 2009, but he loves both as well. I have a preference for the 2009 over the 2008, but also love both as well.