Champagne Review

Champagne is a favorite drink for many people all around the world. It is the height of luxury, and rightly so. With the best champagnes originating from the romantic north-east region of France, it epitomizes style and elegance.

This article will look at a review of some of the best of the best French champagnes available.

We have to start with Dom Perignon. Often considered to be the best champagne available, this fantastic drink also comes with a hefty price tag and is usually reserved for only the most special occasions. Dom Perignon is named after the Benedictine monk who is said to have first invented champagne. It is a very delicate champagne that literally dissolves in your mouth. The nose of the champagne has hues of apples, pears, vanilla, hazelnuts, as well as quince and chalk. The palate of the champagne has an acidic freshness interspersed with numerous fine bubbles. Overall it is quite a fruity and fresh champagne that suits almost any taste palette. Dom Perignon is produced by the world’s largest champagne house - Moet et Chandon. It costs around US$180 per bottle - but is definitely worthy of the price tag.

The second champagne we shall review today is Perrier-Jouet Grand Brut, another luxury champagne from France - with a slightly lower price. It is a very light and fresh champagne, with very subtle aromas. The champagne is a popular choice with lovers or those on a romantic date, as the champagne was created by a man and a women who fell in love in the champagne region and created the world’s most passionate champagne. It sells at around US$60.

One of the best selling and most popular champagnes in the world is by Veuve-Clicquot. They have a wide range of champagnes but perhaps the most exquisite is La Grande Dame 1998. It is produced from only the best crus - 64% pinot noir grapes and 36% chardonnay grapes from some of the best vineyards in the region. The bubbles are incredibly fine and the drink is very light and a pale gold in color.

When tasting, the first nose of the champagne is typically chardonnay with floral and mineral aromas such as acacia, ferns, and chalk. Later on, the aromas of candied fruits and sweet almond emerge. Rarer notes are revealed last and include tobacco, herbs, and malt. It is a particularly aromatic and complex champagne that will pleasure every taste bud. Despite being complex it is surprisingly smooth and clear-cut when drinking.

The next champagne we shall review is Mumm Grande Cuve NV. This luxurious champagne is a blend of some of the best grapes from the region, proving the whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts. The champagne has a blend of wine from the five best regions in Champagne: Ay; Bouzy; Avize; Verzenay and Cramant. Each year the champagne is expertly blended to ensure consistency in every batch. The champagne has a beautiful blend of flavors, and retails for around US$50.

One of the most exquisite champagnes on the market is by champagne house Louis Roederer. There are a variety of different types in the range including the blanc de blancs; carte blanche; brut vintage; and brut rose. But one of the most popular is the Louis Roederer Brut Premier NV. It is their signature champagne and is enjoyed by millions of champagne lovers around the world. There are a wide variety of flavors in this elegant champagne. It is blended from 1/3 Chardonnay, and 2/3 Pinot noir, as well as 10% of reserved wines that have been aged in oak casts for up to five years. It is a very rich yet still delicate champagne with hints of hawthorn, almond and toast. It has a slightly creamy texture. A beautiful champagne as either an aperitif or popular with fish or seafood. It retails at around US$50 per bottle.

We shall end our champagne review with arguably one of the most glamorous and popular champagnes available - Bollinger. Once again, there are a variety of different champagnes in Bollinger’s range, but a clear favorite - the Special Cuvee. Each year Bollinger blend together their best grapes from the year to create this truly spectacular champagne. It is a cool and delicate champagne, with fruit and honey undertones. It is a very classy, rich and complex champagne - that signifies everything that the Bollinger champagne house stands for. A bottle of the Bollinger Special Cuvee retails at around US$50 per bottle.

I hope you enjoyed our review of some of the most luxurious and popular French champagnes available today - happy drinking!