"Safest" champagne of these 3 NV?

[neato]

Veuve Clicquot YL
Louis Roederer Brut Premier
Taittinger Prelude

I'm going to a dinner party and would like to purchase a mid-priced bottle of brut champagne that most people will like and that will go with most foods. It can't be too extreme; it has to have wide appeal. I don't know what food will be served but I'm sure there's going to be a lot of variety.

My local liquor store does not carry a lot of champagne. From what I saw, all of the options are from big name houses. There are a lot of cheap sparkling wines for $10-$15 (the big names, Martini Rossi etc.) which I know won't interest my friends and a few Vintage options for over $100, which are out of my price range.

What I'm looking at are the 3 options I posted above. In addition to those 3, the store carries Moet & Chandon White Star (which I'm not crazy about) and Taittinger La Francaise (which I think is ok, but I've heard Prelude, which I have not had, is significantly better).

Any help/advice/opinons would be much appreciated!

 

[gomestar]

Roederer. It's one of my favorites and is especially well balanced. VC I like, but it also has a heavyness that can be unappealing and is perhaps why I haven't purchased any for a while.

I have no had the Prelude, but I'm only so-so on La Francaise. I'd go with a Charles Heidseick over a Francaise.

 

[itsstillmatt]

Laurent Perrier NV is currently our house Champage. I can't stand VC. The others are alright.

 

[gomestar]

I like Laurent Perrier as well. For Rose, we always seem to get Billecart-Salmon at restaurants, I'm not sure why. It's a nice standard.

 

[Cary Grant]

Originally Posted by gomestar

For Rose, we always seem to get Billecart-Salmon at restaurants, I'm not sure why. It's a nice standard.

I like that quite a bit.

 

[SField]

Originally Posted by iammatt

Laurent Perrier NV is currently our house Champage. I can't stand VC. The others are alright.
I find Moet and VC fairly offensive, actually. The champagne lobby, so to speak, has been by far the most effective at fooling even the more discerning people around. Almost the entire champagne market is cornered by a handful of brands producing these faceless blends... What a shame. Laurent Perrier is a good choice, I also quite like Pol Roger. In fact, I might prefer it to all others in the name brands. Winston Churchill is my favorite of the grand crus. I recall enjoying Perrier Jouet as well.

 

[CDFS]

Dear DinoDave,

Can't help you tastewise, but Veuve Clicquot is one of the most cliche champagnes out there.

Sincerely,

CDFS

 

[gomestar]

Originally Posted by SField

Laurent Perrier is a good choice, I also quite like Pol Roger. In fact, I might prefer it to all others in the name brands. Winston Churchill is my favorite of the grand crus. I recall enjoying Perrier Jouet as well.

Roger is a good choice and I often consider at the top of my low-price NV Champagnes (mostly bc I can get it for $36 at my store, $14 cheaper than Roederer).

I haven't had Jouet since January of this year, but I didn't really like it then (a stretch since I love Champagne. I'd pick Jouet over Cliquot.)

 

[gdl203]

Pol Roger is my favorite of all the easily accessible champagnes here.

 

[neato]

I love champagne, but I rarely have it. It doesn't help that my local liquor store has a very small selection of the stuff that costs over $15. I'd order online, but I live in PA, so I have to buy from a state-store. I'm sure a lot of the $30-50 options are good value. I only see Pol Roger in restaurants, where it's usually a vintage over $200. Last time I saw Perrier Jouet was in Vegas. I think the Wynn were giving half bottles to people who bought VIP tickets to Le Reve (which to me, was a waste of money).

I think I'm going to go with the Louis Roederer for my current purpose. I'm moving to Austin in the Fall, so I'll have the chance to give Laurent Perrier a try.

I must say, I haven't had champagne since last September (which was a glass of Veuve) and I just don't remember that much about it, other than thinking it was overpriced ($20 plus tax/tip adds up!).......I can't even begin to fathom how VC is different from Roederer or from a different $30-50 non vintage champagne.

 

[Gus]

For the price of a bottle of Veuve Clicquot YL , you can get a bottle of Schramsberg Blanc de Noir or Blanc de Blanc. That would be my #1 choice in this price range.

 

[Pezzaturra]

Cliquot and Tattinger are both very safe choices for decent drink, if everything is equal I would go with Tattinger.
Perrie is in the same league as Cliquot: decent , unoffensive drink, but nothing special

Pol Roger NV is very, probably the most, acidic NV and the most popular champagne brand in Britain. So if you are finding yourself loving all things British: food ,women, weather then go for it.

Louis Roederer is a very good brand , but the only one I have had on a regular basis is NV Blanc de Noir (delicious) and L'ermitage 2002 (super-duper tasty).

 

[A Y]

Originally Posted by Pezzaturra

Louis Roederer is a very good brand , but the only one I have had on a regular basis is NV Blanc de Noir (delicious) and L'ermitage 2002 (super-duper tasty).

I believe those two wines are made by Roederer Estate in California. It's still run by Roederer, but it's different than Louis Roederer. Regardless, they're good recommendations if OP doesn't need a sparkling wine from Champagne.

--Andre

 

[pitboss12]

I think Piper Heidsieck is decent for general drinking.

 

[foodguy]

roederer estate is my house sparkler. given the three original options, i'd go with the brut premier. i know there's a lot of hate out there for VC, but i still like it. and in a good vintage, Grande Dame is a great bottle.