FEATURES ARCHIVE

Ties between the French monarchy and the wine of the Champagne region date to the baptism of Clovis in 498 A.D., and this royal association was among the first to create the cachet of a glass of bubbly. Over time, however, this regal beverage has been transformed not only into a celebration that everyone can enjoy, but a standard of sophistication amongst the most serious connoisseurs. Here we examine what sets prestige cuvée champagne apart from the nonvintage varieties, and spotlight a selection of not-to-be-missed prestige cuvée highlights from our upcoming sale.

Non-Vintage vs. Prestige Cuvée
Fully 90% of the champagne consumed today is a blend of different vintages, yielding a non-vintage champagne. The blending of grapes maintains consistency so that each brand has its own identity and style. This consistency is one of the virtues of the champagne method, but excessive reliance on blending can sometimes mask the peaks the best wines can attain. For this reason, the very finest champagnes are made with only the best fruit from a particular year, yielding what is known as “tête de cuvée” or prestige cuvée champagne.

Each of the leading champagne houses has developed a house style for their non-vintage, but all produce a prestige cuvée as well. Dom Pérignon (Moët & Chandon) highlights purity of fruit and balance, Sir Winston Churchill (Pol Roger) shows a substantial, dense texture, Comtes de Champagne (Taittinger), a crisp, smoky edge, and Krug an intensely flavorful blend of tropical fruit, citrus, truffle and yeast. These are champagnes of great complexity and depth that can not only last but continue to improve and for decades with proper cellaring.

Sample the World of Prestige Cuvée Champagne
The drawback to the best champagnes produced from the very best fruit is that they are available only in very limited quantities. Our February sale offers a wide array of the very best champagne from a tremendous collection of the very finest, including some of the wines below, with tasting notes from Charles Curtis MW, Head of Christie’s New York Wine department:

Dom Pérignon Rosé - 1990
“Savory, smoky fruit character, with a very persistent ripe red fruit note that has taken on a spicy, toasty complexity with time and is beginning to show its true savory nature. The wine lingers on the palate with a great, silken finish that seems to last forever.”

Krug Vintage - 1985
“A medium lemon yellow color, the 1985 Krug was surprisingly youthful. On the nose, the wine still showed citrus and apple aromas and some toasted, nutty notes, but little of the mature forest floor notes that will develop in time. On the palate, the wine is still intensely flavored and remarkably fresh and crisp, with a lingering finish.”

Taittinger Comtes de Champagne - 1976
“Rich and truffley on the nose, the 1976 Comtes de Champagne show well-preserved elements of candied lemon peel, smoke, and fresh-baked apple tarte. On the palate the wine is holding well, with lively acidity, nice extract, wonderful balance and good length.”

Brut “Cristal” Louis Roederer - 1999
“Starts out crisp and fresh, with fresh notes of citrus and cream. On the palate the texture is firm, structured and broad but very well balanced, and the aromas continue to develop on the palate, with floral notes and hints of nuts developing. The wine finishes well, clean and long—this is a wine that will age well for years to come, even as it is seductively easy to drink now, nearly a decade after release.”

You may browse the complete selection of more than 100 lots of champagne in our sale online, where you will find several large-parcel lots from the 1920s–1950s, as well as younger bottles.