10 Vintage Champagnes Worth the Splurge | Wine Enthusiast
Vintage Champagne is only made in the best years. Here, find 10 of our favorite bottles perfect for toasting.
Sparkling wines reign supreme around holidays and the undisputed benchmark of the category is, of course, Champagne.
When looking for that special bottle to cap off a toast, look no further than vintage Champagne. Made in only the best years from grapes all harvested within the same vintage year, these offerings provide a unique snapshot of time and place that cannot be found in nonvintage bottles.
Vintage Champagne also shows more depth and complexity than its nonvintage counterpart thanks to its extending aging on the lees in the bottle. By law, there is a three-year minimum for vintage offerings, however, many producers opt to go well beyond that mark, delivering rich, textural wines with toasty, nutty flavors.
For what’s currently available on the market seek out options from 2002, 2004 and 2008 for some of the best performing wines. More recent vintage releases are also showing quite well, and be sure to check out our Vintage Chart for additional insight.
Here are 10 vintage Champagnes worthy of your next big toast.
AR Lenoble 2012 Chouilly Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut (Champagne); $90. Grand cru Chardonnay and a low dosage set this Champagne up for a great future… SEE SCORE AND FULL REVIEW
Arlaux 2002 Millésime Rare (Champagne), $160. Disgorged in 2019, this wine was on its lees for 17 years. That has given… SEE SCORE AND FULL REVIEW
Billecart-Salmon 2009 Vintage (Champagne), $100. Now perfectly mature, this Champagne still offers minerality as well as touches of freshness… SEE SCORE AND FULL REVIEW
Deutz 2009 Amour de Deutz Rosé Brut (Champagne), $190. This is one of two prestige cuvées from this house, under the same ownership as Roederer Champagne… SEE SCORE AND FULL REVIEW
Gosset 2008 Celebris Rosé Brut (Champagne); $250. This rich Champagne is full of ripe red fruits balanced by red currants, green apples and a shot of citrus… SEE SCORE AND FULL REVIEW
Henriet-Bazin 2012 Marie-Amélie Millésime Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru Brut Nature (Champagne); $75. Coming from premier cru vineyards close to Reims, this Champagne is still showing a bone dry character… SEE SCORE AND FULL REVIEW
Krug 2008 Brut (Champagne), $309. A vintage Champagne from this producer is rare. But 2008 was a great year in… SEE SCORE AND FULL REVIEW
Perrier Jouët 2013 Belle Epoque Brut (Champagne); $150. This vintage of the iconic brand, with its flowery Belle Epoque bottle, is ready to be popped… SEE SCORE AND FULL REVIEW
Pol Roger 2015 Rosé Brut (Champagne); $130. This rich Champagne highlights ripe Pinot Noir that glories in its red fruits and structure… SEE SCORE AND FULL REVIEW
Rare Champagne 2008 Brut (Champagne); $195. The new release of this producer’s prestige cuvée comes in its usual beautifully sculpted bottle… SEE SCORE AND FULL REVIEW
Source: 10 Vintage Champagnes Worth the Splurge | Wine Enthusiast
Effects of climate change taking root in the wine industry – a CBS 60 Minutes Report
Climate change is jolting the wine industry. Lesley Stahl reports on how the economics, practices and in some cases even the flavors of wine are being altered by our shifting climate. >>> click to see the video report
Source: Effects of climate change taking root in the wine industry
First Look: The Maybourne Hotel Debuts Maybourne Bar in Beverly Hills
Anchored by a bar made of solid Turkish silver onyx, the André Fu-designed lobby-level space features a cocktail program overseen by head mixologist Chris Amirault.
Four years ago, on opposite sides of the Beverly Canon Gardens, Thomas Keller’s Bouchon bistro was a bustling power lunch spot across from the five-star Montage Beverly Hills Hotel. Today, neither Bouchon nor the Montage are still there.
But the pocket park in Beverly Hills’ Golden Triangle is set to be fully occupied once again in 2022.
Bouchon, which closed at the end of 2017, is slated to become Tommy’s, a new restaurant founded by former Craig’s manager Tommy Salvatore.
And the Maybourne Beverly Hills Hotel, which purchased the Montage in late 2019, continues to expand its food and beverage offerings. Last year, it opened The Terrace Restaurant (in the old Scarpetta and Georgie space) featuring tables right on the park. This fall, the hotel opened its new wood-paneled Cigar & Whiskey Bar above the restaurant. With a custom humidor holding 1,000 cigars, it’s one of just a handful of public places in Beverly Hills where smoking is still allowed due to a grandfathered permit.Now the Maybourne — whose sister properties include Claridge’s and the Connaught in London — has just opened a third spot: the Maybourne Bar, designed by architect and interior designer André Fu (whose previous projects include the Upper House hotel in Hong Kong and an Objets Nomades collaboration with Louis Vuitton.)
