Once in a Lifetime Champagne Tasting at Wine Watch Wine Bar

"Yes, I like Piña Coladas and getting caught in the rain
I'm not much into health food, I am into champagne”

Rupert Holmes

If this were the last night on earth these are some of the greatest Champagnes that you could have on the table for this occasion, if you love Champagne this is a tasting that you don't want to miss!

All sparkling wines are not created equal and Champagne along with some of the finer examples of sparkling wines made with this same method established over the last few hundred years in France's northernmost wine region are the only examples of bubbly that you will find on the table tonight.

Champagne is the name of a region and therefore anything inside the boundaries of Champagne can use this name on their label, everything else is just sparkling wine.  The important thing to look for on the label when it comes to sparkling wines outside of the Champagne region is the method of production and if the words, methode champenoise are there were in business, this means that the sparkling wine in the bottle is made with the same standards that are used in the great wines from the Champagne region of France.

This is a “Once in a Lifetime” Champagne tasting and is limited to 14 tasters, the fee for this tasting is $250 + tax.   For reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.

Ultimate Collectible Champagne Tasting at Wine Watch Wine Bar
Wednesday, May 24th
7:30pm

1988 Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame Rose Brut Champagne
Price: $279.00    Sale Price: $195.00
Quantity in Stock: 4

This is the first Champagne that I drank from this collection and every bottle we have opened has been delicious.  Were down to the last few bottles and wanted to take down at least one more before its gone!!

1990 Dom Perignon Brut Champagne
Price: $325.00    Your Price: $260.00
Quantity in Stock: 3

(98 Points) Medium lemon-straw colour. Intensely fragrant nose with aromas of jasmine, cinnamon buttered toast, stewed apples and preserved ginger. Concentrated honey-nut, warm apple tart and spice flavours fill the mouth giving ample flesh to the firm, fine structure. The bubbles are still remarkably frisky and, in harmony with the crisp backbone of acid, make for a relatively youthful, elegant and exquisitely balanced wine. Very long finish. Drink now to 2015. Tasted December 2008.  Wine Advocate, In Asia, Mar 2009

1990 Salon Cuvee 'S' Le Mesnil Blanc de Blancs Brut Champagne
Price: $795.00    Sale Price: $595.00
Quantity in Stock: 20

The House of Salon makes no other wine, only this rare vintage tête de cuvée blanc de blancs, with grapes hand-selected from Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Grand Cru vineyard in the Côte des Blancs. Since 1911, vintages have been declared no more than four times a decade. Aged en tirage for eight to ten years and hand-disgorged when a specific order is received, Salon is long and creamy in flavor, slowly revealing its wondrous and unique splendors. Salon's 1985, 1988, and 1990 vintages are among the most highly praised consecutive releases from a single Champagne house.

The 1990 vintage is only the 33rd vintage produced since the creation of the House of Salon in 1911. It is certainly one of the greatest vintages ever produced. The year began inauspiciously in the Côte des Blancs, with an early bud-break severely damaged by two frosts in April; forty-five percent of the vineyards were hit. June was wet and cold, resulting in further losses from coulure and millerandage. A miserable beginning, but as if to compensate, the remainder of the summer was glorious. Exceptional ripening conditions prevailed for the growing season, without cessation even through harvest. The harvest began on September 14th in Le Mesnil, with Chardonnay of unusual homogeneity and high acidity, promising greatness.

Salon 1990 tasting notes: The color is deep gold, with a fine and delicate mousse. An aromatic explosion of lemon, lime, and spices amidst very floral notes greets the nose and gives a freshness to the bouquet. The taste is structured, with an ever-present but not aggressive acidity, which will allow it to age far over twenty years. This wine melds seemingly impossible contradictions – ample yet delicate, creamy acidity, dense yet elegant.

