Thursday, August 27, 2009

Celebrating with a 2002 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin

No matter how often I hear that Champagne is NOT just for special occasions, I ALWAYS save Champagne for special occasions. Cava - now that's an everyday wine - but not Champagne. This bottle was opened to celebrate my first Olympic distance triathlon (is it wrong to celebrate athletic achievement with alcohol?).

The 2002 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin, a gift from my wife, was rather noteworthy for being...well not noteworthy. Classic buttery, lemony, croissant...minerally, with a hint of white flowers. A soft, creamy, mousse and delicately textured, some crisp lemon and bitters. Great persistency, but rather ho-hum for being so technically correct and emotionally flat. Maybe it was just a mood thing.
cork. 12% alcohol
Score: 16/20

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

the more bubbly I drink the more I realized this whole Champagne thing is a scam! I grew to love Gruet's brut. At about 12.99 to 14.99 a bottle, this thing is MUCH better than most real champgne I had (with perhaps the exception of Krug)

Joe said...

Hi Anon - you don't see a lot of champagne here for the simple reason that the price doesn't make sense. I have not had Gruet's brut, I will look for it. Personally, I am a huge fan of Spanish cava - I always have a bottle in the fridge.

David McDuff said...

I doubt if it was just a mood thing. The last bottle of vintage VCP I drank was unremarkable at best.

As to your question, "is it wrong to celebrate athletic achievement with alcohol?" No, it's wrong to undertake athletic achievement without celebrating alcohol.

Joe said...

Hi David - I guess I had a really good 80s vintage VCP and was hoping for another winner so I blamed it on "vibe" - it really was ho-hum (especially given the price). I guess it was better to drink it than to have somebody shake it up and spray it everywhere!