LVMH Champagne Dinner at the Fontainebleau Hotel Miami

Thursday, December 10, 2015 - 08:00 PM

This Event has been read: 2713 times.

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Champagne for My Real Friends, Real Pain for My Sham Friends

Tom Waits

This is our last event of the year and we always try to over deliver but this may be the best deal of the year in terms of what this event costs and what you get.  Tonight’s event costs less than the List Price of just one of the champagnes that we are serving, the vintage Krug is $350 per bottle and this event is only $275 all inclusive!!

All of these bubbles are part of the largest luxury group in the world LVMH and although both Moet and Veuve are huge brands they still make some outstanding quality wines for their large production levels.  Champagne is probably the best at mastering the art of blending therefore creating a very similar product every year or in terms of the NV Brut cuvee.

Join us was we experience all of the great Champagne houses that make up this group along with a five course tasting menu prepared by chef de cuisine at Michael Mina’s Stripsteak, Derrick Roberts.  This dinner is $275 All inclusive, for reservations call 305-535-3260 or you can register online via this link

 

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LVMH Champagne Dinner at the Fontainebleau Hotel Miami
Thursday, December 10, 2015
8:00 PM

 

BEAUSOLIEL OYSTERS
TUNA TARTARE
HEIRLOOM TOMATO ARANCINI

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Moët & Chandon Moët Imperial Brut Champagne
Price: $55.25       Sale $48.62          Case $564

The color is an elegant golden straw yellow with amber highlights. Its aromas are radiant, revealing bright yellow-fleshed fruits (apple, pear, yellow peach), honey, floral nuances (lime blossom) and elegant blond notes (brioche and fresh nuts). The palate is seductive, richly flavorful and smooth combining generosity and subtlety, fullness and vigor, followed by a delicately fresh crispiness (fruit with seeds), to reveal the magical balance of Champagne.

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Moët & Chandon Impérial Rose
Price: $82.25       Sale $72.38          Case $839

Brut Impèrial Rosè is a blend of the three wine varieties, with an emphasis on Pinot Noir, embodying a fruity and daring character. Rosè with shades of copper, good intensity.  This Champagne displays lively, expressive, amomas dominated by the scent of wild strawberries. It is full-bodied, with zestful, assertive fruitiness.

 

YELLOWTAIL CRUDO
citrus, shaved radish, shiso

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NV Ruinart Rose Brut Champagne
Price: $96.75    Sale $85.14
Quantity in Stock: 6

(92 Points) A firm rose, more about its elegant texture and streak of minerality than the flavors of wild strawberry, white cherry, grilled plum and graphite. Hints of spice and fleur de sel accent the finish. Drink now through 2020. “AN Wine Spectator Issue: Dec 31, 2011

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NV Ruinart Blanc De Blanc Brut Champagne
Price: $85.50    Sale $75.24
Quantity in Stock: 16

Ruinart Blanc de Blancs embodies purity of the Chardonnay grapes from which it is made exclusively. Made primarily with Premiers Crus from the Cote des Blancs and Montagne de Reims terroirs, it is intensely aromatic. The nose is powerfully reminiscent of fresh fruits with dominant notes of citrus and exotic fruits, followed by a touch of jasmine, white peaches and pink peppercorns. The palate is both precise and clean as the wine delivers a radiant balance between roundness and smoothness.maturity: 2008-2011.  Wine Advocate # 180, Dec 2008

 

OLIVE OIL POACHED HALIBUT
tomato, basil, kalamata olive, fingerling potato chips

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Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage Brut 2006
Price: $81.00       Sale $71.28          Case $827

"Every Grand Vintage is unique and original, the Moet and Chandon cellar master's personal, free interpretation of the singular qualities of that year's grapes. The House's 71st vintage, Grand Vintage 2006 is a wine of delightfully fruity freshness. Initial notes of peach, mango, and banana flow into more mature aromas such as white pepper before evolving toward intriguing floral notes to create a champagne of refined complexity."- Winemaker

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2004 Veuve Clicquot Rose Brut Reserve Champagne
Price: $105.75    Sale $93.06
Quantity in Stock: 5

The Vintage Rose 2004 offers a deep pink color with the highlights of copper and delicate, light effervescence. The nose, extremely elegant, at first reveals flavors of ripe red fruits that burst on the tongue, before gradually giving way to violets, lilacs and light "pastry" notes. A discreet touch of ground coffee can also be distinguished. The attack is forthright and energetic.

