Don’t Settle for Cheap Champagne on Valentine’s Day
By Wes Marshall, February 12, 2019, 4:34pm, On the Range
Looking for a wine to share with your sweetheart on Valentine’s Day? Here’s the answer: Champagne. Period. “But Wes, it’s so expensive!” It doesn’t matter. We are talking about life and death issues here! Valentine’s Day equals Champagne, and only the best Champagne at that.
If that sounds a little too wisenheimer-ish, then feel free to substitute whatever wine makes your lover go gaga. For the logical among us, it’s always best to stick with winners, and nothing sparks the romance like Champagne. Since only the hedge fund managers and trust fund babies out there will have tasted these expensive wines, here are a few you should look out for. All of the prices I have listed are likely the highest you will find – around this time of year, everyone has Champagne on sale.
One small problem: Most wine pundits place Cristal ($235) and Dom Pérignon ($200) as the best of the best. Not me. If you are wondering why they aren’t on my list, it’s because I personally just don’t get the quality-price ratio on these wines. All of the wines selected below have a Brut level of dryness.
[image-2-left]Classic Blend: Pol Roger Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill Brut ($300). Churchill had a bottle of wine before lunch, then several more during the day. At $300 per bottle, no wonder he had to write books to keep the family afloat.
Blanc de Blanc: Top Champagne gurus often rank Champagne Salon’s Blanc de Blancs Le Mesnil Brut ($450) as the best Champagne there is. It is an amazing wine. However, more of those experts secretly buy Ruinart NV Blanc de Blancs ($70) to drink at home. Both are magnificent bottles of wine.
[image-3-right]Blanc de Noir: Champagne Armand de Brignac Blanc de Noirs Assemblage Two ($850) is the brainchild of Shawn Carter (aka Jay-Z), a guy lucky enough to marry Beyoncé Knowles and hit it out of the park with a great wine on his first try.
Rosé: Dom Ruinart Rosé ($300) is my all-time favorite sparkling wine. It is hard to find, expensive, and has a highly limited production. Still, nothing says “love” to me like this majestic wine.
Personally, I can’t afford any of these wines – at least not if I concurrently pay the note on my home. I do have a bottle of Laurent-Perrier Brut Cuvée Champagne Rosé ($75) that was given to me as a gift, and that’s what my wife and I will be having this Valentine’s Day. But if I was going to pay for my Champagne, I’d choose the Ruinart Blanc de Blancs or Gruet’s Blanc de Noirs ($18).
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