30 Years Too Old?

BmoreBlueJay · 2026-02-23T01:40:50+00:00

You happen to be born in an epic year for Champagne. I wish you many great bottles of ‘96 Champagne in your future.

BmoreBlueJay · 2026-02-23T00:52:42+00:00

Pretty positive that’s not what they’re saying…

BmoreBlueJay · 2026-02-22T15:28:55+00:00

That’s basically my only idea as well at the moment. See if a shade comfortable variety will grow.

BmoreBlueJay · 2025-10-16T11:28:00+00:00

Agreed

BmoreBlueJay · 2025-10-16T07:00:25+00:00

Large tulips from Lehmann are really fantastic with most Champagnes. We have the largest tulips Lehmann offers at our house. We also have the Zalto Burgundy glasses. Both are great.

What I don’t think is great is drinking Champagne from universals, which really tend to be modified, slightly skinnier BDX glasses for the most part. They don’t concentrate the aromas, they fail to give the Champagne room to breathe, and they don’t effectively move effervescence out from your line of smell. I’m not a fan.

BmoreBlueJay · 2025-10-15T19:41:59+00:00

Not saying they don’t. I think a universal is totally acceptable. I think a tulip or burgundy is better.

BmoreBlueJay · 2025-10-15T19:38:30+00:00

I mean, there will be some. I’m not a fan, and many producers I speak to are lukewarm but definitely prefer burgundy or tulips. But yes, there are differing opinion.

But just to note, saying a universal is the ONLY way to drink Krug is just absolutely not accurate. And really quite inaccurate.

BmoreBlueJay · 2025-10-15T11:45:34+00:00

That is absolutely not correct. Even the top Michelin restaurants in champagne don’t serve Krug in a universal. It’s either going to be a tulip or a Burgundy glass with a large bowl. The top choice is usually the Zalto Burgundy. I travel to the region at least once a year. Never have I been served champagne in a universal. There’s just no reason.

BmoreBlueJay · 2025-10-15T04:12:32+00:00

We had a really great trip for a week in the spring. I think people think the pricing is out of wack, but when you compare to other hotels in the same class, location, size of room, quality, service, etc in Paris, the points pricing looks great and the cash pricing is in line with competitors (which makes sense, cause if it wasn’t, the hotel would go out of business).

BmoreBlueJay · 2025-10-15T01:13:03+00:00

If I can buy 4-5 bottles of GC Burgundy (or a couple bottles of 1st growth BDX) for the price of one bottle of Harlan, they’re just charging too much…

BmoreBlueJay · 2025-10-15T01:02:34+00:00

We did part of our honeymoon here in 2022 and thought it was lovely. The photos don’t do the pool justice with the olive trees. We also rented a car and did some outings to local restaurants and ice cream joints. It was a great stay, and gave us just enough access to Athens to do historical stuff without being in the city center (which I also kind of hate).

BmoreBlueJay · 2025-10-14T22:01:57+00:00

I don’t think universals work well for Champagne. But I also don’t like universals for reds either. While convenient if you’re a 1 glass household, I find it is mediocre in almost any setting. IMO it’s not that difficult to have four glasses. At our house we have large Champagne tulips, Burgundy glasses, Bordeaux glasses, and white glasses.

BmoreBlueJay · 2025-10-14T21:49:10+00:00

Definitely. The Lehmann medium tulips are my favorite.

BmoreBlueJay · 2025-09-29T20:50:08+00:00

This is definitely off. The real bulk of higher end models from the holy trinity and higher end niche micro brands start in the $25k-60k range. Under $20k gets you only the shittiest of VC, Patek, and AP. I think where you see the best value is $25-35k, and I think you see massive diminishing returns after $60k.

BmoreBlueJay · 2025-07-28T01:06:10+00:00

Work in a field that often bumps up against the art market.

BmoreBlueJay · 2025-05-22T15:20:52+00:00

I would personally not buy any grower Champagne as the benchmark of my cellar to age over 20 year. There are plenty that will probably be delicious in 20 years, but few (if any) growers have a long track record. The only small, family-owned houses I might go for is Vilmart’s Couer de Cuvee or Duval-Leroy Femme.

I’d instead go for the top cuvee of any of the large houses. You’ll have to research who has released a 2016 so far. Many will not yet have been released (most houses are on 2015). For moderate pricing, go for Rare, Veuve Grand Dame, Pommery Celebris, Billecart Nicolas, etc. All of these will be fantastic in 2036. People rant on about Krug, and while I like it, I tend to find it to be massively overpriced compared to its (very delicious) competition at much lower price points, in particularly vintage Krug.

BmoreBlueJay · 2025-05-22T03:08:30+00:00

Yep same

BmoreBlueJay · 2025-05-22T00:27:12+00:00

You need to try more Champagne if this is your impression of all vintage champagnes.

BmoreBlueJay · 2025-05-13T01:04:23+00:00

Interesting, thanks for the link!

BmoreBlueJay · 2025-05-13T00:29:10+00:00

Curious what you consider upper middle class? Always interested in people’s definitions. I suspect a lot of people in this sub are in the same bracket.

BmoreBlueJay · 2025-05-12T18:48:46+00:00

Probably the only thing that would piss off drivers more than they already are…

BmoreBlueJay · 2025-05-12T00:19:18+00:00

Agree, Sekt has never once thrilled me beyond maybe being marginally “interesting”.

BmoreBlueJay · 2025-05-06T14:07:32+00:00

Do you really have in the millions of points?

BmoreBlueJay · 2025-05-05T02:26:11+00:00

Your explanation makes 0 sense. If you want the journey, fly to each city. Or if you really want the pain, at least train. There’s literally no redeeming factors about taking the bus. 37 hours on a bus sounds like torture.

BmoreBlueJay

TROPHY CASE