This generous wine offers an astonishingly long and subtle finish. It is extremely complex and is distinguished by great freshness. On the palate, strong notes of fruit recall the refined nose. The finish is surprising in is persistence.

 

WOOD ROASTED KC STRIPSTEAK
thumbelina carrots, parsnip purée, bordelaise sauce

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2000 Krug Vintage Brut Champagne
Price: $313.50    Your Price: $250.80
Quantity in Stock: 3

This wine has a very rich bouquet of aromas, toasty rioch, hazelnut and toffee notes to the quince, candied pear and ginger spice very complex and really open after a few hours. Very complex on the tongue with layers of candied fruits, toasty and floral notes with a long minerla laced finish, that toffee and smoky notes to the end. Very concnetrated and even more bouquet on the second day with that Most Excellent

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2004 Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame
Price: $206.25    Sale $181.50       Case $2104

Veuve Clicquot's Prestige Cuvée, La Grande Dame, is a very great wine which pays homage to a very "grande dame de la Champagne," Madame Clicquot. The incomparable finesse of this cuvée results from a blend of eight of the House's traditional Grands Crus.

This wine has a fine, complex fragrance, blending sweetness and nobility. It is smooth and silky in the mouth, with considerable substance and structure. A remarkable balance, with a fresh, harmonious finish, and a unique aromatic aftertaste.

 

POPPY WILD BERRY TART
lychee sorbet, exotic gel

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Veuve Clicquot Demi-Sec
Price: $75.50       Sale $66.44          Sale $771

Boasting a brilliant yellow color with deep golden highlights, this wine offers delicate bubbles and an intense nose of ripe fruit with hints of brioche. It is supple and full on the palate, while preserving its delightful, inherent freshness. After cellaring for two to three years, the Demi-Sec will take on even richer notes of praline. When serving Demi-Sec, connoisseurs continue a tradition unique to the Champagne region: they offer Veuve Clicquot in a decanter. A French style of life that celebrates the refined Epicurean.

 

This dinner is $275 All inclusive, for reservations call 305-535-3260 or you can register on line if you follow this link.  https://www.nightpass.co/e/fontainebleau/1C4aacmffe

 

Here is a list of all the wines from these famous Champagne houses that we have in stock right now at Wine Watch.

 

Krug

"The Krug taste is both majestic and magisterial...there is the raw material, the attention to detail, the ageing, the handmade quality.  And there are the Krugs themselves, with their adherence to a certain vision of their wine, the palate memory of five generations, their lack of compromise...the "Krug taste" is an idée fixe, an obsession of the noblest kind.

Krug Champagne is a name that is synonymous with the highest quality - its aficionados claim that it belongs in the company of those stellar stalwarts like Rolls-Royce and Cartier.  To achieve this recognition, one needs more than just dedication or expertise (both of which the Krugs have in no short supply) or a large advertising budget.  One needs a philosophy of excellence that is steeped in history and is as solid and unconditional as a rock.  While many other Champagne firms have altered their styles to conform to modern tastes, the Krugs have basically never wavered from the traditions and styles established five generations ago.  And how successful has this policy been?  Robert Parker, perhaps America's foremost wine critic says: "There are a lot of fine Champagnes made in the world, but there is no better than that made by the very small house of Krug, whose champagnes are legendary not only for their quality but for their aging potential."  Serena Sutcliffe, a renowned British wine authority, in her marvelous book titled Champagne says: "In a changing world, where one is constantly reappraising values and beliefs in the light of experience and shifting ethical standards, Krug stands as solid and as reassuring as ever.  This edifice to quality and consistently high standards remains a monument to our ideas of excellence and a bastion in our fight against mediocrity."  This is a sampling of the high praise that comes from both sides of the Atlantic, but one need only ask a Champagne connoisseur from any part of the world: "Who produces the best Champagne?"  On everybody's short list will be the inimitable House of Krug.

