What Champagne shortage?!

Maybe Krug or Dom Perignon are near impossible to find and cost twice what they used to when you do, but we got you covered when it comes to the rarest of the rare, the highest of the rated, and the bestest of the best prices…

Rothschild?! Say what? The family behind Lafite, Mouton, and Opus One makes Champagne?

You betcha. And they make it exactly like they make their other flagships. No expenses were spared. No stone unturned to assure that the name on the bottle means one and only one thing: the shield of honor.

The noblest banking family they are, all their enterprises since Napoleonic times have been built on the principles outlined in the family motto: Concordia, Integritas, Industria (Unity, Integrity, Commerce).

When they ‘banked’ on Champagne at the turn of this century, everyone knew they would get it right.

And they did. Ingeniously, by joining forces…

Antonio Galloni on Vinous wrote for the inaugural vintage: “Barons de Rothschild (note the plural of Barons) brings together the three branches of the family – Baron Philippe Sereys de Rothschild of Mouton, Baron Eric de Rothschild of Lafite and Baron Benjamin de Rothschild and his wife, Ariane, of Clarke and the Edmond de Rothschild Group. The wines I tasted made it clear this is a serious and highly ambitious project.”

As Galloni also points out in the review, what we have here is “an especially vinous Champagne that is also a perfect example of a trend …wines that expose the more adventurous style often seen in the most progressive of the grower Domaines.”

They made another 2010 Brut by the way, significantly more affordable, and not to be confused with this wine. This one is 100% pure Grand Cru Chardonnay. The dozen years on the vintage did it well as there are super complex secondary and subtle tertiary layers laid over the intense backdrop of creamy citrus fruit. There are even waves of mineral and umami rushing in over a finish that seemingly just does not quit. Can’t even imagine how well this would go with just shucked oysters or a bucket of fried chicken!

Decadence in a bottle, slashed by 40%, which is MORE THAN $100 of savings in your pocket per bottle.

Oh, only 60 cases were imported so when they say rare, they mean RARE.

We only live once, so you know what to do.

97 Points – Antonio Galloni’s Vinous

“The 2010 Rare Vintage from Barons de Rothschild is a stunning Champagne right out of the gate. Citrus, floral and mineral notes literally explode out of the glass in a vibrant, wonderfully deep vintage Champagne that beautifully expresses the character of Chardonnay from the Côtes de Blancs. The 2010 is a blend of fruit from Avize, Cramant, Oger, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, all Grand Cru villages. It was fermented in a combination of stainless steel and oak and then saw relatively long élevage of around ten months prior to being bottled in July 2011. Dosage was around 4 grams per liter. Production is just over 6,000 bottles, which is tiny for the region. The 2010 Rare Vintage in an especially vinous Champagne that is also a perfect example of a trend I have written about over these last few years, and that is large houses quietly making wines that expose the more adventurous style often seen in the most progressive of the grower Domaines. Drink 2020-2035.”