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+--- Thread: Cuvée L'Oenotheque??? Where are you, Tom? (/thread-10697.html)
- Bucko - 12-20-1999
1979 Charles Heidsieck Cuvée L'Oenotheque???
The bottle was picked up by a friend in the U.K., and the label states the wine was disgorged "First Quarter, 1999." It's on the agenda for New Year's Eve, but I can't find any reference to Charles Heidsieck making some sort of "R.D." . . .
As always, any help/info is appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Bucko
- tomstevenson - 12-21-1999
Hi Bucko
L'Oenotheque 2000 is a limited range of 18 library wines released this June 1999. The wines include old releases of mature NV, Royal Vintage, Champagne Charlie and Blanc de Millenaires (their current prestige cuvee, a blanc de blancs). I had a preview of most of these wines in June 1998 and arranged for the best to be part of Christie's Historic Champagne Sale to mark the launch of my fizz encyclopedia in October of that year. There was about a 70% success rate, as far as I was concerned, and some of the wines released this summer have not shown as well as those disgorged the year before, although ostensibly they are the same wines. Prices range from £50-£300 and bottle sizes from 75cl to Jeroboam. Unfortunately I did not taste the 1979, so I cannot provide any contemporary notes. I can tell you that with the Champagne Charlie 1979 it is the second-oldest wine in the collection (the 1970 Royal Brut, which was one of those I chose for the special auction, being the oldest). However, I did taste a number of other L'Oenotheque wines for my Champagne & Sparkling Wine Guide 2000 (just out) and found two of the cheapest to be the best in terms of pure quality: the 1985 Blanc de Millenaires @ £70 (92/100) and Reserve Charlie Mis en Cave 1990 @ £49.99 (90/100). In general, the 1979s have demonstrated a capacity to age gracefully, and the 1979 Champagne Charlie was great a few years ago, so you should be more optimistic than pessimistic! Have a great New Year.
- Bucko - 12-21-1999
I knew that I could depend on you -- merci, gracias, thank you,
Bucko