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After 20 Years: The 2003 Vintage

One of the most unusual vintages of its time, 2003 can be seen in Champagne as the first of the extreme years that ushered in our current era of climate change. It’s remembered most for its intense summer heat, yet equally significant were the devastating frosts in the spring, some of the worst recorded in […]

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After 20 Years: The 2002 Vintage

The 2002 vintage is widely regarded as an excellent one in Champagne, and potentially one of the best of its decade. An unusually warm and dry growing season produced ripe, opulent wines of both concentration and finesse, with virtually all sectors of the appellation achieving high-quality results. In recent times, however, there has been some...

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Celebrating 1921: One Hundred Years of Moët & Chandon

Moet 1921 tasting

Among the legendary champagnes of the twentieth century, Moët & Chandon’s 1921 vintage holds a special place in the region’s lore. Widely regarded as one of the finest wines that the house has ever made, it was also this 1921 Moët vintage that was eventually released as the first vintage of Dom

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After 20 Years: The 2001 Vintage

2001 bottles

Widely regarded as the poorest vintage of the last quarter century, 2001 is remembered above all for its incessant rains, most notably at harvest time but prevalent throughout the growing season as well. In reality, the weather wasn’t all quite as dire as collective memory seems to indicate, and

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After 20 Years: The 2000 Vintage

2000 Tasting

Y2K. A century leap year. Bush v. Gore. A new millennium (except for those pedants who point out that the new millennium didn’t really begin until 2001). And amidst all of that, a vintage that was widely declared in Champagne.

In truth, there was little that was reassuring about much of Champagne’s

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An Early Look at the 2019 Vintage

In the extraordinary trio of vintages that closes out this decade, it’s fair to say that the one most Champenois are particularly excited about at the moment is 2019. All three—2018, 2019 and 2020—were certainly contemporary in character, with the elevated maturity, erratic climatic conditions and

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A Vertical Tasting of Pol Roger Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill

Pol Roger SWC1

One of Champagne’s iconic names, Pol Roger’s Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill is not only an homage to the statesman, it is also one of the region’s finest prestige cuvées. Churchill had been a devotee of the house’s wines since at least 1908, when documents indicate his purchase of the 1895 vintage,

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Choosing a Wine Glass for Critical Tasting

Jancis Robinson glass

It’s an indisputable fact that the type of glass a wine is served in has a profound effect on the way that we perceive that wine. As a wine critic, this presents a dilemma: first, the glass that I taste a wine in is most probably different than the one that you are tasting from; and second, if I am

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After 20 Years: The 1999 Vintage

1999 tasting

In the lore of Champagne, vintages ending in ‘9’ are expected to be warm ones, and 1999 was no exception, remembered primarily for the hot weather in the summertime. At the same time, 1999 experienced much more rainfall than usual, which also played a role in developing the character of the wines.

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