Red, Still Wine... from Champagne?
2002 Paul Bara Bouzy Rouge
Pinot Noir with Shimmering Clarity,
Weightless Complexity... No Other Pricing in the Nation

Yes, it's still, red wine from Champagne from the reference-point producer for this little-known and underappreciated category. More than curiosity, this offers a glimpse at Pinot in a state of singular and utter purity.

If you're at all interested in experiencing Pinot Noir at its most nervy, ethereal, and resolutely mineral form, Bara's is certainly the one to try.

Simply put, Paul Bara rules the category of red Coteaux Champenois, his name looming large in experts' writings on this unique non-sparkler from Champagne. 

Power vs. Fineness (Everyone Wins)
1996 Bollinger R.D.
Last Parcel at Lowest Pricing in the Nation

"An endless parade of toasty, decadent fresh and dried fruits defines the finish, with a gentle but insistent mineral undertone providing focus, freshness and lift. This is a must buy for Bollinger fans." - Josh Raynolds, International Wine Cellar

Heed his advice - this is a gorgeous bottle; a flagship cuvée from a serious house and from one of - if not the - most collectible vintages in Champagne history. Antonio Galloni states simply, "It is a great version of one of Champagne’s legendary wines." (Galloni's and Raynolds' full reviews are below.)

A Statement. And So Much More...
2000 Dom Pérignon Rosé
Ultra-Limited Edition with
Pink-Gold Metal Shields for Custom Engraving

"[Richard] Geoffroy says his goal was to make a statement with the 2000 Dom Pérignon Rosé; he has done that...

...and so much more." - Antonio Galloni, Wine Advocate

Grand Cellar, Gold Standard
2004 Vilmart et Cie Grand Cellier d'Or
Cult Grower Champagne at
15% Below the Lowest Price in the Nation

Here's an enigmatic Champagne, where the high-yield vintage didn't affect outstanding quality, where oak treatment never overwhelms delicate acidity, where the low price simply doesn't match the class, the cult following...

Last week, we offered out Vilmart's non-vintage rosé, and the high demand reinforced the fact that this is a house with a very avid following. It's evident that, as Richard Juhlin says, "Vilmart has quickly established cult status, only topped among growers by J. Selosse."  

Today we offer a step up in the Vilmart collection: 2004 Grand Cellier d'Or at 15% below the lowest price in the nation: $58.55.

Outclassing Its Class
NV Vilmart et Cie "Cuvée Rubis" Rosé
Cult Grower Rosé Champagne, Under $50

"...boldly fragrant but also tightly controlled, with all the components falling impeccably into place... a marvelous contrast of silky refinement and brooding vinosity..."
- Peter Liem, Champagne Guide

The tasting note above just doesn't read anything like a $50 sparkler.

The reason for this is logical enough: This isn't really a $50 sparkler. The absolute lowest pricing you're going to see on this rosé Champagne is close to $10 more expensive than our 6-pack pricing. The bottle fairly sells at most places between $60 and $70.

Shine, Shine On
1996 Lanson Gold Label Brut
[Awesome] Vintage Champagne, Under $60

"I can't think of a better wine that will simultaneously thrill even the choosiest Champagne connoisseur, delight your drinking buddies and impress your wine geek friends..."

So Bobby said when he emailed about this wine a couple of years ago. Since then, the 1996 Lanson Gold Label Brut has gotten even better.

Today we offer it at $57.95 a bottle - a downright silly value for Champagne from the awesome 96 vintage and one of Champagne's oldest houses. This offer also represents just about the last of this wine on the market in any meaningful quantity.

(Intellectual) Hedonism
1999 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne
Just. Utterly. Delicious.
Taittinger is, without a doubt, in the highest echelon of Champagne. Every time we open a bottle, we're blown away by how "irresistibly alluring" it is.

In the company of the best Champagnes, Taittinger absolutely excels.

I can't count how many times we've opened a bottle of Comtes alongside the biggest names in Champagne (you know them) and Taittinger has emerged an against-the-odds favorite for its pure hedonistic pleasure bolstered by an underlying intellectual thrill - think piles of baking spices heaped over glacial minerals and a tightrope of acidity.

This is incredible Champagne that should not be overlooked.

Choosing any one wine, out of a year's worth of incredible experiences, is a daunting task.

Though in a way, this year is a bit easier for me. I've been a passionate drinker/collector of Champagne since I first began my adventure into wine over 17 years ago. 2007 is unquestionably the year Champagne came of age, both at the retail level and at auction. Collector/investor interest in top cuvees is at an all time high - Champagne has now joined the ranks of Bordeaux and Burgundy as one of the most sought-after and collectible wines in the world, with Krug and Dom Perignon leading the way.

With this in mind, my wine of the year came into sight as the obvious victor. This is a wine that takes tremendous amounts of time, care, labor and materials to produce - yet year in and year out it is consistent and complex. The 2007 Krug Grande Cuvee is the Crush Wine of the Year!

The full-court press of the holidays is upon us! By the time the end of last week rolled around just about everybody needed a little pick-me-up. I was happy to celebrate our hard work an add a bit of excitement to our usual Friday staff tasting by popping the cork on some bubbles.

The unquestionable star of the night was Bollinger's 1999 Grande Annee. This is an amazing bottle of wine - the one that everyone was talking about Saturday morning. Rich and thunderous with a fantastic foundation of dark and sweet notes, baking spices, and the trademark "Bolli" cookie dough provide a solid core around which shavings of citrus added high notes and balancing accents. The concentration and length... nothing short of amazing.

For those of you who have never had vintage Bollinger, this is the perfect moment to indulge - with the party season beginning, I can't think of an under-$100 bottle of vintage Champagne that offers the finely detailed exuberance and pure hedonism of the Grande Annee.

One of the great champagnes of the 20th century is 1990 Dom Pérignon Oenothèque. This bottle absolutely blew me away the first time I had it, which was at the private vertical tasting Dom Pérignon held at Crush. Everyone agreed - even among other exceptional bottles, the 1990 Oenothèque had no peers. Though we also had to admit that the 1990 Rosé, served from magnum, was also outstanding - further testimony of the greatness of the 1990 vintage.