Grand Vintage Collection, Moët & Chandon 1999 75cl

The Grand Vintage Collection is Moët holding back bottles from a declared year, leaving them on the lees far longer than the original release, then disgorging late so you meet the wine at full maturity. The 1999 spent around 21 years on yeast before disgorgement, a depth of ageing you cannot buy in a young Champagne.

1999 was Meunier's year in Épernay, and the grape takes an unusually high share here: 38% Pinot Noir, 31% Chardonnay and 31% Meunier. Two decades on the lees have pushed the wine well into tertiary territory.

This is Champagne drinking like an old wine. The fruit has turned to candied grape, date and honey, and around it sit mocha, hazelnut, toast and a smoky charcoal note, with liquorice on the long, faintly bitter finish. The mousse has softened to a caress rather than a sparkle, the body full but weightless. The late disgorgement and near-dry dosage leave it savoury and precise, nothing papered over with sugar.

Buy this for someone who thinks they've tasted everything Champagne can do, or open it yourself with food that can meet its weight. It won't wait forever now. This is a wine at its peak, meant for drinking rather than further cellaring.

How to Serve

A touch warmer than a young fizz, around 10°C, and always a white-wine glass; a flute would strangle everything interesting here. Give it a few minutes to open.

Where to Drink It

Noble Rot, The Connaught Bar, or Dukes Bar.

Food Pairings

Mushroom and truffle; a wild mushroom risotto, or a plate of aged Comté, meets the nutty, honeyed maturity head-on.