
Club Oenologique 2022 Champagne Report
October 6, 2022
Club Oenologique have released the first part of 2022 Champagne Report. The report spans from Non-Vintages to recent releases.
Club Oenologique have released the first part of 2022 Champagne Report. The report spans from Non-Vintages to recent releases.
Read about the launch of Louis Roederer Collection 242 the replacement for Brut Premier. Fighting for Freshness was their objective.
Krug Grande Cuvée 169ème Édition is a blend of 146 wines from 11 different years, the youngest of which is from 2013, while the oldest dates back to 2000 and a stay of around seven years in Krug’s cellars gives this edition its distinct expression and elegance.
Nearly two decades ago, Champagne Jacquesson redefined non-vintage champagne. Instead of creating a consistent style year upon year, they now produce the best champagne possible and value each creation for their distinctive personalities – a concept that the wider region is just now starting to wake up to.
During a visit to the house of Bollinger in Aÿ last year, we explored champagnes from some of the region’s hottest ever vintages, dating as far back as 1947. We also held a mini-vertical of Special Cuvée base vintages, tasted a trio of R.D.s and had a look at the new Coteaux Champenois.
Despite frequently tasting newly released champagnes, we rarely take the opportunity to sit down and taste just new releases. At our tasting at Frederick’s earlier this week we did exactly that, tasting a range of styles from some of the top champagne producers side by side.
A year of change for Laurent-Perrier sees the house welcome a new champagne, Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature NV; a redefined prestige cuvée concept, Grand Siècle Iterations; and finally, a new chef de cave, Dominique Demarville. We caught up in June to find out more.
A fascinating article detailing the often too difficult task of discerning information about a specific bottle of non-vintage champagne was recently published by Jancis Robinson MW on her website. She argues in favour of producers making information more available.
Jancis Robinson MW has recently tasted and scored more than 60 non-vintage champagnes, having attended two great champagne events in the capital, Taste Champagne and New Wave Champagne. Here we provide a link to the full article on her website.
A year of big change for Laurent-Perrier sees the release of a brand new cuvée, Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature NV, and the introduction of Grand Siècle ‘Iterations’, which will from now onwards be numbered, allowing consumers to discern information about their specific bottle.
This week, Krug unveiled their latest creation: Grande Cuvée Edition 167 NV. Based on the 2011 harvest, this will be a very short release due to the limited quantities produced. We have also recently listed magnums of Grande Cuvée Edition 164 NV, based on the spectacular 2008 vintage.
As a winemaker, Ruinart Chef de Cave Frédéric Panaïotis is excited by vintage 2018, “a year of extremes.” However, as a human, he’s worried about what it signifies for our changing climate. We tasted the vins clairs from this exceptional year at the house in Reims.
Our previous write-up highlighted what a spectacular year 2018 was for champagne. The good news? 2019 is set to be even bigger! In this article, we look to the future and discuss which champagnes we can expect to be released in 2019.
In this article, we outline our top picks for Christmas 2018, highlighting some of the best new releases, award-winning cuvées, sparkling magnums, and a selection of the champagnes that we’ll be sipping next to an open fire this festive season.
This week we’re celebrating the most popular style of champagne: non-vintage. Since we love magnums, we’re promoting both bottles and magnums from some of the region’s most popular brands, including Bollinger, Charles Heidsieck and Pol Roger.
For our third weekly Christmas promotion, we have special offers on Bollinger and Louis Roederer champagnes, including three stunning new releases: R.D. 2004, Brut Vintage 2012 and Rosé 2012. Toast the end of the year in style with up to 27% off!
The second in our series of weekly Christmas promotions sees special offers on Laurent-Perrier and Veuve Clicquot. With La Cuvée NV, Cuvée Rosé NV, Extra Brut Extra Old MV and Yellow Label NV Magnums on offer, there’s something to please every palate!
In the weeks leading up to Christmas, we’ll be running a series of weekly promotions. Each week will have a different theme, promoting a different brand or a different style of champagne. For our first festive promotion, we have special offers on Moët & Chandon and Dom Pérignon champagne.
Non-vintage champagnes are a blend of multiple vintages. However, with 60-90% of the blend coming from a single vintage, or base year, the final blend inevitably displays subtle characteristics of that vintage. Just how much influence does base year have on non-vintage?
Popping a cork has become so synonymous with celebration that the particularly unique vinous qualities of Champagne can be easily overlooked. Here we shed light on the complexities of our favourite effervescent tipple, by defining some of the key terms involved in Champagne and its production.
We recently compared a bottle and magnum of Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle NV and were surprised by how fresh and youthful the larger format was showing, despite being a blend of older vintages. Read the full tasting report here.
This week, Director of Charles Heidsieck Stephen Leroux hosted our Charles Heidsieck Dinner and Tasting at Frederick’s, Islington. With an expertly paired champagne/food menu and a rare magnum of Brut Millésime 1983 to taste, it was a night to remember.
Last week, we held the most comprehensive Krug Grande Cuvée vertical tasting to date. At 67 Pall Mall, guests blind tasted Grande Cuvée Editions 158-166 NV (2002-2010). We also tasted two Krug Vintages: 2002 and 2004.
