D&M Champagne Society

[iammatt]

I don't know if this is of interest to anybody, but my wife and I really enjoy Champagne and find it difficult to get acquainted with some of the smaller marques. D&M Liquors in San Francisco is probably the finest store in the United States for champagne, and has a program called the 'Champagne Society' in which they send out two to three bottles of Champagne every few months at a steep discount. The wines are generally a mix of vintage and non-vintage, and are never the "usual suspects". We have been members for a few years now and have greatly expanded our knowledge of our favorite beverage.

Here is a link:

http://www.dandm.com/clubs_champagne.ph ... ne+Society

[alden]

The Renaudin L'Espiegle is a very good wine normally. The Vintage 1993 was exceptional, just in case you can find any. The 1998 was a bit disappointing.

Let us know your tasing notes.

[iammatt]

We enjoyed the Renaudin this weekend with some Argentinian food. It had many of the characteristics of a vintage Champagne in that it was a bit nutty and had the taste of burnt toast. It was not at all sweet as we often encounter in the Campagnes for US consumption. It is definitely something I would buy again.

[alden]

I had the good fortune to work with Renaudin on the elaboration of a drier Brut for the Italian marketplace. Many Champagne houses use as much as 12-20 gms of sugar per liter dosage in their products they qualify as Brut to satisfy the sweet tooth of French consumers and, in many cases, to mask an inferior quality wine. (Sugar is to a Champagne what padding is to a Jacket.) Easier to cover all flaws in suger syrup than make good wine. How many people know the difference anyway? Does this sound familiar?

The L'Espiegle, an Extra Brut, had a dosage of about 7 gms per liter. When Renaudin brought the dosage level of their Brut to under 11 gms per liter it took on a wonderful and expansive flavor that had been stifled by the presence of the sugar liquor.

Remember to always ask a producer to taste his Extra Brut. Its a wine that cannot hide any flaws. Most don't even try to make it for that reason. Oh you can also ask your tailor to make a soft, unpadded jacket and see what he says...

Cheers[/i]

[iammatt]

That is interesting. I always figured that Champagnes were sweetened for the US, just like armholes are dropped and waists are let out. I had no idea that the French taste was for sweet. What other producers make a wine with such a low sugar content? It was very apparent that you were getting flavors for $60 that I had always associated with Krug and Salon.

[Trilby]

Very interesting, Alden. How much do the Champagne houses customize their product for the tastes of different countries? I know of the St. Petersburg cuvee that Veuve Clicquot makes for, I believe, the Italian market. I think they may also produce a sweeter Champagne for Russia.

[TVD]

Certain cuvees are more popular or solely marketed in certain markets. The sweet cuvees were traditionally, even in Tsarist times popular in Russia.

The other and more difficult aspect are differences between regional versions of one and the same cuvee. Obviously this is a sensitive subject and I am never sure that one can expect a straight answer from the Champagne Houses' represantatives. Every house and every year may be different, and I guess that only a handful of people in the world would have both the inside access and the palate to be able to tell. But then they hardly could without burning that access once and for all. Champagne is a very closely knit community.

Once I was made aware of rumours that a certain niche cuvee in a great vintage was well beyond belief spectacular. Alas, by the time the wine was ready for release, the marketing department had decided that this niche cuvee was confusing customers and harming the positioning of the traditional flagship cuvee. There was no difference in quality, just in style, one being more blanc de blanc than the other. It was discontinued and never marketed. However, what happened to the wine? Re-labelled and sold in a different market? Still in the cellars? Despite the closest contacts nobody would tell me. Who is drinking it right now, ignorant of its merit?

Lastly, there may be more subtle quality differences than just dosage. One famous Grande Marque with irreproachable quality wine always made sure that their non-vintage supplied to Britain was more mature than their French supplies, simply to reflect "le gout anglais". Buying in France or Germany I am compelled to lay it down a while...

But then finding out about all this is a perfect excuse to drink more Champagne.

[Trilby]

If memory serves, I think the aging is the key difference for the Veuve Clicquot St. Petersburg cuvee -- I think they give it another year of aging beyond the standard NV.