Champagne Classics

We secured two stellar Champagnes within the last week: first, the “brilliant…finest R.D. of the decade” (WA), the nearly perfect 2008 Bollinger R.D. (98+ WA, 96 VM), usually priced well over $300. For those that have not been on the Bollinger bandwagon, today is a great day to get on board. We have been floored by the improvements they have made in recent times. The wines still have the same texture and body as before, but now have exceptional tension and precision. The qualitative changes can be found in the profound scores these wines are receiving. We were able to secure a parcel at $285 per bottle, an unprecedented steal. Keeping with tradition, the R.D. is built to age – fantastic now but will benefit with at least another year or two in the cellar.

Second, when we heard that Jasper Morrison’s (Inside Burgundy) new Champagne expert, Steve Pritchard, called the Louis Roederer Champagne Collection 243 in magnum “the best Roederer Collection release in any format” we knew we had to secure some bottles quickly, especially at this price. Formerly known as Roederer’s Brut Premier bottling, the creatively named 243 represents the number of non-vintage releases since the first in 1776. The 243 is earning accolades far beyond its place in the non-vintage Champagne universe, and as we say around here – Champagne always tastes better in magnum ($115).