Fu’s first U.S. hospitality design, the Art Deco-inspired lobby space is anchored by a bar that is carved out of solid Turkish silver onyx with polished nickel accents. It’s paneled in ivory and charcoal grey burr walnut, complementing the black-and-white photography by British photographer Mary McCartney (daughter of Paul McCartney) and contrasting white Terrazzo and silver Emperador marble floors. The mostly monochrome bar is accented with chairs in orange leather and high bar stools in Yves Klein blue.
Hotel general manager Eugene Leonard describes the aesthetic as “a meeting of Californian spirit with European style.”
As for drinks, the cocktail program is built around the classics: highballs, sidecars, daiquiris, old-fashioned, flips and martinis. Overseen by head mixologist Chris Amirault (Otium), concoctions include the Killer Joe, an Espresso Martini with coffee from L.A.’s Maru and homemade dulce de leche, and the Tiki Tea with Mal Bien mezcal, yuzu, coconut, lime and ceremonial green tea.
Amirault tells THR his goal is to give familiar standards “a new life through seasonal ingredients and culinary whimsy … from kumquat negronis and clarified cucumber martinis to rare mezcals and interesting mocktails.”On the bar’s food menu is everything from a dry-aged smash burger and crispy chicken sandwich to flatbreads and a Maine lobster roll with smoked trout roe.
Source: First Look: The Maybourne Hotel Debuts Maybourne Bar in Beverly Hills
The Luxurious Bouchon Space in Beverly Hills Has Finally Found a Worthy New Owner
Vacant for years, this could be LA’s new celebrity mega-spot under former Craig’s manager Tommy Salvatore and chef Vartan Abgaryan
Not to be outdone by all the action in Hollywood, Beverly Hills is back with its own new opening — and at a very familiar space no less. The closed former Bouchon restaurant is returning with a brand new name, redone look, and a very familiar chef.
Tommy Salvatore, a longtime manager and well-connected front-of-house face at celebrity-favored spot Craig’s, has taken control of the property at 235 N. Canon Drive. The two-floor address will operate under the name Tommy’s, with a ground-floor bar and cafe, plus an elegant upstairs dining room, bar, and lounge. The native New Yorker, who has been in Los Angeles for years, has long been known as a hospitality pro with a deep address book. And now he gets a place to call his own, literally.
Running the kitchen is none other than Vartan Abgaryan, the longtime LA chef who earlier this year was cooking down in Orange County. Now he’s back to turn Thomas Keller’s former landmark space into his own personal culinary playground, working a menu of upscale staples from steaks to cocktails, along with vegan options and all the usual flourishes found in Abgaryan’s cooking, dating back to his time at Cliff’s Edge in Silver Lake, 71Above in Downtown, and at the now-closed Yours Truly in Venice.
Together Salvatore and Abgaryan plan to run both the upstairs and downstairs spaces, with room for close to 200 diners all-in. The first floor will house a small 11-seat bar and large portico-style patio, with a more relaxed menu of drinks and bites. Upstairs, diners will be led through a small second-floor lounge for evening cocktail service, and then on into the ambitious main dining room with its soaring ceiling, Art Deco lighting, and an expansive wall of glassy doors that open out in the city beyond. Expect jewel tones, white tablecloths, and formal (but un-stuffy) service when the restaurant opens in January. The downstairs bar will start up first, followed a few weeks later by the main dining room.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23076461/vartan.jpeg)
Beverly Hills diners will remember Bouchon as a big get for the standalone city nestled within Los Angeles County. Chef and owner Thomas Keller is widely regarded as one of America’s premier luxury culinary talents, with multiple Michelin-starred restaurants on both coasts, including the venerable French Laundry in Yountville and Per Se in New York City. Keller oversaw Bouchon for years along Canon Drive, one of the toniest stretches of street anywhere in greater Los Angeles, before closing the business in 2017 after calling out the city for what he felt were unworkable business conditions. The city of Beverly Hills owns the Bouchon building and was Keller’s landlord during his time as a tenant.
The upscale LA-area city has become a new destination for operators and weekend diners willing to splurge. Chef Curtis Stone is reopening his Michelin-starred tasting menu restaurant Maude just a few blocks away, and chef Daniel Boulud will also open a project inside city limits in 2022. Tatel is quickly becoming its own celebrity hotspot, and locals will soon be able to try some of LA’s best new pizza at Full Proof not far away.
Source: The Luxurious Bouchon Space in Beverly Hills Has Finally Found a Worthy New Owner
Happy Holidays!
Wine has a special place at our table for the holidays as we share our favorites with family and friends…Cheers!
