Need champagne advice

[Nahmeanz]

My friend is having a little party tomorrow night for the grand opening of his and his wife's store. I want to bring a few bottles of champagne to help celebrate. Any recommendations?

 

[Concordia]

How little? What is your budget per bottle?

 

[Nahmeanz]

20-30 people, 150 per bottle would be fine.

 

[chorse123]

If it were me, I'd spend less per bottle and bring more of it. You shouldn't have a problem finding plenty in the $45-$60 range. I defer to more expert drinkers.

 

[Concordia]

20-30 people, if you're allowing just one glass for the drinkers and counting on a few not having any, that is still 3 or 4 bottles. $150 will certainly make a statement but isn't really necessary. If you do go that route, Krug, DP, Pol Roger Winston Churchill, and others will impress. Actually, there aren't a lot of really bad expensive Champagnes although I've never much cared for Cristal.

Normal vintage (but not premium) Champagne will be better value. If you have a wine store with a lot of turnover on the high end (so you don't get a stale, overheated bottle), they should be able to find something for $50-70.

And if you are looking for good cheer at a lower price, I've always liked Roederer Estate from California. Further down the price list and really excellent for sipping in warm weather is Prosecco from Italy.

 

[polar-lemon]

veuve is around 45 a bottle and is quite delicious

moet and chandon white star is good as well

 

[Froude]

Originally Posted by polar-lemon

veuve is around 45 a bottle and is quite delicious

+1

 

[Dmax]

I basically agree with everything Concordia said...
Unless it was improperly stored, it's hard to find a bad expensive champagne. In that price range, my first choice would probably be Krug MV (multi-vintage) or one of the smaller producers vintage premium or vintage standard cuvees. Amongst more recognoizable brands you can look at Moet & Chandon Dom Perignon and Veuve Cliquot's premium cuvee "La Grand Dame". The going price for Louis Roderer cuvee Crystal is over $150 a bottle. Most of the premium cuvees are going to be very good and the prices seem to reflect higher demand for better known/better marketed brands. If you want something unusual, consider rose vintage cuvees. If you go with vintage wine you should probably look at '95 or '99 or check with a store clerk. '96 is suppose to be a great champagne vintage that has not yet reached it's peak.

Another interesting alternative is to get magnum sized bottles. They may cost more than double the price of standard bottles but they can certainly contribute to making the occasion seem more special. It is also accepted that champagne in magnums and jereboams (3l) bottles has superior flavor to the same champagne in 750ml bottles.

 

[audiophilia]

Grab as many bottle of Moet or Pol in your price range and rock on....no one will be disappointed. Stay away from Veuve, IMO.

 

[Nahmeanz]

Thanks for the suggestions. I got 2 bottles of La Grande Dame 98. I'm not the only one bringing champagne so that should be enough. We're probably going to drink the champagne at the beginning of the party and knowing the people that are coming, no one will be on time haha. Other wines and spirits will be served throughout the evening.

I chose La Grande Dame over Cristal because Cristal does have a certain stigma attached to the name still. Not saying it isn't a great champagne but it reminds me of the years I went to clubs and bought out their stock of Cristal just because Jay-Z told me to. I was young and dumb haha. Plus the Veuve Clicquot is less expensive.