WTN: 1996 Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne Cuvée Palmes d'Or

1996 Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne Brut Cuvée Palmes d'Or

One of our 25th wedding anniversary wines tasted during a weekend at a bed and breakfast in Chicago.

Nose: Room filling nose of ginger, apple and fresh flowers. The aroma jumped out of the bottle upon uncorking.

Appearance: Straw yellow with a pinkish hue. Strong, steady stream of tiny bubbles.

Taste: Toast notes with hints of honey initially, followed by an odd dead spot before an excellent and extended green apple finish. Definitely became more fruity with time in the glass.

Our first PdO. Very good and interesting Champagne, but I'm not sure that I would buy more at current prices. The style is definitely different from the few other vintage Champagnes that we have tasted. Not clear to me that it is a better style than the others. I wish I had the funds to do some side by side vintage tastings from multiple producers to make up my mind.

"Good Champagne can't be beat, but bad Champagne is like drinking poison." - L.P.

I have, but haven't opened, a couple of bottles of the 1998, which were in the low $50s on sale. The 1996 seems to be a bit pricier.

That's a great price, Jim. The '96 cost about $100 in 2005 if I remember correctly. Hope the '98 is enjoyable.