Krug was founded in 1843 by Jean-Joseph Krug who was born in 1800 in Mainz, Germany, moved to Paris and then eventually settled in Champagne.  He rented a cellar in Reims and quickly established a reputation as a blender of cuvées.  His flair for quality soon attracted other Champagne houses whose owners solicited him to make up their own blends.  In a very short time the Krug firm began to prosper and export wine all over the world.  Jean-Joseph's son Paul succeeded him; and when Paul passed away in 1910, his eldest son, Joseph II (who harbored a true love of the sea more than a love of Champagne) reluctantly assumed control of the firm.  Joseph II was badly wounded during the fighting that raged in and around Champagne during World War I; and at war's end, his doctors had a very pessimistic prognosis for his survival.  Because his only son (Paul II) was still a child, he appointed a nephew as a general manager.  The doctors turned out to be wrong.  Joseph II eventually lived to be 98 years old, outlasted his nephew, and remained involved with Krug almost until his death.  Serena Sutcliffe instructs us that the moral of this happy ending is "...with champagne at one's side it does not do to be pessimistic about one's life expectancy."

Paul II began working in the business in 1935 and passed the firm on to his two sons, Henri and Rémi.  Henri handled most of the winemaking duties while Rémi was the managing director and Krug's ambassador-at -large.  Rémi tirelessly troted the globe promoting Krug in tastings and gatherings of "Krugies" about the world.  In May of 1990 we had the good fortune of joining Rémy Krug in a small luncheon at which was served the entire line of his Champagnes.  Besides this Grand Cuvée, we tasted (while listening to Rémy Krug extol the virtues and uniqueness of his Champagnes) the 1982 and 1964 vintages, the 1981 Clos du Mesnil, and the non-vintage rosé.  The Krug style - a common thread to all of them - was evident across the entire range of these quite different Champagnes.  There was the non-vintage Rosé with its deft balance, touch of raspberry cream, and its very pale color that reminded of the shyly rising sun in one of Monet's "Haystacks in Winter"; the elegant, austere, stylish 1982 vintage; the robust, lively flavors of the 1964 vintage with its honey-praline-hazelnut flavors; and the extremely austere, penetrating 1981 Clos du Mesnil with its toasty, vanilla, wheat-thin bouquet.  All were unmistakably Krug.

By Champagne standards Krug is quite small - less than 500,000 bottles (compared to 27,000,000 bottles annually at Moët) are produced.  Up until 1970, the Krugs purchased all the grapes for their Champagnes - preferring to leave the growing to those who knew how to do it best.  However, between 1970 and 1972 the Krugs acquired about fifteen hectares of land in Aÿ and Les Mesnil including a 1.87 hectare single vineyard known as Le Clos du Mesnil.  These vineyards are rated the top 100% in the échelles des cru (this is the rating system established in Champagne to classify the best vineyards and determine the price which the grapes can command).  The Clos du Mesnil - comprised of 100% Chardonnay - has existed since 1698 and is one of only three single-vineyard Champagnes produced in France.  The vineyards supply about 25% of Krug's needs, but only select growers are used for their remaining requirements.  A lady in Avize, for example, sells half her thirty hectare vineyard to the Krugs under a long term contract established in 1974.

Krug's wines - unlike most of the more "modern" houses - are fermented in oak casks.  The Krugs feel that the oak gives them the extra dimension of complexity and aromatics they seek in their wines.  Only the first pressing is used (Champagne law does not require it; but Krug law does!); the first pressing is known as the cuvée, and all Krug Champagne is cuvée only.  The wine is never filtered and is never released to market until five or more years after bottling (the longest in Champagne, to our knowledge).  The firm backs up its stocks with six years of supply from which to blend.  And for Krug, blending is the key. The Multi-vintage Grand Cuvée is Krug's bread and butter Champagne accounting for almost 80% of its production. Launched in 1978, the Grand Cuvée can be a blend of as many as fifty different base wines from as many as eight different vintages.  Like all Krug Champagnes it has an "intellectual" taste not well suited for all palates and one that goes better with food than most Champagnes (many of which are now relegated to service as forerunners to the meal rather than as companions with it)."  - Jim Turner, Founder of Wine Watch

Although the Krug family no longer owns the Champagne house, the house is now part of global conglomerate Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH). Like most of the companies in the group, Krug runs with a certain amount of autonomy and Oliver Krug is now the face of the Krug family in charge of Marketing and still has a good deal to do with production.  The style has remained the same while the production at Krug may be up a little bit (I would bet that Moet is making more than 27,000,000 bottles annually today), Krug is still one of the ultimate collectibles from Champagne today.  This perceived and real autonomy has played a large role in maintaining the house's reputation and consistent style.


