Archive for the ‘FINE Champagne Magazine’ Category

FINE Champagne Magazine No. 7 is out!

Friday, June 10th, 2011

In the new issue FINE Champagne nominates the first ever Champagne Personality. Our unanimous vote went to Richard Geoffroy, the guardian and cellar master of Dom Pérignon! Read his story in full in the magazine.

Find also my article and Richard Juhlin’s column about the shipwrecked champagne treasure, the nearly 180-year-old champagne found in the depths of the Baltic Sea that reached a world-record price at the recent champagne auction in Åland.

Could you imagine drinking champagne up in the treetops? If yes, find my article about Perchingbar – a champagne bar built up in the trees!

Celebration Champagne article leads us to the all-time wedding champagne – Dom Pérignon 1961, which was the choice of Charles and Diana in 1981.

Fine Champagne is starting to publish extracts from my new champagne book – Matka Champagneen (Discovering Champagne), you can find the first extract about what to do and see in the city of Reims in this issue!

Subscribe this spectacular FINE Champagne issue at www.fine-magazines.com.

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First sips of the shipwreck champagnes from Åland

Wednesday, November 17th, 2010

I was amongst the privileged to taste today two bottles of some of the oldest existing champagnes in the world. Entire 168 old bottles were resqued this summer from a sunken schooner wrecked in the archipelago of the Åland islands in Finland. Until yesterday, the wines were identified as Champagne Juglar. However, when a group of experts recorked a batch of bottles last night, several Veuve Clicquot non-vintages were identified, which the Veuve Clicquot experts dated back to the 1830s. Champagne Juglar, on the other hand, was bought by Jacquesson in 1829, leading Jean-Hervé Chiquet of Jacquesson to believe the wine was born close to that period.

It is really a story book tale. Such a number of perfectly preserved bottles in the depth of the sea.  Having tasted before the oldest existing bottle in Champagne, Perrier-Jouët 1825, these wines corresponded very well to the style and quality of that perfectly stored bottle. Sweet in style, bright golden in colour and honeyed and toasty in aromatics, both the wines were very much alive and remarkably fresh.  The Juglar was more harmonious and complete with Veuve Clicquot’s aroma being overwhelmingly pungent and smoky but the palate retaining a freshness and an immense concentration.

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FINE Champagne Magazine Selects the World’s Best Champagne– A Rare Winner!

Monday, November 15th, 2010

FINE Champagne Magazine, the only international publication devoted to champagne and a renowned industry authority, announces its list of the “100 Best Champagnes for 2011”.

The magazine’s editorial team assessed over 1000 champagnes that are now available on the markets. After a three-day blind-tasting of the top 200 champagnes the panel selected 30 champagnes that were blind-tasted again in the finals in Reims, Champagne. In the tasting, the most important criteria were the quality of the wine and the champagne’s accessibility today. When the results were tabulated, the top ten included many familiar names but the unanimous first place winner was Piper-Heidsieck Rare 2002.

“Since 1976, the House has only released 8 vintages of Rare: 1976, 1979, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1998 en Magnum, 1999 and 2002,” says Régis Camus, chef de caves and chief winemaker at Maison Piper-Heidsieck. “Piper-Heidsieck Rare 2002 was my first Rare vintage so I am particularly honoured to hear that it has been selected as the number one champagne in the world by FINE Champagne Magazine.”

The full 100 Best Champagnes ranking can be read in the FINE Champagne Magazine coming out at the end of November. From January onwards the 100 Best Champagnes for 2011 will be available as an iPhone application.

