Blind Vintage Champagne Tasting with the SF Staff
Periodically, we like to do “blind” tastings for both our staff and our customers. This means that the labels of the wines being tasted are hidden and it is up to the individual to try to determine the vintage and the wine. As you might guess, this is challenging and difficult. However, we like to emphasize the fun part by giving some hints and taking the pressure off. When this is done, these tastings are both educational and, well, fun! In the case of my staff tasting this week, we were delving into recent vintages of Champagne. The 2006 (Charles Heidsieck vintage Brut), 2008 (two wines here, Laurent Perrier and Lanson), 2011 (Egrot Brut), 2012 (Roederer vintage Brut) and 2014 (Jean Jacques Lamoureaux “Florine” Brut) were the vintages that I picked. The goal was to show a great vintage like the 2008 and 2012, with difficult vintages like 2011. Each vintage has its own unique characteristics from the richness of the 2006 to the elegance of labeled2012. We also discussed the upcoming vintages of 2015-2019. Watch for those 2015ss and 2018s, people! Per the blind tasting, I also tried to get identical or similar blends. In this case, none of the wines had Pinot Meunier and the majority were 50% Pinot Noir and 50% Chardonnay. Those that strayed from this had more Pinot Noir (65% for the 2011 Egrot Brut and 70% for the 2012 vintage Roederer).
The main thing was to try to guess the vintage with price point and producer being the icing on the cake. I did give the price ranges ($39.99-$89.99) as an additional hint. There was just about a 100% success rate for guessing one of the 2008s, in this case, the Laurent Perrier. Most of the staff also picked out the 2006 Charles Heidsieck as being the representative from that vintage. A lot of people also picked out the 2011 Egrot Brut. This one, for me, in particular, was super interesting because few people claimed 2011 as a vintage because it was so difficult and Elisabeth Goutorbe, once again, as with her 2003 vintage Brut, made a lovely wine. It’s no wonder that she is one of our favorite winemakers! Krug did a similar thing with their Cuvee 167, which has a 2011 base. It’s showing just wonderfully right now! The majority of the staff also guessed the 2006 Heidsieck and the 2012 Roederer to be the higher-priced offerings.
Aside from guessing the vintages and wine, my other favorite thing is to ask the staff which one was their favorite. Group 1 almost unanimously picked the 2006 Charles Heidsieck Vintage Brut. Group 2 was all over the map. A number of them liked the 2008 Laurent Perrier, a few picked the Lanson and the rest pretty much picked out a bit of everything else. It is just fascinating to see how groups of people differ! These tastings are also great fun to do for the customers and as a bonus, the majority of them take it as a fun exercise and an informative one. Like myself, they are often surprised to find that they like wines that they previously did not. It is quite amazing how much influence a label can have! I am hoping that at my next meeting (in April) of my Champagne group, that we will do a blind tasting. During the last one, I brought a vintage (2004) Franck-Bonville “Belle Voyes” Brut and at that point, they were never labelled as vintage. So, we had everyone guess its and all twelve people either got it on the dot or were, at most, off by only two years. Quite amazing and impressive!
-Scott Beckerley