Drinking great champagne - especially on your 21st Anniversary! Piper-Heidsieck Top 100 champagne it is!

Nothing better than bubbly and blue skies!
Bill Tieleman photo

Let's face it - champagne is a fantastic wine that is sadly a bit too expensive other than on special occasions.

So when you have one - and my wife Shirley Ross and I just celebrated our 21st anniversary - I have two suggestions:  1)  Drink a good champagne and 2) Consider buying a half bottle - 375 ml size - so you can do it more often!

Fortunately, in British Columbia and many other places you can drink a delicious Piper-Heidsieck non-vintage champagne that is on the Wine Spectator magazine's Top 100 Wines of 2012 and scored a very impressive 93 points.

The Spectator said: "Elegant, with rich base notes of toasted brioche and smoke adding depth, this integrates finely honed acidity, detailed texture and flavors of black cherry puree, apple tarte Tatin, kumquat and grated ginger. Provides a creamy, mineral-tinged finish."

Okay - I didn't find all that in my glass but let's just say it is one tasty, creamy good champagne!

I was fortunate enough to have bought a few half-bottles a while back but at the moment BC Liquor Stores don't seem to have anything but the full bottles.  Those will cost you a not insignificant $64.95 but there are 700 bottles available across the province.

Piper-Heidseick NV Brut Champagne

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Wine Barbarian on assignment in Amsterdam, Burgundy & Paris!

It's a tough job but somebody's got to do it - go to the Netherlands and France, drink Bordeaux, Rhone, Provence, Burgundy, German and Italian wines, eat truffles, escargot, rabbit, foie gras, duck and mountains of cheese - and report back to Wine Barbarian readers!

Here I am visiting one of the most famous - and expensive - vineyards in the world: Domaine De La Romanee-Conti in Burgundy. 

How pricey? The La Tache 2005 is available in BC Liquor Stores for $8,500 a bottle! Their 2005 Richebourg is a more affordable $5,500 each. Sadly, no tasting room with free samples. ;-(

I am currently in Paris eating and drinking my way through the City of Light after visiting Burgundy - stay tuned for reports on my travels after I return shortly - and perhaps more portly!

Still more Top 100 Wines available in British Columbia! And some at lower than U.S. prices! Plus a great budget Chardonnay

Two great Top 100 wines and one excellent budget choice Chardonnay, so don't delay!  

Apologies for the long summer absence but I've been busy drinking wine, err, doing research for this website!

Flaccianello 2009

But I had to tell you ASAP that one of the best wines in the world - and a Wine Spectator 2012 Top 100 choice [#25] that scored a massive 96 points - is readily available in BC Liquor Stores for over 20% less than US prices! 

Fontodi's 2009 Flaccianello is not cheap - at $99.99 it is a collector-only wine for sure - but that's still $20 cheaper than the Wine Spectator list price south of our border.  Robert Parker rates it at a still very high 94 points, BTW.

You'll find black current, raspberry and violet aromas in this Sangiovese that shouldn't be opened till at least 2015 and will last till 2032, if you have the time and patience!

And there are 555 bottles of Flaccianello in stock across BC, so it's very available - but won't last long!

I've had the pleasure of visiting Fontodi in Panzano, Italy in 2005 and tasting their delicious Flaccianello, as well as their other awesome wines.  If $99.99 makes you shiver - and it should - try their 2008 Chianti Classico at 33.99 - it's a 90 point Wine Spectator wine that while not Top 100 is beautiful and cheaper, with 807 bottle around the province.

Bill Tieleman visits Fontodi and tastes 
Flaccianello in Panzano, Italy in 2005

Since we're spending big buck, let's also buy some Top 100 Champagne too!

Piper-Heidsieck Brut is not cheap either at $64.95 at BC Liquor Stores but no Champagne is - and this one gets 93 points and #84 spot on the Wine Spectator's 2012 Top 100 list.  

[There were some half-bottles in BC available but I don't see them listed at the moment.]

You get classic brioche and smoke, plus black cherry puree notes and more - I simply say it's delicious.

Pricey, yes, but as Napoleon said: "Champagne! In victory one deserves it; in defeat one needs it."

Edna Valley Paragon
Chardonnay 2011

Lastly, for those on a less regal budget - like me - here's another great choice for just $17.99: 2011 Edna Valley Paragon Chardonnay from San Luis Obispo County in California.

This beautiful wine is on sale for $17.99 down from list price of $19.99 at BC Liquor Stores and it is without question the best white wine buy in the province right now until August 24, with 1,058 bottles available - minus the ones I just grabbed!

I've had the pleasure of visiting this winery in the past and their Chardonnay is lovely - a big, tropical fruit style but not over the top.  

Pear, apricot, pineapple, white peach - up to you to determine but that's what the reviews indicate and I agree.

Happy summertime wine drinking and cheers!

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