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Cellar Favorite: 1979 Veuve Clicquot Vintage Rosé
France: Champagne, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Apr 2025
The 1979 is a drop-dead gorgeous beauty. At 45 years of age, the 1979 remains timeless, a testament to how well Champagne can age.
Vinous Table: Restaurant La Grande Georgette, Champagne, France
Vinous Table, France: Champagne
, Apr 2025
I am always on the hunt for new places to eat in Champagne. Located in the Cazerne Chanzy Hotel & Spa, literally in front of the Reims Cathedral, La Grande Georgette is a welcome addition to my personal list of favorites.
Cellar Favorite: Vilmart Coeur de Cuvée 2006 & 2003
France: Champagne, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Apr 2025
Vilmart’s Coeur de Cuvée is one of the most consistently outstanding wines in Champagne because of how well it shows in both strong and challenging years. The 2006 and 2003 are peaking today, making them fine choices for readers who enjoy mature Champagne.
2025 Champagne: New Releases
featured, France: Champagne
, Apr 2025
My annual March trip to Champagne is always one the highlights of the year. Many producers are preparing to launch their new releases. At the larger houses, this is the time when winemakers are finalizing their blends and deciding whether or not they are going to bottle their tête de cuvées. With spring around the corner, thoughts start to turn to the young vintage and what it might bring. This year, things were different. Deep concerns about the global economy cast a pall on every tasting. That’s a shame, because Champagne continues to be one of the most dynamic regions in the world.
Vinous Icons: Roederer – Four Decades of Cristal & Cristal Rosé
featured, France: Champagne
, Nov 2024
This retrospective tasting of Cristal and Cristal Rosé at Le Bernardin during the inaugural edition of Vinous Icons was a fabulous opportunity to taste a series of reference point vintages paired with Eric Ripert’s dazzling cuisine. Could there be a better way to spend a Friday afternoon? I think not.
Champagne: The 2024 Spring Preview and Fall Additions
featured, France: Champagne
, Dec 2024
Our annual Champagne Spring Preview takes a look at the year’s first releases ahead of my more comprehensive coverage later in the year. Readers will find a bevy of gorgeous wines in this report that span the full stylistic breadth of what Champagne has to offer.
Cellar Favorite: 1982 Pol Roger Brut Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill
France: Champagne, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Feb 2024
Our greatest Prime Minister, after Liz Truss, had impeccable taste in Champagne. Though I must drink far less bubbly than Sir Winston Churchill, which is probably why, like most people, I have always enjoyed the cuvée created in his honor. As the story goes, the PM met Odette Pol Roger in 1944 at the British Embassy in Paris, and their families struck up a close friendship.
Ulysse Collin Rosé de Saignée Les Maillons Vertical
Verticals & Retrospectives, featured, France: Champagne
, Jan 2024
My most recent visit to Champagne Ulysse Collin was not especially well-timed. Then again, maybe it was. Olivier Collin had just finished disgorging his next set of releases, so I could not taste those wines. Instead, Collin surprised me with a vertical of his Rosé de Saignée Les Maillons, long one of my favorites here and a wine I have followed since its debut. Rosé de Saignée is also a style of Champagne I personally enjoy quite a bit, as it is so well suited to the dinner table.
Roederer Cristal Full Circle: 1993-2015
Verticals & Retrospectives, featured, France: Champagne
, Dec 2023
My visit to Roederer a few months ago, the first post-COVID-19, was memorable. After a survey of the 2022 vins clairs, longtime Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon presented a vertical of every Cristal he has made and released since assuming his current role in 1999. It was an incredibly instructive tasting that encompassed several themes over what has arguably been the most significant period in Roederer’s long history.
Champagne: 2023 New Releases
featured, France: Champagne
, Nov 2023
Champagne is one of the most dynamic regions in the world. Change and innovation continue at an increasingly fast pace. Many of the most coveted wines now command Burgundy-like premiums, a relatively recent phenomenon here. There’s a lot more going on beyond the obvious, though, and plenty to explore.