1990 Krug Vintage Champagne
Price: $762.00    Sale Price: $450.00
Quantity in Stock: 36

(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

1990 Veuve Cliquot La Grande Dame Brut Champagne

(96 points) Rich, multidimensional, highly aromatic nose of pear, red berries, apple, honey, toast and spice. Extremely rich and concentrated, with its medium to full body leavened by bright citrus notes and compelling minerality. Great inner-mouth aromas. Conveys an impression of powerful yet remarkably fine raw materials. The spicy finish offers exceptional persistence and richness. (11/1999) Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

1990 Perrier Jouet Champagne Belle Epoche
Price: $199.00    Your Price: $175.12
Quantity in Stock: 8

(94 Points) A grand, traditional Champagne in the best sense. Full-bodied, beautifully balanced and luxuriously smooth in texture, offering subtle, complex accents of toasted almond to complement the base of fine fruit flavor. Drink now through 2003. “ Wine Spectator Issue: Dec 15, 1998

1992 Krug Clos Du Mesnil Brut Champagne
Price: $1495.00    Sale Price: $995.00
Quantity in Stock: 8

95(+?) points Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar: "Subdued, extremely pure, soil-inflected nose hints at lemon, ginger, smoke, minerals, iodine, nutmeg and hazelnut. From a sniff, I would have been as likely to say Le Montrachet or Corton-Charlemagne as Mesnil, but I would certainly have named one of the planet's elite sites for chardonnay. Very laid-back and dry, even austere today, with an extremely fine-grained texture and penetrating flavors of minerals, citrus skin, flowers and hazelnut. A thoroughly unevolved wine of great intensity and subtlety. Seems to grow even denser toward the back, but the bracing finish suggests that this great Champagne should really be forgotten for another four or five years." (Nov/Dev 04)

1996 Salon Blancs De Blancs Brut Champagne
Price: $595.00    Sale Price: $495.00
Quantity in Stock: 33

“Green-tinged gold. Incredibly complex, intense bouquet of smoky, leesy orange, pear, licorice, minerals and bitter quinine. The superconcentrated citrus, quince and pear liqueur flavors convey an almost painful impression of extract and positively explode across the palate. Elegant, poised and precise in a manner rare for a wine with such flavor intensity. The vibrant, minerally, extremely long finish simply doesn't let up. This should age effortlessly for a decade or two.”  International Wine Cellar

1996 Krug Vintage Brut Champagne
Price: $595.00    Sale Price: $495.00
Quantity in Stock: 18

(98 Points) The 1996 Krug Vintage remains one of the greatest Champagnes ever made. It is also far less expensive than either the Clos du Mesnil or Clos d’Ambonnay but equally as delicious. This bottle is stratospheric, with layers of explosive fruit that flow effortlessly to the multi-dimensional, captivating finish. It is another eternal Champagne from Krug. In the Cellar # 0711 Jul 2011

Passed
Caviar stuffed potatoes
Siracha & wasabi deviled eggs
Seared shrimp with jalapeno syrup

On the table
mini cheddar bacon  biscuits with house made creamy salted raspberry butter

First course
tuna carpaccio with grapefruit segments and honey-cardamom aioli

Dinner course
Luau Lamb chops (pineapple-orange-ginger) with indian scented buttermilk mash

Dessert course
lemon infused trifle pound cake with fresh strawberries and house whipped cream

There are only 14 seats available for this event, the fee for this tasting is $250 + tax for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.

Some of these collectibles that we have in the store from these producers.

Krug

Krug Grande Cuvee Brut Champagne
Price: $231.00    Sale Price: $196.35
Quantity in Stock: 12

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!

1985 Krug Vintage Brut Champagne
Price: $825.00    Sale Price: $695.00
Quantity in Stock: 10

(97 points)  Animated and fresh, this is exotic on the nose and palate, with a finely woven tapestry of ground ginger, chamomile, pineapple pâte de fruit, grilled nut and biscuit flavors. Refined in texture and persistent on the long, truffle-laced finish. (12/2014) Wine Spectator

1986 Krug Clos Du Mesnil Brut Champagne
Price: $1475.00    Sale Price: $995.00
Quantity in Stock: 5

(98 points) *Cellar Selection* Stops you in your tracks. Fascinating-from thebarrel-fermented coconut, vanilla, pineapple andmarmalade bouquet to the incredible richness andconcentration, this is an original. The peach,vanilla, honey and tangerine flavors ride a crest of bracing acidity, dry and forceful, to a lingering aftertaste of spring blossoms and hazelnut. (11/2000) Wine Spectator

1989 Krug Collection Vintage Champagne
Price: $675.00    Your Price: $594.00
Quantity in Stock: 1

(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

2003 Krug Clos de Mesnil Blanc de Blanc Brut Champagne
Price: $1089.00    Your Price: $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.

