Very good wine. I tasted it around Christmas. For me the biggest role in tasting champagne is correct glassware. Burgundy glass from the Spiegelau Definition line is a game changer, no matter which Champagne you taste, NV or V.
Great review. I've only had this wine once- last years I had the 2004 and I agree with you that age does this wine good! looking forward to your next one!
@@TrophyWineHunter highly recommend. 16 domaine de chevalier felt like a let down for 40% more. This was seriously top tier and for the price?? solid cellar choice
@@TrophyWineHunter maybe I'm being over critical or maybe it's just my palate. I find that I really enjoy margaux/st julien wines but have struggled when going down into Pessac. people often talk about "minerality" which is funny because another region, Rhône, is often described as having "minerality". I like neither so far :-(
@@jcbd9415 everyone has their own palate. I find Pessac wine chalky/gravelly so some people don't like that. For Rhone, I find it quite rough on the palate and I like smooth wines. Doesn't mean that they aren't great wines....just means they are not suited to my palate but that is fine. Cheers!
For me buying expensive maison champagne is like going to France only to buy a croissant in the tour eiffel: sure, it is nice and expensive, but you surely are missing a lot out there. The real game is trying and experiencing hundreds of small family champagne growers, for a fraction of the cost of a big brand like Veuve. Btw, is owned by LVMH, so here you have why this bottle is "expensive" and "premium".
jabad: I partially agree. I think it is important to also find smaller family growers. But with smaller family growers, because they are small, it is harder to find consistently and because they do not have good supply chains, probably there is more cost involved in shipping. I don't think you should stay away from big brands just because they are big. Big has its advantages also including better quality control, better availability, etc. So a champagne should not be punished for being expensive and really good. For La Grande Dame, a small grower could not possibly compete as no small grower would have so much Grand Cru vineyards in different sites. So they may be able to make a good champagne but no possible way they can consistently over decades make a champagne as good as La Grande Dame, hence the price. Also, Veuve was already well known well before LVMH bought them. This discussion between small and big is an interesting one that applies to all wine regions. Each has their advantages. With small growers, I just find that the availability isn't consistent enough so even if you buy a bottle and love it, you may not be able to find it year after year and with consistent quality. That is a nature of small grower...they have to live with what they have, good or bad. Cheers!
@@BatiBatut yes, quality at any level should be supported. My only point is that you shouldn't stay away from wine just because they are popular or expensive....likewise you shouldn't buy wines just because they are popular and expensive. I encourage everyone to taste themselves, form their own opinions while still accepting other views.
@@TrophyWineHunter Well, I am drinking now a 11 euro wine bought from an underground supermarket, 2014 vintage ( a mediocre year for Italy) that is just divine, tremendous pleasure, quite poetic. I gave it 94 plus points. Do they exist? YES! But seldom can be found. A 150 euro bottle is more convincing, has more gravitas, but is it more pleasurable? Not necessarily.
@@BatiBatutExactly my point! When a luxury corporation is behing something, you can be pretty sure that the product will be overpriced and hyped. All while smaller producers stay in the shadows
Very good wine. I tasted it around Christmas. For me the biggest role in tasting champagne is correct glassware. Burgundy glass from the Spiegelau Definition line is a game changer, no matter which Champagne you taste, NV or V.
antonio: thank you for viewing my video and your tip on glassware. Please like, subscribe and keep watching. Cheers!
Did you try the Zieher glases for Champagne?
@@MrGentleman2000 no, not yet but I will look out for it.
Great review. I've only had this wine once- last years I had the 2004 and I agree with you that age does this wine good! looking forward to your next one!
😀😀
hey trophy, completely off topic. opened the 2020 durfort for my birthday today. EXCELLENT. you need to try this producer in recent years!
Jereme: Yes, I would love to try their wines...I know the quality has improved. Will try to find a bottle at a reasonable price to try. Cheers!
@@TrophyWineHunter highly recommend. 16 domaine de chevalier felt like a let down for 40% more. This was seriously top tier and for the price?? solid cellar choice
@@jcbd9415 huh..chevalier is quite high rated and I have had it a number of times in other vintage and always solid but never jaw dropping. Cheers!
@@TrophyWineHunter maybe I'm being over critical or maybe it's just my palate. I find that I really enjoy margaux/st julien wines but have struggled when going down into Pessac. people often talk about "minerality" which is funny because another region, Rhône, is often described as having "minerality". I like neither so far :-(
@@jcbd9415 everyone has their own palate. I find Pessac wine chalky/gravelly so some people don't like that. For Rhone, I find it quite rough on the palate and I like smooth wines. Doesn't mean that they aren't great wines....just means they are not suited to my palate but that is fine. Cheers!
I have to taste a La Grande Dame one day…🥂
grigorhaig: I was surprised with the quality. It is lower priced that a lot of other vintage champagnes so still some value here. Cheers!
For me buying expensive maison champagne is like going to France only to buy a croissant in the tour eiffel: sure, it is nice and expensive, but you surely are missing a lot out there. The real game is trying and experiencing hundreds of small family champagne growers, for a fraction of the cost of a big brand like Veuve. Btw, is owned by LVMH, so here you have why this bottle is "expensive" and "premium".
jabad: I partially agree. I think it is important to also find smaller family growers. But with smaller family growers, because they are small, it is harder to find consistently and because they do not have good supply chains, probably there is more cost involved in shipping.
I don't think you should stay away from big brands just because they are big. Big has its advantages also including better quality control, better availability, etc. So a champagne should not be punished for being expensive and really good. For La Grande Dame, a small grower could not possibly compete as no small grower would have so much Grand Cru vineyards in different sites. So they may be able to make a good champagne but no possible way they can consistently over decades make a champagne as good as La Grande Dame, hence the price. Also, Veuve was already well known well before LVMH bought them.
This discussion between small and big is an interesting one that applies to all wine regions. Each has their advantages. With small growers, I just find that the availability isn't consistent enough so even if you buy a bottle and love it, you may not be able to find it year after year and with consistent quality. That is a nature of small grower...they have to live with what they have, good or bad. Cheers!
@@TrophyWineHunter Very true, but mainly high flight wine making requires huge financial investments. Alas, small producers lack that.
@@BatiBatut yes, quality at any level should be supported. My only point is that you shouldn't stay away from wine just because they are popular or expensive....likewise you shouldn't buy wines just because they are popular and expensive. I encourage everyone to taste themselves, form their own opinions while still accepting other views.
@@TrophyWineHunter Well, I am drinking now a 11 euro wine bought from an underground supermarket, 2014 vintage ( a mediocre year for Italy) that is just divine, tremendous pleasure, quite poetic. I gave it 94 plus points. Do they exist? YES! But seldom can be found. A 150 euro bottle is more convincing, has more gravitas, but is it more pleasurable? Not necessarily.
@@BatiBatutExactly my point! When a luxury corporation is behing something, you can be pretty sure that the product will be overpriced and hyped. All while smaller producers stay in the shadows