Published by Jeremy.
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The Champagne region is full of many famous producers whose names we easily recognize, but never have tried before.
After staring at Moet & Chandon's Imperial Brut at the store for many years, we decided that it was time to finally try this famous wine. After trying this, we do have to admit, we can see why it is popular- although we wish the flavors were as intense as the aromas!
A Classic Champagne by Moet & Chandon
This Moet & Chandon was pale gold in color with medium(+) aromas of yellow apple, pear, cream, toast, yogurt, brioche, wet stone, saline, pineapple, and peach. We could really just list almost all the lees notes here because the aromas were bursting with it.
On the palate, it was dry with medium acidity, body, alcohol, and flavor intensity, a zesty mousse, and a medium(+) finish. We had less lees flavors than aromas, with notes of lemon, lime, toast, wet stone, pear, grapefruit, pineapple, and brioche.
There was a lot to love about this Champagne; however, the lighter lees notes on the flavors compared to the aromas was a bit unfortunate- if it was just as intense it would've been one of the finest Champagnes we've tried to date. Still, the flavors were quite delicious all around.
Champagne Food Pairing – Mushroom Pasta
We paired this Champagne with a mushroom pasta in a cream sauce with broccolini as we thought the rich sauce would work well with lees notes. We had a burst of citrus and tropical fruit notes here, like lemon, lime, pineapple, and grapefruit, while some of the lees aromas were masked slightly (although given the lighter intensity on the palate, this would make sense).
So while this pairing was good, and the flavors held up nicely, it was not anything terribly special, either.
Score: 4 / 5
We'd buy another bottle of this one.
Overall, despite the lees notes being lighter on the palate than in the aroma, this was still all-around a good bottle of Champagne that we'd gladly buy more of. But if only the lees on the palate was a bit more intense, we'd probably bump it up to wanting several bottles in our cellar. But for now, we'd never say no to a bottle of Moet & Chandon!
Moet & Chandon is located at 20 Av. De Champagne in Epernay, France. We purchased this bottle locally and enjoyed it in 2025. At the time of publication, this wine was available on Wine.com.
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