La Grande Dame		1989	Veuve Clicquot

3/98. Bought at Heathrow duty free Nov-97 for $70.
50 grams Beluga Caviar bought at the same place for a price I am too ashamed to tell... :)
I am not a Champagne connoisseur and I rarely drink it. But when I do I try to go for the best. Past experience have told me that a good Champagne can accompany a suitable dinner no less successfully than a good still wine.
We had this tiny caviar pack sitting in the fridge for some months now. So, we decided to have our Friday night dinner around these items. Caviar with some sour-cream for starters and a very nice main course of jumbo shrimps sauteed in butter, garlic and a bit of lemon juice.
COLOR: Medium-dark straw yellow. Beautiful stream of tiny bubbles constantly emanating from the base of the glass.
NOSE: Profound and fresh aromas of apples, grapes(!) and flowers, together with mature yeasty tones that add enormously to the complexity of the bouquet. A fantastic white wine on the nose. Beautiful!
TASTE: Deliciously mouthfilling. Creamy feel with hints of tropical fruit and lemon. I don't know why people say caviar and champagne were born to be had together. The caviar was excellent but the champagne was fighting a losing battle there... It really shone though with the shrimps main course. Hard to think of a more harmonious and complimentary pairing!
LENGTH: I am not sure one can talk about the "length" of champagne in the same sense that we do for still wines. The 'spritzy' effect of the bubbles dominate whatever natural aftertaste the wine itself gives.
TEXTURE & BALANCE: Quite heady (or is it only me? I had about a third of the bottle and felt pretty tipsy. I normally never notice any alcohol effect in still wines unless I drink more than a whole bottle...)! Very 'chewy' champagne, with superb vinous qualities. Good grip, multi-dimensional nose and taste, very finely balanced.
OVERALL: Superb-plus! More a serious wine than just fizzy stuff with alcohol. In the same league with Dom Perignon and Pol Roger's cuvee Winston Churchill. Though fully mature now it will easily last another ten years.
MARK: 18.5/20.aaaaaaaaBUY MORE? Yes.

Reach Me? yak@yakshaya.com

Copyright 1996-2003.
Jacob "Yak" Shaya.