To celebrate their record champagne sales this year, London fine-wine traders Bordeaux Index held a tasting of some of the most famous champagnes of all from the magnificent 2002 vintage.
My impressions are recorded below. I thought the Cristal, Dom Pérignon and Bollinger Grande Année were all looking magnificent, but of these the Bollinger is obviously the star in terms of value, as are the two Pol Roger 2002s.
Wines are listed in declining score order with prices per 12 bottles in bond.
Louis Roederer, Cristal Brut 2002 Champagne
55% Pinot Noir, 45% Chardonnay. Straw. Very mineral and focused on the nose. Sharp as a spear. Yet with great delicacy. So tightly laced! Really tastes as though it is only just becoming drinkable. Really tight and fresh and tense. Admirably different. Very long. Beautifully constructed. (JR)
Drink
2012
–
2022
£1,400 per case of 12 ib Bordeaux Index
19
Dom Pérignon, Brut 2002 Champagne
55% Pinot Noir, 45% Chardonnay. Very complex nose. Nervy and multilayered. Wonderfully delicate mousse and attractively dry finish. This tastes as though it will go on forever. A very subtle champagne that seems if anything to have slimmed a little in bottle. A real tonic. Definitely tastes drier, tauter than most. (JR)
Drink
2012
–
2025
£980 per case of 12 ib Bordeaux Index
19
Bollinger, La Grande Année Brut 2002 Champagne
60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay. Pale gold. Very sumptuous nose. Inspirationally serious. Layers and dry with enormous tightness and very tiny bead. Something almost beery about the yeast element. You could definitely enjoy this already but there is also massive potential. Very dry finish. Uncompromising. You wouldn’t give this to a beginner. Long, peacock’s tail finish. (JR)
Drink
2012
–
2025
£570 per case of 12 ib Bordeaux Index
19
Pol Roger, Brut 2002 Champagne
60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay. Mid gold with tiny bead. Subtle, putty nose. Very finely sculpted and tight. Relatively rich, sort of pastry cream. But very satisfying build and depth of flavour. Persistent. This would be dangerously easy to drink in quantity. (JR)
Drink
2010
–
2018
£440 per case of 12 ib Bordeaux Index
18
Taittinger, Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut 2002 Champagne
100% Chardonnay. Greenish straw. Nicely balanced and relatively open. Quite a high dosage but very easy to like. Fine and as though there’s a drawstring on the finish. All very neat on the end after quite an effusive beginning. Mid weight to light. (JR)
Drink
2010
–
2018
£850 per case of 12 ib Bordeaux Index
18
Ruinart, Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs Brut 2002 Champagne
100% Chardonnay. Notably toasty nose with quite a bit of autolysis. Fine bead. Appetising dry finish, almost as though there’s some oak, after a delicate, mineral mid palate. Lots of acidity and very attractively refreshing. Very satisfying already. (JR)
Drink
2010
–
2018
£990 per case of 12 ib Bordeaux Index
18
Philipponnat, Clos des Goisses Brut 2002 Champagne
65% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay. Pale copper. Rich, intense, very Pinot perfume. Tight bead with – surely? – some oak influence. A very meaty, substantial wine – and almost more of a wine than a champagne. Lightly frothy. Complex and attention-grabbing though more for food than an aperitif wine. A bit like a jewel. Long. Admirably distinctive, though it needs careful treatment. (JR)
Drink
2012
–
2022
£1,250 per case of 12 ib Bordeaux Index
18
Pol Roger, Blanc de Blancs Brut 2002 Champagne
100% Chardonnay. Lively, very direct nose. More crisp on the nose than the regular Pol 2002. And on the palate. Quite tight and youthful. Almost slimline. Rather a strange combination between the richness of 2002 and the minerality of a Blanc de Blancs. (JR)
Drink
2013
–
2020
£500 per case of 12 ib Bordeaux Index
17.5
Perrier Jouët, Belle Epoque Brut 2002 Champagne
50% Chardonnay, 46% Pinot Noir, 4% Pinot Meunier. Dark straw. Much, much more evolved on the nose than the others. Open texture without the real density of the best 2002s. A little sweet and soft. Medium weight. (JR)
Drink
2009
–
2015
£95 a bottle Jeroboams
17