Richard Juhlin got an invitation to a glorious spring dinner at one of Stockholms premium establishments – Operakällaren. [read the full champagne story]
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
Welcome to an enchanting evening celebrating the arrival of spring with the effervescence of champagne in the heart of Stockholm. As the city blossoms with the promise of new beginnings, join us for a captivating champagne dinner that will tantalize your senses and ignite your spirit. Amidst the vibrant ambiance of spring, we invite you to indulge in an exquisite culinary journey paired with the finest champagne selections, curated to complement the season’s fresh flavors and vibrant aromas. From the first sip to the last bite, immerse yourself in an unforgettable gastronomic experience that captures the essence of springtime in Stockholm. Get ready to raise your glass and toast to the beauty of the season as we embark on a soirée of indulgence, elegance, and joy. Welcome to a spring champagne dinner—a celebration of life, love, and the splendor of spring. Cheers!
1995 Henriot ‘Cuvée des Enchanteleurs’
Tasting note ‘Yet another brilliantly clear and lovely Enchanteleurs with super-elegance and a beauty rich in refinement. The mousse is exemplary and the multi-facetted bouquet is generous and inviting. The flavour has been somewhat reserved up to now though it is as clear as a bell and medium-bodied. Started to open up in the spring of 2007 and is ready to drink from 2014.’
93(93)p
2008 Krug ‘Millésime’
Tasting note ‘Oh, how many of us that have longed to taste this wine. The extremely slowly developing wine is internally called Classic Beauty at Krug. That will happen for sure, but not now. I meet an unusually clearly Pinot-driven composition but which in the name of honesty is far too young in the spring of 2021. I hope the six months that remain before it is released on a large scale help this mighty albatross to lift, for structure and freshness is really impressive already. The color is youthful light with deeper shades of copper and bronze with a beautiful flowing stream of lively small bubbles. Subdued faint dark and deep scent of leather from terroir in Aÿ, olives from Bouzy, grapefruit, blood orange, licorice and fennel from Ambonnay, mint, fudge, blackberries and blueberries from Meunier. The champagne is a full-bodied, dense, slightly smoky compact manifestation in the mouth. Aromatically, the champagne is reminiscent of Clos d’Ambonnay, which is extremely impressive. In its entirety, my thoughts are on the slightly slippery, slowly developing style of the vintage wine from 2002. The attack is hard and acidic, the mid palate is a compact unison combination of darkest Valrhona chocolate, sweet licorice and Ethiopian highland coffee. Undeveloped acidic long citrus-saturated and peppery aftertaste with hints of lingonberry, cranberry and ginger. Buy everything you see, but promise me not to open the bottle before 2030 as Krug probably has not released such a slow developing wine since they launched the 1961. Patience is one of the house’s words of honor and it has seldom been more justified than here.’
94(96)p
2008 Dom Pérignon ‘Cuvée Dom Pérignon’
Tasting note ‘Incredibly good from the start. Crystal clear, clean, vibrating fresh without any disturbing acidity. Pure harmony from day one. Deep wide bouquet reminiscent of ancient days of concentration. Aromas that are intertwined to the most beautiful symphony. Warm generous breadiness, duck liver with brioche, butter-fried cep and a composite exquisite fruit ranging from yellow-green to orange. The texture is heavenly with a dense layer of silkiness over the ferociously fresh acidity and critical minerality. So, just in time for Richard Geoffroy’s retirement, he releases the best wine of his life. What a grand finale and what a great farewell.’
95(97)p
1996 Krug ‘Clos du Mesnil’
Tasting note ‘This legendary vintage was harvested on the 23 and 24 September, giving only the equivalent of 9,800 bottles to the whole, wide yearning world. It makes one feel vertiginous to know that the whole champagne world is waiting for this assessment, especially if I do not really feel that I can make any decisive assessment. This wine is assuredly as tough as the 96 Salon, but at the same time oily and opulent, which leads to conclusions that cry out for early drinking. Nothing could be more erroneous. If one wants to experience the entire spectrum one will have to wait for at least 15 years after the launch. The elegance is tremendous. Starting to be fantastic in 2010.’
97(99)p
1998 Krug Clos d’Ambonnay’
Tasting note ‘I think this wine is colored too much by the vintage and already has some boiled overly hot elements. Can hope that they, like some other heavy 98′, are blown away when the haziness and oiliness of the structure takes over. The aromas are almost overripe, but the concentration is astonishing. I was very happy when a year later I noticed that the overripe fruit had dried up and that the balance had been reached. I was really wrong the first time. This is magnificent.’
96(97)p
1995 ‘Louis Roederer ‘Cristal Vinothèque’
Tasting note ‘One of the most perfect 96’s with an incredibly early charm in all its grandeur. Got a good friend of mine to cry with happiness on a visit to Roederer. Perfection.’
99(99)p
1992 Dom Pérignon ‘P3’
Tasting note ‘A wine that started weak and pale. Over time, it has, like almost all 92’s, broadened its butter-caramelized caramel smoothness and enriched with additional concentration. When you also get extra support from a longer autolytic structure under the P3 label, you are amazed at both freshness and lovely delicacy. Not one of the deepest or most intellectually stimulating vintages from Dom Pérignon, but so delicious!’
96(96)p
1979 Salon ‘Cuvée S de Salon’
Tasting note ‘Salon is the most sought-after Champagne among connoisseurs. This magnificent wine is so rare that only a few people have had the chance to taste the quintessence of Le Mesnil. Salon demands longer cellaring than any other champagne. The wines do not go through malolactic fermentation and have a razor-sharp acidity in their youth, which carries the wine to unparalleled heights through the years. A mature Salon expresses a gigantically broad aromatic spectrum, and has a Burgundy-like vinosity. The stringency is maintained throughout the wine’s life, and as Salon has a very low dosage, the wine never becomes an exotic charmer like Taittinger Comtes de Champagne, but it is unmatched in terms of class and purity. Incredibly hard and closed for many years, before it opened up a classically walnut-scented depth at the age of fourteen. The flavor is still restrained, dry, and full of malic acid. The mineral-rich aftertaste is textbook stuff.’
95(95)p
1966 Salon ‘Cuvée S de Salon’
Tasting note ‘Lighter than the ’83 and insanely beautiful, with its intensively brilliant sparkling green color. Youthful, ultra-sophisticated, flinty, lightly toasted, and magnolia-scented. Surprisingly light and flighty Salon, with a fragile, delicate, and refined taste that in spite of its light-as-a-butterfly construction rings true and endlessly long on the palate.’
96(97)p
mv Selosse ‘Substance’
dégorgement jan’20
Tasting note ‘A new name for the Solera wine from Selosse. First Origine, then Substance—why not just call it Solera? There is, of course, a certain difference, because the wine changes slightly from year to year, depending on the youngest and most recent vintage used as an addition. Young and beautiful floral with nice blood grape. Stylistically cleaner and less producer-typically perfumed.’
95(96)p
