NV Classic Blend Brut Champagne, September 13, 2025

“NV Classic Blend Brut” is the most popular category of sparkling wine. NV (non vintage) means a base year is blended with prior years. A classic blend consists of three varietals: chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier, and excludes blanc de blancs, blanc de noirs and rosés. Sugar is almost always added to champagne and regulations will call it brut if the dosage is 6-12 grams/liter.

Click here for the exhibit to see how the enormous differences in blending strategies among the different houses:
Pinot Noir ranges from 28% to 61%, Chardonnay ranges from 22.5% to 55%.
The base year ranges from 2016 to 2021.
Some houses strongly encourage malolactic fermentation, others block it.
The blending includes high quality reserve wines, but that can vary from 15% to over 50%.

First place went to Louis Roederer Collection 245 with 57 points; second place to Veuve Clicquot with 62. Roederer’s base wine was from the 2020 harvest, which was rated excellent-exceptional (4-1/2 stars) by Decanter Magazine. It used 45% reserve wines, and its 7 grams/liter sugar dosage was the lowest among the group. It blended 22% wines with malolactic fermentation for a softer, creamier, richer taste, but balanced with 78% non MLF wines to preserve crispness and freshness. (“245” is the blend number since the house opened in 1776.)

In November 2025, Collection 245 will begin to be replaced on store shelves and online with Collection 246, which will be based on the 2021 harvest, which was not a good year. It had the lowest yield in 35 years and was “rain-, disease- and pest-affected” a month before the harvest. So, if you are interested in buying some, do it before 245 disappears and is replaced by 246.

David Gandara observed that the Bollanger was spoiled, but it nonetheless finished 6th with 3 first place votes.

Rank	Points	Wine (TW = Total Wine, KL = K&L Wines)	Price	Btl
1	57	Louis Roederer Collection 245 Champagne	$60.99 TW	4
2	62	Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label Brut Champagne	$56.99 KL	5
3	77	Charles Heidsieck “Brut Réserve” Champagne	$49.99 KL	1
4	80	Laurent-Perrier “La Cuvée” Brut Champagne	$59.99 KL	2
5	86	Pol Roger “Réserve” Brut Champagne	$64.99 KL	7
6	87	Bollinger Brut Special Cuvee Champagne	$69.99 TW	8
7	93	Billecart Salmon Brut Reserve Champagne	$64.99 TW	6
8	106	Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut Champagne	$59.97 TW	3

The pretasting wines were:
Charles-le-Bel ‘Inspiration 1818’ Brut Champagne $39.99 KL
Mailly Brut Reserve Grand Cru Champagne $54.99 TW
Piper Heidsieck Brut Champagne $44.99 TW
Taittinger La Francaise Brut Champagne $53.99 TW

The hors d’oeuvres offered at the pretasting were caviar pie, French gougères and shrimp mousse. The dinner started with a butter lettuce salad with goat cheese and tarragon vinaigrette with hazelnuts and beets on the side. The main course was scallops with crème sauce over rice pilaf with roasted carrots. The desert was lemon tart. Catering by Enrico Filippelli, Cerri Catering.

Individual Votes:

Rank	3	4	8	1	2	7	5	6
Total Points	77	80	106	57	62	93	86	87
Your Name	Btl 1	Btl 2	Btl 3	Btl 4	Btl 5	Btl 6	Btl 7	Btl 8
Marie Coppola	5	3	7	1	6	4	8	2
Leonardo	7	1	6	3	5	8	2	4
Phyllis Harding	3	7	5	1	4	2	6	8
Sue	2	1	7	8	5	6	4	3
Steve Shank	3	1	2	4	5	6	7	8
Karen C	1	8	7	2	3	6	4	5
David Gandara	1	5	7	2	3	6	4	8
Kathy and Dick	1	8	6	2	5	3	4	7
Ed	4	7	5	1	2	8	6	3
Lisa	6	1	7	4	3	2	5	8
Kathleen Gates	7	8	4	5	3	2	6	1
David Gibson	8	2	6	3	1	4	5	7
Diane K	5	8	6	1	2	3	7	4
Scott Gordon	5	3	7	4	6	8	2	1
BAFL Champ	4	5	6	3	2	8	7	1
Carol Sorgen	3	5	7	2	4	1	6	8
John Henry	5	4	6	7	2	8	1	3
Marjie	7	3	5	4	1	8	2	6