Crème de La Champagne

If you’re looking for top-notch bubbly,
you can’t do better than these faultless 15.

QRW Tasting Panel

“Remuage” or “riddling,” done manually in “pupitres” (boards with holes in which the bottle necks are inserted) (Photo: Champagne Reims)

Northeastern France’s Champagne region has 80,000 acres of vines, which are farmed by almost 20,000 growers. Only about 5,000 of these growers make Champagne under their own name; the remainder sell their grapes to cooperatives or to négociant houses. The négociants – who total more than 250 – are the dominant force in Champagne, accounting for 60 percent of the region’s total wine production.

The mainstay of these négociant firms – the wine they hang their hat on – is non-vintage Brut. “Brut” indicates that the wine contains anywhere from 0 to 15 grams residual sugar per liter, which guarantees it will be fairly dry. “Non-vintage” is something of a misnomer. It really should be “multi-vintage,” as all non-vintage Champagnes are blends of 60-80 percent base wine from a current year and 20-40 percent reserve wines from earlier years. In so blending, producers can work around less-than-stellar vintages and offer consistent quality year-in, year-out. This is a necessity in the Champagne region, where rain and cold are constant irritants, and declarable vintages are few and far between. Indeed, the conditions for vintage Champagne seldom occur more than three to four times each decade.

All French Champagnes are the product of a rigorous, multi-step, vinification process, which involves a second, on-the-lees fermentation in bottle. Non-vintage Champagne must rest a minimum of 15 months on the lees (spent yeast) in bottle before release, while vintage Champagne must remain en tirage, as it’s called, for a minimum of three years. However, the best non-vintage Champagnes often have two or more years of flavor-enriching lees contact. In addition to non-vintage and vintage bottlings, most Champagne houses also offer a “prestige cuvée,” a meticulously crafted, highly limited, top-end wine that represents, according to Tom Stevenson (Christie’s World Encyclopedia of Champagne & Sparkling Wine), “the ultimate expression of the strictest selection that a particular producer can undertake.”

QRW recently tasted a fair number of négociant Champagnes in each of the above categories, and we’ve chosen 15 items – two non-vintage, five vintage and eight prestige cuvée – to recommend. They’re all Five-Star wines in our book, as they not only exemplify the best in quality and character, but are truly in a class by themselves.

NV CHARLES HEIDSIECK BRUT RESERVE, $50. Rich, lush. medium-weight, pear, almond, cream and nougat flavors. BEST OF SHOW

NV BILLECART SALMON BRUT RESERVE, $55. Soft, round, deliciously luxurious, almond and cream flavors.

1999 VEUVE CLICQUOT GOLD LABEL BRUT VINTAGE, $75. Big, rich, ripe, bread dough and nougat flavors; great length and balance. BEST OF SHOW

1999 DELAMOTTE BLANC DE BLANCS VINTAGE, $85. Rich, creamy nose; lush, elegant, brioche and pear flavors.

2000 DEUTZ BRUT VINTAGE, $68. Big, rich, bread dough and mineral flavors; long, resonant finish.

1998 HENRIOT BRUT VINTAGE, $87. Elegant, highly focused, almond and cream flavors with a subtle steely underlay.

1998 POL ROGER BRUT VINTAGE, $110. Lovely, round, nutty, creamy, palate-coating flavors.

1998 TAITTINGER COMTES DE CHAMPAGNE BLANC DE BLANCS, $150. Big, deep, rich, powerful, pear, almond and bread dough flavors. BEST OF SHOW

1997 BOLLINGER LA GRANDE ANNEE, $125. Big, deep, rich, long, doughy, figgy, somewhat steely flavors.

1997 GOSSET CELEBRIS, $175. Big, rich, round, brioche, cream and almond flavors.

1995 HENRIOT CUVEE DES ENCHANTELEURS, $165. Deep, rich, resonant, hazelnut, bread dough and mineral flavors.

1996 KRUG VINTAGE, $320. Big, rich, powerful, never-say-die, bread dough and steel flavors.

NV LAURENT PERRIER GRAND SIECLE, $130. Lush, elegant, highly nuanced, almond, pear and cream flavors.

2000 ROEDERER CRISTAL, $280. Deep, long, penetrating, non-stop, toast, fig and steel flavors.

1998 VEUVE CLICQUOT LA GRANDE DAME, $180. Big, deep, rich, long, bread dough, almond and steel flavors.