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from lesser, cheaper blends), Krug almost single-handedly made the single-vineyard case with its Clos du Mesnil, which it first released in 1979 and which until the release of Clos d’Ambonnay was probably the most expensive Champagne in the world. While Clos du Mesnil is made exclusively from Chardonnay grapes from a medieval vineyard enclosed by stone walls within the very center of the town of Mesnil, Clos d’Ambonnay is made from Pinot Noir grapes from a vineyard that’s barely an acre. I was lucky enough to taste the 1996 vintage with Olivier Krug, the managing director of the firm, in the Oak Bar of The Plaza hotel, which seemed like a suitable grand setting for the most expensive Champagne in history. I have to say it was one of the finest I’ve ever tasted, very pure and precise, a little leaner and more focused than the “regular” 1996, which is itself an awesome wine. If you’re an extremely wealthy connoisseur, the kind of guy who owns a yacht
and
a jet, it just might be worth it. The 2005 vintages of Petrus and Romanée-Conti sell for a similar price, so in a sense Krug may be trying to lift the whole category to parity with Burgundy and Bordeaux. There’s no question that a ridiculously deep-pocketed market exists; just witness the contemporary art market or real estate prices in London. Olivier told me at the time that all three thousand bottles of the 1996 Clos d’Ambonnay were spoken for.
    By comparison, the Armand de Brignac, nowadays the favorite tipple of Jay-Z and A-Rod, is a relative steal at merely $300. It comes in a gold bottle with an ace of spades engraved on it, and while the package is a little gaudy for my taste, the wine itself has won strong reviews from such critics as the esteemed Jancis Robinson and
Fine Champagne Magazine
. You might recall that Cristal was once the rapper’s choice, until Roederer’s chief, Frédéric Rouzaud, seemed to dis the hip-hop community by telling a reporter, “We can’t forbid people from buying it.” But, he said, the association“brought unwanted attention to the brand.” Sniffing racism, Jay-Z declared a boycott, and the timing couldn’t have been better for Cattier, which created Armand de Brignac. The first release, not a single-vintage bottling like Cristal or Dom Pérignon, but a blend like Krug’s so-called multi-vintage, appeared in 2006, not long after
l’affaire
Cristal. Jay-Z introduced it to the world in his video “Show Me What You Got” and has continued to promote it, amid much speculation about his financial relationship to Cattier.
    For those of us without a recording contract, nonvintage grower Champagnes are a relatively affordable luxury. Because these producers don’t spend millions on advertising, their prices tend to be competitive with the big-house blends. Therefore, exemplars like Pierre Peters, Vilmart & Cie, Cédric Bouchard, Marguet, Michel Turgy, José Dhondt, André Clouet, and Gimonnet, just to name a few, are well worth seeking out. My wife, who drinks nothing but Champagne, replaced one of the major brands with Marguet as her regular tipple.
    Not all of the two-thousand-odd artisanal vintners make great juice, but most of those imported to the States are the crème de la crème. Just check to see that the initials RM (for Récoltant-Manipulant) are somewhere on the bottle, which means that the grapes were grown and produced by the same guy. Shun bottles with the letters RC (Récoltant-Coopérateur), which indicate that the grower sent his grapes off to be made by a big cooperative.
    Far too many people save Champagne for special occasions or drink it strictly as an aperitif, but in fact it’s one of the most versatile food wines. As Terry Theise says, “Champagne doesn’t require an occasion. Champagne
is
the occasion.”

German Made Simple
    A German wine label is one of the things life’s too short for, a daunting testimony to that peculiar nation’s love of detail and organization.
    —Kingsley