Veuve Clicquot

1995 Veuve Clicquot Gold Label Vintage Brut Champagne
Price: $125.00    Sale Price: $95.00
Quantity in Stock: 3

(91 Points) Dense and concentrated, this bubbly delivers its flavors on a racy profile, with plenty of intensity. Picks up a ginger note toward the finish. Drink now through 2008. –BS Wine Spectator, Issue: Oct 31, 2002

1996 Veuve Clicquot Gold Label Rare Vintage Brut Champagne (375ml)
Price: $59.00    Sale Price: $39.00
Quantity in Stock: 12

1996 Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame Brut Champagne
Price: $225.00    Sale Price: $189.00
Quantity in Stock: 1

93 PointsA touch cheesy in aroma, this settles into apple, peach and hazelnut flavors. On the sharp side, with a grainy texture that emerges on the finish. A powerful, dry Champagne, with a biscuitlike aftertaste. Needs food. Drink now through 2020 Wine Spectator Issue: Nov 30, 2006

2006 Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame
Price: $187.50    Sale Price: $159.00
Quantity in Stock: 2

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.

2008 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne Brut Vintage Gold Label
Price: $78.75    Your Price: $69.30
Quantity in Stock: 5

Its clear, brilliant, gold color lights up in the delicate tumult of fine bubbles produced by its persistent and remarkable effervescence. The nose is fresh, refined and elegant. Fragrances of citrus fruit and stone fruits (peach, apricot) appear first, which are then enriched by delicate, warm notes of sweet pastries, (almonds, Mirabelle plum tart): a subtle alliance of freshness and fullness. On the palate, the frank lively and pure attack moves into a powerful, structured palate, delicately chiseled from the minerality of Champagnes' chalky terroir. The generosity of the Pinot Noir's fruitiness resonates harmoniously with the freshness of the light candied citrus fruit aromas (lemon) which are embellished in the finish with delicate hints of toasted notes and dried fruit (apricots). Vintage 2008 is the perfect combination of power, freshness and finesse, and ends with an incredibly long finish.

Dom Perignon

1970 Dom Perignon Brut Champagne
Price: $799.00    Your Price: $703.12
Quantity in Stock: 1

1995 Dom Perignon Rose Brut Champagne
Price: $675.00    Your Price: $594.00
Quantity in Stock: 13

1998 Dom Perignon Oenotheque P2
Price: $435.00    Sale Price: $349.00
Quantity in Stock: 3

(97 Points) A P2 release indicating it has been matured to the 2nd Plenitude, the middle stage of Dom Perignon's three-phase life as defined by Richard Geoffroy. This is a wine with some real tension between complexity and freshness that makes for incredibly engaging drinking. The nose offers up a little white peppery edge from the pinot; oyster shell saline freshness, red florals, sweet smelling woody spices and brioche, spiced biscuits and subtle roasted coffee notes - impressively complex. The phenolics register on the palate as a discreetly mineral, saline character, there's sorbet-like texture through the middle before finishing with comet-like line and length. (8/ 2014) James Suckling

(95 points) The 1998 Dom Pérignon P-2 (formerly Oenothèque) is quite reticent today. What else is new? These second -plenitude wines are often very tight when they are first released, which is very much the case here. Still, it is quite evident the 1998 is a bit more tender and pliant than the 1996. Today, the 1998 still hasn't turned the corner, but it is quite pretty and expressive. This is a terrific offering. (5/ 2014) Antonio Galloni

2005 Dom Perignon Brut Champagne Magnum
Price: $729.00    Your Price: $641.52
Quantity in Stock: 2

(95 Points) "The 2005 Dom Pérignon opens with the classic Dom Pérignon bouquet. Warm toasty notes meld into expressive fruit in a supple, silky Champagne endowed with stunning depth, nuance and complexity. Sweet floral notes add lift as the wine opens up in the glass. Overall, the 2005 is a relatively delicate, gracious DP, but what it lacks in depth it more than makes up with persistence and its open, totally inviting personality. Today it's hard to see the 2005 making old bones, but it is a gorgeous wine to drink while the 2004 ages. In 2005, the release is scheduled to last about six months, which means production is down around 50% over normal levels. All I can say is the 2005 is fabulous, especially in a vintage that required considerable sorting to eliminate rampant rot in the Pinots." Vinous / Antonio Galloni

