THE CHAMPAGNE TRAIL

Rounding up the best of the bubblies

JOEL L. FLEISHMAN

Wine

hile everyone else was wassailing wildly, ripping off ribbons, and generally making merry through the holidays, this column was hard at work, conducting a blind tasting of fifty-eight different champagnes. But our New Year's resolution is to accept our difficult lot quietly, so, without complaint, here are the results of our tongueto-the-grindstone labors.

The big surprise: For the first time in a tasting for this column, Roederer Cristal topped Dom Perignon ($80). Frequently, Cristal seems a bit too citrusy for my liking, but the 1985 ($120) wrested the crown away with an exquisitely delicate nose followed by crisp lime and toasty mouth flavors in perfect balance. It was not only the champion superpremium in the tasting, but also the consensus best of all fifty-eight. Nipping at Cristal's heels was Veuve Clicquot's 1985 La Grande Dame ($85), which is lustier but equally well balanced. The toastiness keeps the yeastiness in check, and the dry, spicy citrus gently softens the delicate sweet edge of the fruit. In the same league is the 1982 Salon ($125), a stunning wine with a mousse of such puckish effervescence that it continues bubbling in your mouth after a full minute of being warmed there.

The tasting also revealed some impressive new contenders. Scharffenberger Cellars, established in 1981 in the Anderson Valley of Mendocino County, is now hitting its stride. Its winemaker, John Scharffenberger, credits the newfound excellence in part to his recent affiliation with France's venerable Pommery champagne. Both Scharffenberger entries—the nonvintage Brut ($16.50) and the 1986 Blanc de Blancs ($20)— scored close to the top of their flights. Even more surprising—if only because of its geography—was the superb showing of the wines from Gruet, a French champagne house which in 1981 bought what are described as seventeenth-century vineyards in, of all places, New Mexico, replanted them, and recently marketed its first releases. Its nonvintage Blanc de Noirs ($15)—very dry, spicy, and crisp—showed extremely well against California's best bubblies.

Other French affiliates in California also impressed us. Chandon's Brut ($14), which has not sparkled in our tastings for several years, is back on track and significantly better even than its heretofore favored Blanc de Noirs ($12) and Reserve ($21), both of which limped in at the bottom of their respective flights. The Brut rings full and crisp, with a round, lemony, peppery mousse and a long, spicy finish. The Roederer Estate Anderson Valley Brut ($16) presents very dry, yeasty mouth flavors, and Taittinger's Domaine Carneros ($17) has the same yeasty character, but is more pungent and boasts a fuller mousse.

This tasting also underscored how competitive, by world-class standards, the California sparklers have become. In a flight with eight California wines and three well-known champagnes from France, the Louis Roederer Brut Premier ($25) finished first, but the 1987 Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs ($22) came in second, ahead of two French entries. In another flight of six French and five California wines, the 1986 Iron Horse Blanc de Blancs ($22) showed second, and the 1987 Mumm Cuvee Napa Winery Lake ($22) zoomed to third, ahead of Laurent Perrier Brut ($30), Bollinger Special Cuvee ($27), Veuve Clicquot ($28), Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve ($32)—and even Mumm's own Cordon Rouge ($35). The Schramsberg offers a whirlwind of a mousse, tasting of lemon and yeast, while the Roederer is a bit sweeter and more pungent. The Iron Horse is fresh, spicy, lemony, and frothy, with a long, mouth-coating finish, all in fabulous balance. The Mumm Winery Lake is toasty and lemony, very crisp and bright. The Laurent Perrier is also fresh, citrusy, and carefully proportioned.

Among the other standouts of the tasting was Taittinger's 1983 Comtes de Champagne ($85), a jewel of sheer perfection, with a soft nose of toast and a lingering, spicy finish. The Krug Grande Cuvee ($85) is somewhat tangier and more peppery, as well as more powerful, even if not as precisely balanced, but what a grand, mouth-puckering finish it has. Jacquart's 1982 La Cuvee Renommee ($35) offers flavors of nearly comparable distinction and finesse, with a much friendlier price. It is jovial and creamy in the mouth, with a surprising dry, burnt edge that is almost carnal.

Moet & Chandon's 1986 Brut Imperial ($35) is a wonder, with a complex mousse of toast and pepper, very fresh and merry, which goes on and on. Veuve Clicquot's 1983 Gold Label Brut ($45) is more pungent, but refreshes with crisp, toasty, dry lime flavors. The 1985 Taittinger Brut ($35) is softer and less focused than the Moet, but its tasty toastiness is set off by flavors of yeast. Perrier-Jouet's 1985 Brut ($38) is full-bodied and lemony, with a bracing mousse. Bollinger's 1985 Grande Annee Brut ($45) has slightly greater pungency, which is well married with savory flavors of dry toast.