New Champagne in Club Europe

This is the same Champagne that Lufthansa serves in Long Haul Business Class to the USA. Not bad at all, although I was and still am a fan of the Pommery BA used to serve in CE.

Not sure if they have changed as I have only just switched my Long Haul travel to Lufthansa, but on my flights in late December and early January this was the Champagne in the menu/served (and thankfully they had plenty loaded as Champagne is what I love to drink on board).

I think that any champagne, served in a miniature bottle, with a plastic screw cap, as these are, is going to be just an amalgam of average frankly, because the wine is not made to be packaged this way, and is only ever done so for airlines use.

Cold, fizzy wine, and nothing wrong with that, but don’t get too excited.

I really think it comes down to what you are used to. None of the names cited here are in the top tier by any means, but when you put it into little bottles with plastic screw tops , you are into serious compromise.

Remember the name only attributes an area, not a quality. If you want fermented sparkling wine, there are any number from outside that designation which are way better. But snob value clearly plays a part.

Serve me a glass (or three) of Freixenet and I am a happy boy.

Me Thinks some wine ‘snobs’ have entered the fray! 🙂 While I will agree that Taittinger in the lounge is a nice treat, especially the Rose if still being served, it is well known that wine and particularly Champagne change taste rather dramatically at altitude. So while on the ground it seems perfectly fine, in the air it could be mistaken for a Cava or Sekt as its composition changes. That’s why when airlines tout their serving of Dom or Krug as a banner for their exquisite service, I always wonder whether their wine selection process included tasting those fantastic wines in flight as they are nothing to shout about at 35000 feet, and quite frankly a waste of money. I remember there was an uproar on the forum a while back when BA started serving Ayala Brut in Club, yet on board it was very drinkable. Would it be a champagne I would buy for home, no, but in flight it was better than some rather better snob appeal wines. My favourite champagne is Ruinart Blanc de Blancs, and for Rose, Billecart Salmon, but that’s me, however, at altitude, I have no doubt these would taste different. On my Lufthansa flights recently, the Castlenau served was perfectly drinkable. I imagine this is why airlines worth their salt always try their wines at altitude before making a selection. As for CE, I agree with esselle, any champagne served in the 1/4 bottles is not going to be a good indication of the quality of that wine versus in a full sized bottle (wine experts suggest champagne is best from a Magnum), however, when it comes to red wine, it is often said that red wine served in 1/2 bottles or magnums tends to be superior to that served in normal sized bottles, so don’t judge the wine by the container as it just might surprise and delight.