Cristal

1989 Louis Roederer Cristal Rose Brut Champagne
Price: $1050.00    Sale Price: $850.00
Quantity in Stock: 1

1989 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut Magnum 1.5L
Price: $895.00    Your Price: $787.60
Quantity in Stock: 1

1990 Louis Roederer Cristal Millennium Big Bottle
Price: $15500.00    Sale Price: $12500.00
Quantity in Stock: 1

(97 points) "The Louis Roederer 1990 Cristal is awesome! A classic of power and finesse, richness and delicacy, it may be the greatest Cristal I have ever tasted! (RP)"  (10/1998) Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

1993 Louis Roederer Cristal Brut Champagne
Price: $353.00    Your Price: $310.64
Quantity in Stock: 4

2004 Louis Roederer Cristal Rose Brut Champagne
Price: $595.00    Your Price: $523.60
Quantity in Stock: 1

(94 points) The 2004 Cristal Rose, from magnum, is less expressive than the Cristal. Today it is too soon to tell how much of that may be attributable to the larger format. The 2004 Cristal Rose is 70% Pinot from Ay and 30% Chardonnay from Avize. This remains a very tight, mineral-driven Cristal Rose that will require significant bottle age. A final burst of floral red berries on the finish bodes well for the future. Today I prefer the Cristal over the Cristal Rose, but time will ultimately tell how these wines develop. I recently tasted the 1996s and it is now appears the Rose has moved ahead, if very slightly, from the Cristal. The 2004 Cristal Rose was disgorged in December 2009 and dosage was 9 grams per liter. In the Cellar # 0910 Sep 2010

2007 Louis Roederer Cristal Brut Champagne
Price: $252.00    Sale Price: $219.00
Quantity in Stock: 10

Harvests: 2007 was a mostly warm year, characterised by unexpected and major weather events. A warm spring was followed by a cool summer. Drought had returned by the end of August. The end of the ripening process was excellent, and the harvests took place in ideal conditions.

Elaboration: 58% Pinot noir 42% Chardonnay 15% wines matured in wood (oak barrels) with weekly baronage “no malolactic fermentation. Cristal is a blend of grand crus from the Reims mountain, the Marne Valley and Côte des Blancs. Matured for 5 years in cellars 8 months resting after disgorging. Dosage: 9.5g/l.

Style: Cristal 2007 is a magnificent example of Cristals ˜discreet power™: it is not so much an expression of the strength of the vintage, but rather the incredible finesse of the estates limestone substratum and the concentration of the old vines that are selected for the creation of Cristal.

Tasting: It has a golden hue with slightly orange-colored and warm highlights. It has impeccable, fine, regular, and dynamic bubbles. Its classic bouquet is both elegant and discreet. The attack of juicy ripe fruits (Pear Williams) and slightly acid red fruits (redcurrants) combined with nuances of hot pastries and Tarte Tatin that have just been taken out of the oven. The wine is ready to reveal its many qualities and, after a few minutes in the glass, reveals notes of white chocolate and hazelnuts produced by the fermentation in wood of some of the wines from the 2007 harvest. This juxtaposition of aromas of ripe, acid, and sweet fruits with the more roasted notes resulting from ageing becomes more pronounced over time and produces a real impression of depth. The attack in the mouth is concentrated and continues with mature fruits. The wine is prolonged by smoky flavors, once again creating the impression of natural depth. The textures are silky, velvety, and almost luscious; they provide perfect overtones to the wines freshness in a luscious and sensual ensemble. Powdery and salty nuances stimulate the edges of the tongue, adding a precise and energetic quality. And the final phase of the tasting is predominantly an impression of refinement and lightness.