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Krug Grande Cuvee Brut Champagne
Price: $195.00    Sale $171.60
Quantity in Stock: 11

200-250 different wines go into this cuvee with great vineyards like the Clos du Mesnil going into the blends. Very complex bouquet of hazelnuts, marzipan and exotic spices like ginger and candied dried fruits. The true art of this cuvee being the consistency of the taste as Olivier pointed out he worked for the firm which carries his namesake for 15 years to discover the key to making this wine the same way it has been produced since 1845!

 

1982 Krug Blanc de Blancs Clos du Mesnil
Price: $1500.00    Sale $1320
Quantity in Stock: 1

(94 Points) The 1982 Clos du Mesnil is another pretty wine that is drinking beautifully today. It is the product of a vintage that produced a Clos du Mesnil with higher alcohol and lower acidity than is normally the case. To put that into perspective, the 1982 clocks in at just 6.5% acidity as compared to 9.45% for the 1988, which represents the other end of the spectrum. Still, it is amazing how much chalkiness and pure minerality comes through regardless. The 1982 is a pretty, complete Clos du Mesnil that shows the riper, open style of wine that this site is capable of in hotter years. Wine Advocate

 

1989 Krug Collection Vintage Champagne
Price: $675.00    Sale $594
Quantity in Stock: 2

(97 points)  Shows a lovely interplay between the creamy bead and rich notes of almond financier, apricot preserves, treacle and cardamom, with finely cut, persistent acidity and flavors of pastis, raspberry puree, fennel seed and fleur de sel. Offers a refined, lasting finish, with a push of saline-tinged minerality. Drink now through 2029. (Insider) (9/ 2013) Wine Spectator

 

1990 Krug Vintage Champagne
Price: $762.00    Sale $670.56
Quantity in Stock: 3

(95 points)   At its finest, the 1990 Vintage is superb, revealing a slightly oxidized style, but a full-bodied, rustic, rich personality with the body of a red wine, but loads of character. I cannot recommend the 1989 Vintage as three bottles tasted were all oxidized, possibly from bad storage, but who knows?  Wine Advocate #162, Dec 2005

 

1998 Krug Clos d'Ambonnay Brut Champagne
Price: $2475.00    Sale $2178
Quantity in Stock: 2

Krug Vintage Champagne Clos D'Ambonnay 1998 is the rarest of all Krugs. Krug Clos d'Ambonnay is the exceptional product of a single walled vineyard in the village of Ambonnay, which for generations has been one of Krug's best-loved terroirs. In this supremely elegant champagne, Ambonnay's Pinot Noir grapes are elevated to their ultimate expression by Krug's legendary craftsmanship and long years of aging in the cellars.  The launch of Krug Clos d'Ambonnay is a landmark because it is a Champagne which three members of the Krug family - Henri Krug, Rémi Krug and Olivier Krug - all worked together on in unison.

 

2003 Krug Clos de Mesnil Blanc de Blanc Brut Champagne
Price: $1089.00    Sale $958.32
Quantity in Stock: 1

Krug Clos du Mesnil 2003 exalts the crisp purity of a single walled plot of vines (Clos in French): Krug’s Clos du Mesnil in the village of Mesnil-sur-Oger, and of a single grape variety: Chardonnay, all from a single year: 2003. The House of Krug chose to create Krug Clos du Mesnil 2003 because, from the very first tastings, the Chardonnay grapes of the 2003 harvest already revealed a delightful, expressive and balanced character without any excess aromatic intensity.   Krug Clos du Mesnil 2003 has tones of luminous yellow gold colour which shimmers with brightness.

You will be seduced by aromas of praline, hazelnuts, ginger and spices. In the palate you will find strong flavors of honey, quince and candied citrus fruit, with a long and slightly lemony finish.