Our Champagne Range Tasting on Wednesday 13th June at Frederick’s, Islington was once again a roaring success. The sun shone as fifty guests tasted nearly forty champagnes, including many new releases and even a few magnums. Browse the photographs here.
We have long been obsessed with Champagne aged in magnum and always encourage friends and customers to choose magnums over bottles. However, many are put off by the price premium. Here we highlight some of the best value magnums available on the market today.
Earlier this year, we travelled to Champagne to visit thirteen different Champagnes houses and taste the 2017 Vins Clairs with their winemakers. Challenging weather has rendered this vintage one to forget for many, but there are some promising surprises. Which ones have the most potential? Read our full summary.
Charles Heidsieck were one of the first houses to make an all-Chardonnay champagne, back in 1947. In a tribute to their rich history of Chardonnay, the house revealed a brand new cuvée last week: Charles Heidsieck Blanc de Blancs NV.
When in Reims last month, we visited Charles Heidsieck to taste their exciting brand new cuvée Blanc de Blancs NV and sampled a magnum of Champagne Charlie 1982 from their Collection Crayères range.
Browse the photographs from our March 2018 Champagne Range Tasting at Frederick’s in Islington. Over fifty guests tasted a whopping fifty champagnes, including new releases, from brands such as Bollinger, Dom Pérignon, Louis Roederer, Pol Roger, Piper-Heidsieck, Taittinger and more…
Krug Rosé will from here onwards be following the example of Grande Cuvée and be displaying its Edition on the front label. The first release, Krug Rosé Edition 21 NV, is based on the magnificent 2008 vintage.
The latest release of Krug Grande Cuvée, Edition 165 NV, is the smallest and rarest batch of Grande Cuvée ever. Just released in the UK, this is a classically world-class Krug: a stunning champagne based on a unique vintage.
Establishing provenance, or a ‘record of ownership’, is absolutely essential in the champagne business. The conditions under which each bottle has been sourced and stored can significantly impact the eventual enjoyment it provides.
Last year, Laurent-Perrier announced that their brut non-vintage – the fifth best-selling champagne in the world – was to be discontinued and replaced with an entirely original blend. The new champagne, La Cuvée NV, proved to be an instant hit, winning a Gold medal at CSWWC 2017. Read our review here.
Here, we cast our minds to the future. With many big releases confirmed for next year, such as Louis Roederer Cristal 2008 and Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 2008, it is sure to be exciting. But what do we know for sure and what can we predict?
We take a look back at the most exciting Champagne releases of the year, from entirely new blends to re-releases of old classics and from non-vintages with updated base years to the latest vintage releases of prestige cuvées. We also highlight worthy award winners and review the year for TFB. Roll on 2018!
We were invited to a weekend at The Savoy for a vertical tasting of Dom Ruinart Rosé champagnes with head winemaker Frédéric Panaïotis. With 2002, 1998 and 1988 on show, it was a stunning showcase of pink champagne.
Browse the photographs from our latest Champagne Range Tasting at Frederick’s. Over fifty guests tasted 42 champagnes from Bollinger, Dom Pérignon, Gosset, Louis Roederer, Pol Roger, Piper-Heidsieck, Taittinger and more…
The first ever Noble Cuvée Blanc de Blancs and Brut vintages; Black Label NV blends based on the last vintage of the previous six decades; and a comparison of vintage and prestige cuvée. Our recent trip to Lanson had it all.
Each year, the expert winemaking team at Krug blend over 120 wines to make an entirely new creation of Krug Grande Cuvée. The latest release, Edition 164 – based on the outstanding 2008 vintage – may just be the best one yet.
Moët & Chandon MCIII is a champagne like no other. A blend of six different vintages, utilising three different ageing vessels and an assemblage of finished champagne and still wines; this is the ultimate in luxury.
In 2003, the biggest name in wine turned their attention to the sparkling variety and founded Champagne Barons de Rothschild. We tasted the full range at the London Wine Fair in May with Managing Director, Frédéric Mairesse. Read our thoughts here.
To celebrate the release of Pol Roger Brut Vintage 2008, we put it to the test in a blind vertical tasting of the last four vintages of Pol: 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008. We also threw in the non-vintage for good measure.
What makes a sparkling wine ‘Champagne’? What goes into the blend and how is it made? What do the different styles mean and why does one taste sweeter than the other? The answers you seek are here.
A blind tasting of thirteen Rosé Champagnes and one English Sparkling with FT’s Alice Lascelles, Richard Bampfield MW, Simon Stockton and Frederick’s restaurant manager Matt. Just another Wednesday.
Anne Krebeihl MW writes for The World of Fine Wine on English Sparkling wines, explaining how producers now have the reserve levels to produce non-vintage wines.
Popping a cork has become so synonymous with celebration that the particularly unique vinous qualities of Champagne can be easily overlooked. Here we shed light on the complexities of our favourite effervescent tipple, by defining some of the key terms involved in Champagne and its production.