Wine By Nine

Vintage by Veuve Clicquot from Champagne, France - regions. Blend: 60% Pinot Noir, 7% Pinot Meunier, 33% Chardonnay The 2002 vintage has a pale gold color with silver accents. It has a brilliant aspect and an effervescence that is lively and long-lasting. The nose is very open, pure and complex. The Chardonnay gives this wine a refined mineral flavor accompanied with pleasant flowery notes of acacia. Aerating the wine reveals hints of yellow-fleshed fruit and pastries (brioche, marzipan). These give way to delicately spicy aromas, followed by elegant notes of licorice and high-bred teas. In the mouth, the wine is silky and generous. The expectations promised by the nose are met and even exceeded as the complexity of this wine is superlative: simultaneously evoking fruity and floral, mineral and spicy notes, menthol and toast. This wine is quite simply dazzling with its wealth of aromas, and a deliciously long and powerful finish. This elegant vintage is already remarkably well-balanced, and it will continue to enchant the palate for at least 15 years. Meanwhile, this wine can accompany the most refined dishes. It is eminently suitable for the most original matches. Try it with bass tartare, poached turbot served on a bed of fresh pasta, or cappuccino of Bresse chicken with candied citrus fruits.

Vintage by Pol Roger from Champagne, France. Pol Roger, one of a few luxury Champagne firms still family-owned, was established in Epernay in 1849. Pol Roger owns 200 acres of vineyards, which provide about 45% of their needs. Pol Roger's cellars extend over four miles of winding chalk passageways on two levels. The second or deeper cellar maintains a constant 9.5? C (50? F), one degree lower than the first level and most others in the region. This lower temperature slows the second fermentation, encouraging a finer mousse or bubbles. Pol Roger Champagne also spends two to three times the allowable minimum in the cellar before disgorgement, or about three years for the non-vintage and up to seven for the luxury cuvees. The long, slow maturation contributes greatly to the complex aromas, which distinguish these superb Champagnes. The Vintage Brut follows the traditional formula for Pol Roger Vintage, being composed of about 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay drawn from 18 Grands and Premiers Crus. As always, the Pinot Noir contributes the intensity, backbone, tannins and body while the Chardonnay provides the fragrance, elegance, finesse essential to a perfect balance. Vintage Brut is only produced in declared vintage years.

Ros? by Delamotte from Champagne, France - regions. The balance between the dominant Pinot Noir and the smaller percentage of Chardonnay in the Delamotte Rose gives this wine its beautiful pale rose color. The wine has tiny bubbles with strong red fruit aromas and flavors. It is vivacious, supple and round with a hint of acidity. It makes a wonderful aperitif, as well as a good companion to poultry dishes or red fruit desserts.

Ros? by Laurent-Perrier from Champagne, France - regions. The best selling rose Champagne in the world, Laurent-Perrier is one of the few roses still made by the saignee method. To emphasize this traditional technique, the Champagne is bottled in an embossed bottle that is a reproduction of those used in the late 17th century. This salmon-pink rose Champagne is truly remarkable for its highly expressive bouquet, stemming from very careful preservation of fresh fruit aromas during the winemaking. Made with 100% pinot noir using skin contact, also known as the saignee method, Laurent-Perrier's know-how and attention to quality produces a finely crafted rose with both depth and freshness. It has become the benchmark for rose Champagne around the world. Bright, fresh and intense, with notes of raspberries, strawberries and black cherries.

Vintage by Piper Heidsieck from Champagne, France - regions. A luminous, golden celadon color. Fine bubbles for a gentle effervescence. Light mineral impressions are followed by subtle floral notes of fern and wild rose which leads to delicately fruity aromas of dry apricot and sultana raisins. This attractive mature wine reveals its elegant charm with a bouquet of sweet nougat, milk caramel and mint. The attack is fresh and youthful and is rapidly followed by a sensation of fullness. Notes of Mediterranean dried fruit, such as fig, are intertwined with elegant touches of Virginia tobacco and leather. The wine has a refreshing finish with a smooth hint of milky tea flavored with bergamot.

Non-Vintage by Ruinart from Champagne, France - regions. The wine is a brilliant orange-yellow rose petal colour with a very fine, profuse and sustained mousse. The nose is characterized by small red berries, mainly currant. On the palate the wine is vigorous and well balanced. A fine, fresh, fruity wine with well-integrated tannins and a hint of spice on the lengthy finish. Ruinart Rose is produced from a blend of 55% Pinot Noir and 45% Chardonnay from the best of recent vintages. All of the fruit is from premiers crus vineyards. Grapes from the estate vineyards in Sillery and Brimont (ancestral home of the Ruinart family) are joined by carefully selected grapes from other premiers crus vineyards in the Cote de Blancs and the Montagne de Reims. The grapes for Ruinart are selected basket by basket at the source, and only the finest premiers crus are used.

Vintage by Deutz from Champagne, France - regions. Made exclusively from Pinot Noir, 80% of these grapes come from the Montagne de Reims area, and the remaining 20% come from the Marne Valley. The specific style and color is obtained by the addition of 9% of red wine, whose Pinot Noir grapes come from two plots on the A? hillside called La Cote and Meurtet, both that have perfect exposure. After 4 years aging in the Deutz cellars, its aromas have perfectly blended, and the Brut Rose has a very subtle nose and a palate that shows remarkable power.

Vintage by Louis Roederer from Champagne, France - regions. Sweet nose of caramel, light yeast and apple. Very creamy entry with a meld of malty beer flavors and a nice integration of lemon-lime acidity. Focused with a ribbon of caramel and butter that linger throughout the spicy close. -Wine News

Vintage by Henriot from Champagne, France - regions. Racy, elegant and harmonious from start to finish. Candied citrus, honey and hazelnut flavors play out on a silky texture, and all is backed by a firm but unobtrusive structure. Lovely expression of the vintage. Drink now through 2010. -Wine Spectator Highly Recommended Brightly coloured with green tints. Fine, persistent bubbles. Rich and fresh on the nose. White fruit and flowers evolving towards mineral, spicy notes. Remarkably balanced on the palate. The attack is fresh and remarkably well balanced with a silky texture. Very pure and fine. This wine will be excellent as an aperitif and could also accompany refined fish dishes.

Ros? by Philipponnat from Champagne, France - regions. Rose-hued gold with coppery notes and a fine bubbles. The nose shows red fruits of raspberry and wild cherries. A harmonious balance of red and white wines. Exceptional as an aperitif or with dessert. The composition of this cuvée is essentially that of the traditional Brut. However, it recours supplementary Chardonnay and thus reaches a perfect balance. Its delicately pink appearance cornes front the addition of red wine front our Mareuil vineyards.

Non-Vintage by Mumm from Champagne, France - regions. Mumm de Cramant is a precious cuvee made in the purest Champagne tradition since 1882. A single cru cuvee of incomparable purity, blended in the time-honored tradition with a strict selection of 100% Chardonnay Cramant wines. Truly a great Champagne to grace any occasion.

Ros? by Piper Heidsieck from Champagne, France - regions. A lively, generous and intense wine. Its freshness is expressed by the slight tartness of red fruit, which then mellows with the aromas of macerated fruit and red plums. The final sensation is exuberant and warm. With no dosage, this is a very dry wine that has benefited from some good bottle aging. It is also darker in color than some roses, which gives the wine considerable body and richness. -Wine Enthusiast Very concentrated and vibrant, this Champagne delivers cherry, cranberry and spice notes on a broad swath of cashmerelike texture. The structure emerges on the finish, but it remains focused and balanced throughout. Drink now. -Wine Spectator