Moet Chandon

Some things in life are enduring symbols of status. Especially things imported that are rare, expensive, and prestigious.  As the Rolls Royce is to the automobile, so is Dom Pérignon to wine.  Those who work in the restaurant business know just when consumptive spending is the order of the day.  The host will quickly survey the Champagne list and order what is the prestige mainstay of practically every full service restaurant in the United States - Dom Pérignon.  The majority of people who purchase and drink Dom Pérignon probably don't know much about it; they just know that it is considered the "ne plus ultra" in Champagne.  In fact many of them believe that Dom Pérignon is a special blend of the best of all the Champagne producers.  Those with a better understanding of wine know that Dom Pérignon is only the deluxe cuvée of one Champagne producer, Moët & Chandon.  Practically every major Champagne house in France now produces an extremely expensive deluxe cuvée from a blend of their very best grapes.  There are many that are renowned: Roederer's Cristal; Taittinger's Comtes de Champagne; Perrier-Jouët's "Flower Bottle" etc.  However, Dom Pérignon has always been the leading name.  For years kings and heads of state celebrated with it (Jack Kennedy drank it on the last night of his life in Fort Worth, Texas); the debonair James Bond, the fictional character who ordered it by name and consumed it with panache in his spy movies in the late sixties, probably was the first to bring wide American awareness to this beverage of style and luxury.

The Champagne was named after the 17th century Benedictine monk who is credited with discovering the Champagne process. Dom Pérignon was the cellarmaster at the Abbey of Hautvillers from 1670 to 1715.  It was here that legend says Dom Pérignon invented the Champagne method and exclaimed after his first sip of the newly created beverage: "I am drinking stars."  No historian has really been able to separate legend from lore, and there are probably a hundred forgotten names along the way to whom Champagne lovers owe a debt.  However, it is known that Dom Pérignon was a great technician, experimented with cork closures (then rare in Champagne) and was one of the first to practice the art of blending cuvées of different types of grapes from different vineyard origins.  Today the Abbey of Hautvillers is the property of Moët & Chandon, and a statue of Dom Pérignon oversees the courtyard.  Dom Pérignon was created at the turn of the century for the private use of the Moët & Chandon family.  In 1936 it was first introduced to the U.S. market, and Americans have had a consuming passion for it ever since.  In fact, the United States gets about 25% of the entire production of this Champagne - said to be about 1,000,000 bottles in a plentiful harvest.

Dom Pérignon is a blend of the best grapes at Moët's disposal.  The Champagne cellarmaster, Richard Geoffroy, continually tastes and selects various cuvées of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with an attempt to present a wine in which neither predominates.  Some may prefer one year over another, and part of the reason may be a different grape ratio.  For example, the 1976 was 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay; the 1978 was a 50/50 blend.  Controversy has raged among connoisseurs these past few years about how great Dom Pérignon really is.  A number of critics have said that Dom Pérignon has been less than outstanding and does not warrant its extraordinary reputation; we partially agree with that assessment.  We have drunk great Dom Pérignons from the 1960's, but the "DP's" of the middle 1970's were totally uninspiring.  During that period we think many other Champagne houses were producing luxury cuvées superior to that of Dom Pérignon.  The excellent 1978 Dom Pérignon seemed to signal that Dom was back, and the 1980 (although considerably different in style) was also outstanding.  The fabulous 1982 was a switch back to the more elegant style of the 1978.  The 1983 and the 1985 were among the leading wines of that vintage, and this 2000 is again one of the best wines of this very good vintage.  There is no question that with this recent track record that Dom Pérignon is in top form and is once again one of the greatest Champagnes produced in France.

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2004 Moet Grand Vintage Brut Champagne
Price: $81.00       Sale $71.28
Quantity in Stock: 7

 

Fresh apple and pear fruit on the nose with notes of white flowers and ginger spice.  Smooth creamy mousse on the tongue with a good amount of dosage here also and hint of ginger spice to the finish, nice fruit and a pretty floral note to the finish along with mineral notes.  Finish 40+ Excellent

 

