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<\/div>\n\u201cIt\u2019s a legendary year in champagne \u2013 the first vintage consumers really got behind and started collecting,\u2019 says Katherine Fisher, champagne buyer for Bordeaux Index. \u2018\u2018It\u2019s often talked about in the same breath as \u201902, \u201908, 2012.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
But how are these wines faring 30 years on? That was the question that lured me to a fascinating tasting at Bordeaux Index\u2019s HQ in London the other day, which compared a series of top prestige cuv\u00e9es from 1996 and the lesser-known 1995.<\/p>\n
\u201c1995 is also a great vintage in its own right but it has always been a bit in the shadow of \u201996,\u201d says Fisher. \u201cBut then we found ourselves having a few conversations with private clients and tasted the odd thing here and there that suggested the 1995s were tasting surprisingly good. So we thought it would be interesting to re-visit the two.\u201d<\/p>\n Bordeaux Index has made something of a name for itself hosting esoteric \u2018decades on\u2019 tastings like this, which offer private clients the chance to assess famous Champagne and Bordeaux vintages 10, 20 or even 30 years on. I have been to a couple \u2013\u00a0a \u201810 years on\u2019 tasting of 60 Bordeaux clarets, including all the first growths, was particularly memorable. And there are few better ways to get under the skin of a wine, or a vintage, than to taste comparatively like this. What\u2019s more there are always surprises \u2013 unexpected winners or wines \/ vintages that simply don\u2019t live up to the hype.<\/p>\n One unforeseen but delightful gatecrasher on the day was Charles Philipponnat of Champagne Philipponnat (which was in the tasting). He told me, slightly mischievous, he was putting his money on the 1995s.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a derby of two beautiful vintages,\u201d he said. \u201cBoth were sunny and ripe. The biggest difference was \u201995 was an extremely small harvest \u2013 so you get this concentration, but balanced with this bright acidity that has helped it resist the passing of time. The 1996s were even more acid, but the fruit in them was more fragile, so some didn\u2019t keep their promise and collapsed and became too oxidised.»<\/p>\n «Generally speaking \u201995 is the superior vintage even though the one that was hyped at the time was \u201996 \u2013 because critics tend to enjoy the fresh acidity that makes wines very brilliant, very exciting when they are young. But anything can taste good when it\u2019s young. It\u2019s the champagnes that can last 20, 30 years or more that are the great<\/em> wines.\u201d<\/p>\n Cuv\u00e9es in the line-up included Taittinger Comtes de Champagne (ex-ch\u00e2teau), Louis Roederer Cristal (secondary market); Krug Vintage (and a \u201895 Krug Collection); Ayala La Perle (ex-ch\u00e2teau); Charles Heidsieck La Collection Cray\u00e8res (ex-ch\u00e2teau); Philipponnat Clos des Goisses LV (ex-ch\u00e2teau) and Bollinger RD (ex-ch\u00e2teau). <\/p>\n There were also some solo entries: 1995 Duval-Leroy Femme de Champagne and 1996 Salon de Mesnil, 1996 Veuve Cliquot La Grande Dame and 1996 Dom Perignon Rose in Magnum, all from Bordeaux Index\u2019s own stash.<\/p>\n Fisher said she was looking for wines that \u201cstill had lot of freshness,\u201d says Fisher, \u201cbut combined with that added richness, toastiness and sumptuousness that you get with age.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Both Taittingers were gorgeous, but the more generous 1995 edged it for me, combining golden stone fruit and hints of lemon and lime with a buttery silkiness. Tasting it, you got the sense of a noble champagne, fully realized.<\/p>\n The 1995 Bollinger RD was another stand-out \u2013 rich and multi-layered, it had a kind of Drink Me sweet-and-savoriness that married tobacco, panettone and dried tropical fruits with an appetising toastiness.<\/p>\n The Krugs still had great power and presence, coupled with assertive acidity. The late-disgorged 1995 Krug Collection \u2013\u00a0which had more flesh on the bones, more texture \u2013\u00a0was definitely my favourite here.<\/p>\n Long-aged Cristal can be magnificent \u2013\u00a0but the general consensus was that this was not Cristal\u2019s day. Both vintages (created before Jean Baptiste L\u00e9caillon was appointed chef de cave<\/em>) seemed a little on the tired side.<\/p>\n The 1996 Charles Heidseick was still wonderfully vivacious, with zesty notes of orange, lemon and lime and a luxuriant creaminess. Of the two Philipponnats the 1995 was the more giving, with expansive vanilla tobacco and dried fruit notes, fine bubbles and a subtle smokiness.<\/p>\n Salon only had one horse in the race \u2013 the 1996. But it was fabulous, with ethereal notes of citrus, almond, white peach and flowers, and an airy texture, that defied its age.<\/p>\n In general I found the \u201995s more supple and expressive \u2013\u00a0as Charles Philipponnat had prophesied. But the \u2018better\u2019 vintage varied from maison to maison and depended on factors including bottle format, disgorgement date, the wine\u2019s provenance and, of course, the maison\u2019s <\/em>house style.<\/p>\n And finding a \u2018winner\u2019, after all, was never really the point of this tasting, because wine is a moving target \u2013\u00a0and that is what makes it so fascinating, and part of why we love it.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/elitetraveler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/10\/bordeauxindexchampagnetasting_edited18-2560x1707.jpg\")
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