a fine wine tasting archive
3 notes
1996 gave Champagne sugar and acidity at the same time, and the early verdict was that the acidity was too much. Thirty years on, in the original release of Cristal, that same acidity is the reason the wine is still young.
In 1996 the same hectare of Vosne-Romanée wore two labels — Henri Jayer's and Emmanuel Rouget's. Opening both side by side turned out to be less about comparison than about provenance, price, and what a legend is actually worth.
1996 gave Champagne a freak combination of full ripeness and ferocious acidity, and no house was better built to bottle it than Salon. At twenty-five years, the wine was still running on that spine — citrus oil, oyster shell, and no sign of slowing.