2004 Moet Grand Vintage Rose Champagne
Price: $101.00    Sale $88.88
Quantity in Stock: 2

Nice smoky nuance to the candied cherry and plum like fruit on the nose with a nice amount of dosage here on the palate smooth and creamy mousse with pretty floral notes through the finish.  Fresh and bright with chalky minerally notes, this wine has good structure and freshness with candied red berry fruit and pretty floral note to the finish.  Finish 40+                Excellent +

 

2002 Moet Chandon Grand Vintage Brut Champagne
Price: $87.75       Sale $77.22
Quantity in Stock: 5

(93 Points) This aromatic bubbly is elegant and bracing, featuring graphite, citrus and spice on the nose, with hints of flowers and toast on the palate. Refined and long, with a firm chalky finish. To be released Spring 2011. Best from 2013 through 2032. –BS Wine Spectator Issue: Nov 15, 2010

 

Veuve Clicquot

Veuve Clicquot was founded by Philippe Clicquot in 1772; he was a Reims banker and a woolen merchant who received vineyard land as part of his wife's dowry.  Shortly after the marriage, he began producing Champagne.  His only son Francois assumed control of the family enterprises in 1801 and sold off the other interests in 1804 to devote full energy to the prospering Champagne business.  In 1799, Francois, married Nicole Barbe Ponsardin, daughter of a rich textile manufacturer.  Early in 1806, at the age of 30, Francois was stricken with a fever and was dead a fortnight later.  The senior Clicquot, himself quite sick, drew up letters announcing the Champagne firm's liquidation.  However, he did not take into account the strong-willed personality of his daughter-in-law.  Within four months she revived the company and set about making Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin one of the grandes marques of Champagne.  Perspicacious to the last and revered throughout the region as "La Grande Dame", the uncrowned Queen of Champagne, the widow Clicquot died on the 29th of July, 1866, at the age of 89.  Today the firm owns 265 hectares of vineyards, the third largest holding in the region; and of these, 160 now have a 100% Grand Cru rating.  Only Champagne's elite vineyards attain the 100% Grand Cru rating, and these vineyards supply the grapes for most of the prestige cuvées.  In an average year, the company vineyards account for about 30% of its requirements.  The remainder is bought from 400 or so vineyard owners whose properties are equally well located, giving Veuve Clicquot an exceptionally high overall grape rating of 97%.  With an average annual production of almost 7,000,000 bottles, Veuve Clicquot is Champagne's third largest producer; only Mumm and the behemoth, Moët & Chandon, produce more.  Clicquot went public in 1955, and the firm has since expanded and diversified.  In 1986 Veuve Clicquot bought the Champagne house of Henriot; this esteemed producer has 106 hectares of vineyard holdings biased towards Chardonnay that should nicely complement the Veuve Clicquot wines which have always been biased towards the Pinot Noir.  For such a large turnover of wine, the standard of quality at Veuve Clicquot has been remarkable.

Like most major Champagne houses, Veuve Clicquot produces a wide range of Champagnes.  The firm launched a prestige cuvée - naturally called La Grande Dame - in 1972, the bicentennial year.  The wine is usually about 70% pinot noir and 30% Chardonnay; it comes exclusively from vineyards once owned by Madame Clicquot herself.  It is made only with "cuvée" wine (the first pressing) and is almost always an exceptional Champagne in an elite category where excellence is the norm.  The 1979 (one of our all time favorites), the 1983, the 1985, and the 1988 La Grande Dame (rated a "Taster's Choice" (95) in The Wine News in December of 1995) are big, rich, toasty styles of Champagne that are top class.  Veuve Clicquot also makes an excellent vintage Champagne (the 1985 was an awesome wine, and the recent 1988 and 1989 have been excellent) and a superb vintage Rosé Champagne that is quite dry and austere. Veuve Clicquot owns almost 30% of the acreage - and old vines at that - in Bouzy, the source of pinot noir for Champagne's great rosés.  Veuve Clicquot Champagnes  - due to the preponderance of pinot noir in the blend - can be characterized as rather full-bodied, creamy, large scaled wines that can age well.


