Cathay Pacific Has A New First Class Champagne

@lucky - I've had Qatar serve me that in business a few months ago. It was really good.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUIWSUggvwJ/?taken-by=anomander7253

If you see the 2002 Salon anywhere for $300, please get me 10 bottles! Not only is it impossible to find anymore, its price went up to 500 EUR+ even when buying directly from the cellar. I believe JAL switched to 2004 vintage, which is also a $400 bottle.

While everyone salivates over the overpriced Krug, I'll gladly enjoy the Shrek-looking Salon bottles 🙂

Even the $1300 Krug Clos de Mesnil 2002, which would be Krug's equivalent of Salon (same village, same vintage, tiny yield) is a real disappointment compared to Salon.

Don't forget - You can also get Krug in business class on EVA.

I guess I'm not a huge fan of the Blancs de blancs. I would prefer Dom Rose or even my go to at home, the Billecart salmon rose

Style preference aside, the 2006 Blanc de blancs from many producers seem to be hitting all the right notes. The most recent tasting of 2006 Comtes confirmed this.

The Salon was more approachable than the 2002. While 2002 is heralded as a great vintage, the champagnes seem to be taking their time developing.

Also, the round and robust styles seem to show better at altitude. The same wines I find way too ripe and overdone on the ground taste great in the air, while burgundies that are incredible on the ground tend to come drab and astringent in the air.

I used to drink Comtes in Al safwa first lounge last year. I prefer it than Krug.

2006 Comtes is really good . . . a bit of a different style than Krug but certainly not a downgrade! In fact this was the champagne that my AF La Premiere flight from LAX to spain was serving in both directions in April.

But for the record, 2002 Salon smokes both those wines. Incredibly rare, coveted stuff that will age for decades.

@you.go you can probably buy $300 if you buy wholesale like JAL does

@anon: Maybe, though the importer I talked to said his price ex-cellar is 500 EUR now...

Regardless, I was reacting to the statement that "2002 Salon ... retails for $300+ per bottle".

@Dan: Interesting conclusions! I wish airlines would take this into account when choosing wines to feature onboard, not just plop down a desirable brand and call it a day.

@Lucky, on JL first they serve this Taittanger alongside the Salon: I actually wasn't too fond of the Salon, after a couple of glasses I switched to the Blanc de Blancs and never looked back. On my return flight didn't even ask for Salon. Too me, it had an "almondy" after taste. I'd love to retry both on the ground.

Just saw Salon 2002 going for $359 at Costco

What's this fixation with Krug? Did someone on FlyerTalk with a high post count once try to convince people how awesome it was 10 years ago and now all the bloggers swear by it?

Or does every frequent flyer's hero (Randy) have it on tap at his house right next to his throne where people bow in front of him at?

Ughhh literally just finished booking a Cathay F ticket when I saw this. I was looking forward to the Krug.

Please talk about points and credit cards and stop with champagne and food. Your knowledge and skills are below average and your articles are full of mistakes.
You only benchmark is the retail price... what a boring way of talking about wines...

What a weird Post this is. If we can focus on the wines only and how they perform on the ground, the Comtes is unquestionably the better wine over the Krug. We are comparing the vintage tete de cuvee from one marque to the non-vintage base cuvee from the other. And Salon is deservedly more expensive than either. If you want to know why, drink a 20+ year old bottle of both and you'll understand why.

And while I believe Krug GC is way overpriced and frequently bested by Growers like Lallement, their vintage wines really are phenomenal.

As Dan says....in the air, all that is different. Wine just doesn't taste the same, so I tend to stick with Club soda even in J and F.

Coins,

I paid $115 for that Taittinger Comtes. Whatever you do, don't overpay.

Wine dot com is expensive. You can search www.wine-searcher.com to check prices.

My other hobby, besides miles and points is wine. 😉

I never understood the facination for Krug non vintage. Swiss had a great champagne before the Grand Siecle, Something Cuvé Louise vintage.

Also had the Tait in AF La Premiere end of May CDG-SFO. Altitude or not, I much preferred the '04 Cuvée Alexandra Rosé from Laurent-Perrier that their serve in their salon in Paris. Now THAT was highly satisfying. The Tait came across as too acidic and tight (still?)...

My friend mostly works in CX F. His Flight Prep still shows Krug on CX882 on 3 Aug 2017. He sent me a pic 🙂

How would we know which champagne was better if we didn't have any way of knowing the price? We'd be totally lost and red-faced. The universe would collapse before our eyes.