TOP 10 Champagnes for 2011

1. Piper-Heidsieck Rare 2002 95p

2. Dom Pérignon Rosé 2000 95p

3. Charles Heidsieck Blanc des Millénaires 1995 93p

4. Charles Heidsieck Vintage 2000 93p

5. Louis Roederer Cristal Rosé 2002 93p

6. Ruinart Dom Ruinart Rosé 1996 93p

7. Dom Pérignon 2002 92p

8. De Saint Gall Grand Cru Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs NV 92p

9. Veuve Clicquot Vintage 2002 92p

10. Chartogne-Taillet Fiacre NV 92p

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Soon out: FINE Champagne Magazine 5-6

Thursday, November 11th, 2010

The second anniversary of FINE Champagne Magazine is celebrated with a festive double issue. We explore champagne in the sky, pondering what altitude does to the taste of champagne and also reveal the airlines that serve the best bubbles. We join Champagne Lanson at the house’s 250th anniversary at Versailles, and accompany Dom Pérignon Rosé 1959 in a journey back through history to the 2500th anniversary of the Persian Empire. Our producer profiles include Jacquesson, Barons de Rothschild and Cédric Bouchard. We also serve you our selection of the 100 Best Champagnes of 2011!

Out in two weeks’ time. Subscribe at www.fine-magazines.com.

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100 Best Champagnes Application for iPhone and iPad by FINE Champagne Magazine

Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010

Free to download now from iTunes shop!

Welcome to view the best Champagnes to drink today chosen by the world’s only Champagne magazine.

Champagne can boast a most rare combination: its greatest wines are blessed with an ageing capacity that is second to none. On top of that, due to the custom of blending and prolonged ageing on the lees, champagne is one of the few fine wines that is so delightfully pleasurable at the time of release. Indeed, most champagnes are consumed right away, meaning they are rarely given the option of reaching their absolute peak. As some need remarkably more time than others, FINE Champagne Magazine went through the rigorous process of naming and ranking the 100 best champagnes that bring the most enjoyment today.

During several blind tasting sessions throughout the past year, we analysed over 1000 champagnes of all styles and price levels, from non-vintages to prestige cuvées.

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Correcting the big mistake with Bruno Paillard

Sunday, April 18th, 2010

Bruno Paillard

“No champagne ages”, I was recently told by  a reputable champagne house’s director. “Non-vintages are ready to drink when brought on to the market”, is a much repeated marketing slogan of many producers. This is all wrong, I am afraid. Champagne is one of the longest-lived wines in the world that requires and benefits from ageing as much as any great wine.

Download the complete article (.pdf)

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Thrills, Spills and Bubbles – Formula 1 in FINE Champagne Magazine

Tuesday, April 13th, 2010

Thrills, spills, bubblesRhythmic waves of the chequered flag mark the end of the race. The crowd immediately starts invading the racetrack to witness the victory celebrations on the podium, following last year’s Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix in Monza. The fans’ wait is soon rewarded, as the top three drivers enter the stage: Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button of Brawn GP and Kimi Räikkönen of Ferrari.

Download the complete article (.pdf)

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Chartogne-Taillet Les Barres – Article in FINE Champagne Magazine

Tuesday, April 13th, 2010

Chartogne-Taillet les Barres

I was reminded recently by the small producer Champagne Chartogne-Taillet, that it is not only the Grande Marques who can be innovative. For a few years already I have been aware that this quality-oriented grower from Merfy possessed some rare, non-grafted vines. In the past, these grapes were always blended in the house’s prestige cuvée Fiacre. However, in 2006, Champagne Chartogne-Taillet decided to bring these grapes to the fore and make a unique single vineyard Pinot Meunier from the special pre-phylloxera vines. With the wine’s launch now underway, I eagerly visited Chartogne-Taillet, to be among the first to taste it.

Download the complete article (.pdf)

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Tom Stevenson – Encyclopedia of a Man

Saturday, March 27th, 2010

Tom Stevenson

If you are a champagne lover, you are likely to be well aware of the name Tom Stevenson. Equally likely is that you possess at least some of the 23 books he has written: Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia, Christie’s World Encyclopedia of Champagne & Sparkling Wine, and Wine Report, all being award-winning successes. Stevenson is known as a highly influential and visible person on the sparkling wine scene, a great communicator and an opinionated wine critic. However, less is known about him personally, so I was intrigued to get the chance to learn who the man behind the famous name was.

Download the complete article (.pdf)

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