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1988 Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame Rose Brut Champagne
Price: $279.00    Sale $245.52
Quantity in Stock: 1

 

1989 Veuve Clicquot Rose Reserve Brut Champagne MAGNUM
Price: $438.00    Sale Price: $350.00
Quantity in Stock: 1

 

1990 Veuve Cliquot La Grande Dame Brut Champagne
Price: $215.00    Sale $189.20
Quantity in Stock: 2

(95 Points) I highly recommend the Veuve Clicquot 1990 La Grande Dame. It is exquisitely rich and accessible, yet bursting with potential. Wine Advocate #119 Oct 1998

 

2004 Veuve Clicquot Brut Champagne Gold Label
Price: $93.50       Sale $82.28
Quantity in Stock: 5

This is the second vintage since 2000, they only make a vintage bottling around 3 times a decade. This wine is elegant lovely balance and a very big year in terms of production, full bodied rich and lovely length, Pinot Noir is predominate with 62% of the blend with 8% Pinot Meunier 30% Chardonnay, nice character depth full bodied structure intense flavor and length and almonds with 7-9 grams of residual this is only 7 very low with plum and apple fruit. 3-4 times. Finish 45+ Excellent +

The only problem with the crispy risotto, seared foie gras and tomato marmalade was there was not enough of the foie gras and that the foie gras pieces were a bit overdone for my taste. I like my liver just seared for a second but this dish worked great with the wine, I love foie gras with Champagne the acidity in the bubbly works hard to clean up the fat in the foie.

 

Ruinart

 

This success of the House of Ruinart was founded on a discreet yet consequential revolution.  The Royal Decree of May 25, 1728 whereby Louis XV gave his consent for sparkling wines to be shipped in baskets containing 50 to 100 bottles.  Prior to this decree, lack of investment in glass bottles made it so that they were too fragile to be shipped outside of the Champagne region. The Royal ruling of 1728 opened the gates of Europe to this spirited wine.

Ennobled and having taken the name Ruinart de Brimont in 1817, the Ruinart family has run the House steadfastly for over two centuries. Each generation has produced a Head of House with singular talents devoted to upholding the family tradition started by Dom Ruinart, its Inspiration, and his nephew, Nicolas, its Founder. Their successors demonstrate the enduring character of Maison Ruinart, and also its ability to welcome strong and varied personalities to enrich their expertise: Claude the Traveller, François Irénée the Administrator, Edmond the American, Edgard the Market Maker, Charles the Communicator, André the Rebuilder... and many more besides.
Nicolas Ruinart, a Reims draper like his father, started his first account ledger devoted to "wine with bubbles" on September 1, 1729.
This ledger serves as the birth certificate for the first Champagne House ever created. The first bottles of "wine with bubbles" produced were intended  as gifts for Nicolas Ruinart's clients who purchased cloth and fabric.
However, Nicolas was a sophisticated businessman and he had adopted his uncle's pioneering vision and ambition for "wine with bubbles," and just six years after the initial bottles were produced he found success.
In 1735, Maison Ruinart abandoned the cloth trade to concentrate on  the burgeoning champagne trade.  This became Nicolas's sole  occupation and growth was  exponential with 170 bottles sold in 1730, 3,000 bottles in 1731, 36,000 in 1761, and onwards.
On April 12, 1817, Louis XVIII granted nobility to François Irénée Ruinart. With the letters of nobility, the King also granted François
the heraldic crest which has appeared on the labels of Ruinart bottles ever since.
Dom Thierry Ruinart was an intuitive, visionary, hardworking, and modest Benedictine monk who lived from 1657-1709 and was a contemporary of Louis XIV. A brilliant theologian and historian, at the age of 23 he left his home in Champagne to go to the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, one of the most influential centers of learning near Paris. While there, he was exposed to the city and court where he gained an awareness of a more worldly life and in-particular he learned of a new "wine with bubbles," not yet known as champagne, which was already popular among young aristocrats.
Dom Ruinart was an author of scholarly works, but also had a taste for the contemporary and his inquiring mind went hand in hand with a keen business sense. Throughout his life, he would visit his brother and home in Champagne and these diverse observations instilled in him the conviction that "wine with bubbles" produced from the vines of his native soil – also known as "vin de mousse" or sparkling wine – had a promising future. He passed on this conviction to his brother and his nephew.
In 1729, twenty years after the death of Dom Ruinart, Nicolas Ruinart, Dom Ruinart's nephew, founded the first Champagne House, Maison Ruinart, and forever ingrained his uncle's name and the house in the history books.

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