Champagne Louis XV 1995 75cl

Possessing a beautiful golden color with orange and even Amber reflections, the 1995 Louis XV Brut is a 50/50 blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from several grands crus—Verzenay, Ambonnay, Mailly and Bouzy for the Pinot and Avize, Cramant, Mesnil-sur-Oger and Chouilly for the Chardonnay. What a gorgeous bouquet is this! Vinous and slightly oxidative, with hints of figs and dates, toffee, Madeira, Vin Jaune, Sherry, biscuits, toasted rice, white mushrooms, earthy flavors, licorice, oriental spices, vanilla, dried oranges and apricots and a thousand more flavors. If you like matured Champagnes, you'd die for this. On the palate, however, this is a fascinatingly pure, fresh, tight and delicate Champagne that is lithe and perfectly balanced but also concentrated. The finish is again pure, fresh and mineral, with stewed apricot and peach flavors in the salty aftertaste. This is a great delicacy delivered onto the palate with sophisticated intensity and stunning tension. The wine was fermented in stainless steel, malolactic included, and disgorged in 2006 (!) with a dosage of seven grams per liter. "With aging, the Chardonnay grand cru is always taking over the Pinot Noir," finds de Venoge's chairman Gilles de La Bassetière, whose 1995 was still made by Eric Lebel, the winemaker chez Krug since 1998. If you have opened the 1995, please share it, or at least, drink it the same day! The wine loses a bit of its charming creaminess the second and third day, whereas the acidity remains fresh and gives the wine a more austere character then.<br/>Champagne de Venoge's finest wines come along in carafe-shaped bottles that one might call kitsch, but I like them. They don't fit in my fridge door, but my fridge is big and the Champagne's good enough to deserve its own shelf and an upright position. The prestige cuvées Louis XV and Louis d'Or are remarkably elegant and vinous sparkling wines with structure, great complexity and also finesse. The 2006 Brut Rosé is one of the finest you can get, and the 1995 Louis XV is a greatly matured and generous Champagne that is still terribly fresh even though it was disgorged more than ten years ago in 2006. Cellar master Isabelle Tellier is doing a great job; there is not a single disappointing wine in the current portfolio that starts with the easy-drinking Cordon Bleu and offers some sophisticated cuvées in the Princes range. Champage de Venoge is—despite its glorious but volatile history (in terms of frequent changes of ownership)—still an underrated rising star in the Champagne region. Champagne de Venoge is now owned by Lanson-BCC.

A slightly cheesy nose gives way to yeast, whole-grain toast and malt in this broad-shouldered, dry Champagne. It's more about power than finesse, with a moderate finish. Drink now through 2018.   –BS