What is a really good champagne?!
What is a really good champagne?
Answers:
Dom Perion is what you want. It is soooo good, but a little on expensive side.
Don't have any "names" but I really prefer Italian Prosecco. It's sweeter.
cooks brute inexpensive but good
I like Korbel. It has a very good flavor and not that expensive either.... Try it!
Moet and the price is not too bad
Christal is very nice but so very expensive. Consistently ranked at the top is Dom Perignon.
The twenty leading brands included: Cristal (Louis Roederer), Dom Perignon, Domaine Chandon, Domaine Ste. Michelle, Etoile, Freixenet, J, Korbel, Krug, La Grande Dame by Veuve Clicquot, Laurent-Perrier, Moet & Chandon, Mumm, Nicolas Feuillate, Perrier-Jouet, Piper Sonoma, Piper-Heidsieck, Schramsberg, Taittinger, and Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin.
"You can buy a whole bunch of Mumms"
great question, arguably there are no bad champagnes, ( unlike wines )
going from low cost to high these are my favourites:
Lanson
moet
veuve clicquot ( my sisters fav )
tattinger ( if your in the USA their blanc de blanc is great )
Laurent-Perrier
mumm
Piper-Heidseick
bollinger
Alain Veselle
bollinger grand annee ( worth the extra few pounds and dollars)
pol-roger
don perignon
krug
Don P vintge
krug vintage
Cristal
Anything that's an Asti Spumante, sweet and not dry
I've got to recommend vintage Bollinger. The 2003 vintage stood out to me as particularly nice. Otherwise if your willing to pay a fair bit, I could recommend Cristal, Dom Perignon, Krug, Tattinger or for a more easy going (and slightly cheaper) version, the Veuve Clicquot or Moet and Chandon. Someone above said Domaine Chandon? They dont call it Domaine anymore, it's bottled only as Chandon and I wouldn't recommend it as much, it doesn't really carry that same moussey bubble texture. Have fun!
To pick a good Champagne (or sparkling wine) look for the term 'Method Traditional' or 'Method Champonoise' on the bottle. This means that the bubbles were produced using the classic 'second fermentation' method developed in Champagne, France by Dom Perignon himself. You can find lots of cheap bottles that were made using this traditional method. Those will always be better quality. If it doesn't have those words anywhere (i.e. Cooks, Andre, etc.) that means that they simply produced white wine, like chardonnay, and added carbonation in the same way that they make soda. This produces larger bubbles and a much lower quality taste.
The easiest and most truthful answer is which ever Champagne you like the most.
Champagne’s roots go back as far as the Romans, The first King of France was anointed with Champagne and for hundreds of years many of the Kings of France traveled to Reims, France to be anointed with the finest Champagne.
Just know that to be called Champagne it must come from the Champagne region in France. This is the law.
In the US it is labeled "Sparkling Wine.
In France outside of the Champagne region it is labeled "Cremant"
Spain= Cava, Italy= Spumante, Germany = Sekt
There is Vintage and Nonvintage
Vintage Champagne comes entirely from the same year’s harvest.
Nonvintage Champagne makes up 75% of all Champagne produced. Nonvintage is produced by blending many different varieties of grapes and vintages to be consistent.
As for the “Mad Wine” the name Dom Perignon had fondly called the bubbly wine.
Champagne was not always bubbly and until Dom Perignon developed the art of blending along with heavy glass bottles and cork stoppers it was seen as a problem.
Champagne has a 3 tier system of rating.
Grand Gru is the Elite only 17 villages entitled to this status.
Premier Cru which means “First Growth” this is a very good quality Champagne.
The rest would be AOC or Appellation d’Origine Controlee, this is good Champagne
Sparkling Wine: Champagne
Korbel =$11.
Taittinger = $20 90 Krug = $230
Dom Ste Michelle =$10. Piper Heidsieck $25 Dom = $130
Chandon = $16. Moet Chandon =$30 Perrier Jouet
Roederer Estate = $10
Laurent Perrier = $35 (PJ) = $ 120.
Schramsberg =$30 Veuve Clicquot =$40
I prefer Tattinger. There are different "levels" of Tattinger. The more expensive the better.
It's really down to personal taste and how much you can afford to spend. My personal favorites are Bollinger vintage on the high end or Laurent Perrier Ultra Brut (no sugar added), more reasonably priced. Canard-Duchene and Billecart Salmon also very good. For a good sparkling at about half the price of real Champagne, I would recommend Cremant de Bourgogne, excellent value, using the same method as Champagne.
Depends on how much you want to spend, but a great inexpensive option is Codorniu. It's a Spanish sparkling wine called a Cava and you should be able to find it for under $20- enjoy!
Veuve Clicquot. The vintage or non-vintage varieties are both a good balance between affordability and drinkability
First off, how much do you want to spend and we can go from there.
Perrier Jouet Fleur is the best champagne out there but is over a $100 in the stores
It must be French, from Champagne, other way it couldn't be called Champagne. The most little and continues are the bubbles shows a better quality, millesimes are better than regulars.
It must be dry (no sweet) demi sec is OK, Moet is a good choice. Try it cold and in a Ridel glass, but the most important thing Champagne only can be a success if you drink it with somebody special.
moet chandon white star, tastes just like dom but half the price :o)