NV Diebolt-Vallois Cuvee Prestige Blanc de Blancs Brut Champagne

From the Wine Access archives: 

In 1983, we booked a trip to France. Our combined salaries were barely 50k, but this was the chance of a lifetime. We spent a month studying Gault et Millau and the Michelin Guide, and then made a half-dozen lunch reservations. We were poor in NYC, but with eight Francs to the dollar, Paris looked like a bargain.

Over prix fixe 5-course déjeuners at Taillevent in Paris, L’Auberge de L’ill Illhaeusern, and Restaurant Bardet in Tours, we stuffed ourselves with foie gras, magret de canard, and crème brûlée. But even as we loosened our belts a notch over espresso and cognac, we never let go of each establishment’s carte des vins.

Perhaps the most astonishing discovery of our 10-day olfactory adventure was a little-known Champagne drawn from the GrandCru hillsides above Cramant. At Marc Meneau’s 3-star restaurant in Vézelay, we were greeted with crystal flutes filled with Diebolt-Vallois Blanc de Blancs. The sommelier described this signature Champagne unforgettably: “When you drink le Champagne de Jacques Diebolt, it’s not as if you are drinking Champagne. It’s more like you’re drinking Meursault Perrières — but with bubbles!”

Over dessert at George V, sommelier Eric Beaumard — former #1 Sommelier in Europe — told us that the Four Seasons Paris sells 70,000 bottles of wine per year, 24,000 of which are Champagne. Of those, 4,000 are Diebolt “Cuvée Prestige.” More than Dom Pérignon, Clicquot Grand Dame, Krug Clos du Mesnil, or Salon.

Take a sip and you’ll see why.

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Sweetness
• Acidity

• ABV 12.50%
• Enjoy right away
• Now – 2030
• % Chardonnay
• Serving temperature – 45°
• Cork