WineLovers Discussion Group

I really like only a few Champers and from a very limited investigation I can't seem to find a unifying element that would explain why I like the few that I do. The three houses that I like a lot and have for years are:
Bollinger
Pierre Peters
Billecart-Salmon

In addition to those, I can recall liking
Duvall -Leroy
Dom Perignon
But have had only a few bottles of each so these are limited data points

I have had most of the Terry Thiese catalog of grower Champers as well as most of the big houses (except Krug) and are not really impressed with more than listed above. My wife loves Champagne so would love to find other bottles we could both enjoy but really more interested in trying to figure out what if anything is driving my preferences in Chanpagne. I am thinking its body/mouthfeel but don't have enough experience to know if that makes sense based on my preferences and if the other wines I don't prefer are truly lighter bodied. For example, I thought that the Aubry with more Pinot Menieur was a fuller wine yet I don't find it appealing.

I have to say that I am a little bit stumped.

If I consider the first group of wines, the Bollinger stands out for being full-bodied and dominated by red grapes. The Pierre Peters is a Blanc de Blancs, and while pretty full bodied for a Chardonnay Champagne, it is still much lighter on its feet than Bollinger (Laura and I actually had the Bolly NV and Peters NV side by side last week). I have never really been a fan of Billecart, so won't comment there.

I am a big fan of Aubry, but I do not consider their NV to be particularly full bodied, despite the high level of Meunier. I tend to find Meunier (which both Laura and I love by the way) brings lots of up front fruit, but not a ton of depth.

Have you tried Billiot? Billiot and Bollinger pretty much duke it out for favorite producer in our house below the ultra-prestige level of Krug/Salon.

I have not had a Billiot in the past 3+ years. I will revisit it if I can find it. It's not carried in any of the stores I frequent.

I admit I'm stumped as well.

I, too, have always enjoyed Dom but yet find Bollinger and Billecart-Salmon to be a bit lackluster (to my tastes). Maybe I've just had off-bottles of them? So it's hard for me to draw a common thread between those three.

I tend to favor a seamless creamy balance (Dom, Grand Siecle by Laurent Perrier) to champagnes that are heavier in nature. Though I can appreciate both.

Have you ever tried a Taittinger Comtes De Champagne? I adore that wine. It might just be the one that you'll fall in love with. But it's hard to say. If you don't like Blanc De Blancs, then it might not be the one.

Jeff

Jeff B wrote:Have you ever tried a Taittinger Comtes De Champagne? I adore that wine. It might just be the one that you'll fall in love with. But it's hard to say. If you don't like Blanc De Blancs, then it might not be the one.

It's been a number of years since I last tried the Comtes. I was underwhelmed then but can't tell you more since it was during the period where I stopped taking notes. No problem with Blanc de Blancs since I do really like Pierre Peters.