@lovetospendit. Strewth mate! It seems to me it ain't easy being you .

Tosser..

Krug has a reputation of being a champagne that you either love or hate. This is probably to due to its unique "attaque" (i.e., the taste just after you swallow). Taittinger's champagnes are very well rounded but I have to admit that I personally do not like any of the "Blancs des blancs" (i.e., pure Chardonnay). Overall, champagne something that is very personal.

One of my former clients was one of the high-end Vodka distiller. The person who was responsible for getting the brand on the planes spent hours on the phone and flew probably as much as Lucky. One thing that I learned from watching all of this is that getting your brand of wine or liquor on a plane is the product of a long-term courtship between certain people. The "sellers" go from distiller to distiller during their careers but that courtship is a very durable relationship that goes from far beyond the brand.

I am almost through accumulating enough points for a FC RT award from the U.S. to S.E. Asia on CX and was looking forward to drink the Krug Grande Cuvee.

In BC, the best wine deal is presently with TG: despite its financial problems, it still offers the Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin Champagne, even on regional flights, and the very good Henri Bourgeois (white) Sancerre "Les Baronnes".

@Chuck, this is wy my wine friends like to do blind tastings. When you remove the visual of the name/bottle, you get lots of more honest discussion.

I enjoy the reviews of airlines, lounge and hotels, things that Lucky has a lot of experience with, but the lack of refinement in the food and wine reviews are hurting his overall review. There's more to food and wine than the price tag.

I flew CX to JFK 8/3 in F and was served Krug. The chief purser said they will continue to serve this one on long hauls and introduce others on regional flights. A bit at odds with above report so perhaps not fully implemented of yet. Either way, not complaining . Enjoyed my flight very much.

Like Charles noted, CX may be in the process of changing out their champagne. On LAX-HKG in F on 8/2, it was only Taittnger as seen in the menu photo. However, the week prior on the reverse route it was Krug.

Hey Lucky,

While CX may have upgraded their F class champagne, they have downgraded their J class champagne, from Billecart-Salmon to Piper Heidsieck Brut. Another evidence of cost cutting.

David says:
August 3, 2017 at 2:57 pm
I enjoy the reviews of airlines, lounge and hotels, things that Lucky has a lot of experience with, but the lack of refinement in the food and wine reviews are hurting his overall review. There’s more to food and wine than the price tag.
>>> 100000000% agree. Taste in food and wine here is just... well, price / nachos / "great there is industrial ice cream in the air"... better to focus on miles and airlines.

Data point - ORD to HKG on 8/8 served Krug in F.

I flew ANA earlier this week and on the menu was a picture of the new wines, introduced by the airline, had the Krug Grande Cuvee in the center of the photo.

I am perfectly fine with Lucky expressing what he feels like, on food and wines.
Perfectionist as he is, I am also pretty sure that he will try to "refine" those reports.

Cathay is still serving Krug on the CDG-HKG route. I took this flight last week and asked about the Taittinger, but the crew informed me it was not available on this route. Would be nice if they started serving both 😉

Call me what you might, but the champagne served in F is one of the maid deciding factors for me in choosing the airline. Posts like those are of great interest to me.
While I obviously enjoy Etihad apartment, I am not a fan of Billecart Salmon 2006. Just doesn't do it for me. Champagne is indeed personal, so I think F cabins should carry at least two different options.
I like the fact that Singapore has both Krug and Dom. I am a huge fan of Krug. I tired to like Dom both 02 and 04 but every time chose Krug.
Salon was phenomenal, had both 02 and 04 on JAL. Would chose JL over EY just for champagne and food alone.
Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs 2006 is also great. Has in in the Doha lounge. Again I would chose QR or EY just for Krug in the air and Taittinger in the lounge and the lounge itself. Unfortunately QR is cutting costs, there were only two bottles of Krug loaded on my last flight and that was gone within the first 45 of the flight. The onboard bar doesn't get t either. That was a huge disappointment.
EY ran out of food in F on four daytime LHR flights, so it just piles up.

Is there an update on this? Was it only a one month "fluke" or is krug gone?

Andrew

If you check CX website it still lists Krug champagne. “Caviar and Krug”

I got Comtes 2006 served on short-haul TPE-HKG on Jan 2. Much much much better than the previously served special vintage of Deutz that I did not enjoy at all...