Vintage 1988

2 notes

A Queen for an Excuse

Rare Champagne Millésime 1988 (Piper-Heidsieck) · Champagne, France · tasted 12 August 2026

Piper-Heidsieck's Rare is declared only in the years the house thinks deserve the name. At thirty-eight, the 1988 was still standing on its acidity — deep gold, nuts and cinnamon, apple and honey trailing into salt.

The Magnum Was Right

Salon Le Mesnil Blanc de Blancs 1988 (Magnum) · Champagne, France · tasted 5 August 2026

One village, one grape, one year — and barely forty-odd declared vintages in 120 years. The label had all but peeled away in the cellar; the wine inside had not aged a day it couldn't afford. The best Salon of my life.