Perrier Jouet

1983 Perrier Jouet Belle Epoche Brut Champagne
Price: $299.00    Your Price: $263.12
Quantity in Stock: 1

1989 Perrier Jouet Fleur de Champagne Rose
Price: $236.00    Your Price: $207.68
Quantity in Stock: 11

1996 Perrier Jouet Fleur de Champagne
Price: $195.00    Sale Price: $165.00
Quantity in Stock: 7

2002 Perrier Jouet Belle Epoche Rose Brut Champagne
Price: $245.00    Your Price: $215.60
Quantity in Stock: 3

Some other Great Tete De Cuvee Champagne

1996 Taittinger Comtes De Champagne Blanc de Blancs
Price: $375.00    Sale Price: $315.00
Quantity in Stock: 1

1996 Billecart Salmon Blanc de Blanc Brut Champagne
Price: $159.00    Your Price: $139.92
Quantity in Stock: 6

1996 Billecart Salmon Brut Champagne Cuvee St Hilaire
Price: $475.00    Your Price: $418
Quantity in Stock: 7

(96 points)  Billecart-Salmon’s 1996 Le Clos Saint-Hilaire has lost some of its youthful exuberance and the fruit now is a touch softer than it was a few years ago. The aromatics and overall balance remain seductive and utterly compelling. To gain perspective, I tasted this next to Bollinger’s Vielles Vignes Francaises and Krug’s Clos d’Ambonnay. The Clos Saint-Hilaire is the most delicate, ethereal of the three, while the VVF is the darkest and most brooding, purely vinous of the wines. The Clos d’Ambonnay stands out for its laser-like minerality and intensity. It is likely to be the longest-lived of these three Blanc de Noirs.  In the Cellar #1110, Nov 2010

1996 Bollinger Grande Anne Brut Champagne
Price: $225.00    Your Price: $191.25
Quantity in Stock: 2

(93 Points) This is full-bodied, with berry, bread dough and citrus aromas and flavors unfolding on the palate. It's firm and muscular, with depth, intensity and a long, lingering aftertaste. A Champagne for the table. Drink now through 2015. 400 cases imported. –BS Wine Spectator Issue: Nov 15, 2004

2009 Bollinger 007 James Bond Spectre Limited Edition
Price: $252.00    Your Price: $214.20
Quantity in Stock: 1

Blend: Sourced exclusively from Grands crus from the Champagne region, the juices selected are taken from the ‘cuve?e’ retaining only the best of the grapes. The Bollinger Spectre Limited Edition blend is composed of 68% Pinot Noir and 32% Chardonnay.
Five crus make up the composition of this blend 
For Pinot Noir; Ay 39% and Verzenay 29%.
For Chardonnay; Mesnil-sur-Oger 16%, Avize 8% and Cramant 8%.
Bollinger Spectre Limited Edition is produced in small old oak barrels so as not to give the wines the taste of wood or tannins. After bottling, the second fermentation and slow maturing in the cellar occur using cork stoppers to preserve the freshness of the wines while protecting them against oxidation.

The 2009 harvest: Favorable weather conditions allowed the vines to bud mid-April, slightly early compared to the average of the past ten years. Flowering was disrupted by rain and cool temperatures. Early summer was marked by a succession of violent storms that raised concerns of vine health. As of 1st August, there was uninterrupted excellent weather until the harvest, which ran from 12 to 27 September with idyllic temperatures. The average potential alcohol for Bollinger reached 10,1°, with an acidity of 7 grams per liter.

1995 Champagne Deutz Blanc de Blancs
Price: $240.00    Sale Price: $199.00
Quantity in Stock: 2

2005 Nicolas Feuillatte Palmes d'Or Rose Champagne
Price: $195.00    Your Price: $171.60
Quantity in Stock: 3

Palmes d'Or Vintage Rosé vintage is a blend of Pinot Noir, of which half is sourced in Riceys and the remaining half in Bouzy. Palmes d'Or Vintage Rosé is without question the most powerful and most sensual of all the range. The "rosé de saignée" production method allows the red fruit aromas to fully develop, creating a bouquet somewhat reminiscent of Burgundy Pinot Noir.

Champagne Drappier Grand Sendree 2005
Price: $139.00    Sale Price: $99.00
Quantity in Stock: 192

This is the tete de Cuvee of this house and is a blend of 55% Pinot Noir and 45% Chardonnay aged for seven years en-tirage in the cellars of Drappier.  This wine has a rich golden color with aromas of quince, apricot and strawberry shortcake like aromas to the toasted nutty biscuit like aromas with light smoky notes, even more complex as the wine opens in the glass.  Thick and viscous on the tongue with a texture of cream, rich ripe fruit and tongue tingly acidity along with that textbook chalky sea shell like mineral nuance through the finish.  Finish 50+  Most Excellent +