Champagne critic Tyson Stelzer has revealed the French fizz he regards as “one the greatest Champagnes of the modern era”.

Stelzer told Sky News he wept while tasting Krug Clos du Mesnil 2008, which he said was the most anticipated vintage champagne release of the decade.

“I contemplated, interrogated and wrestled with Clos du Mesnil 2008 for a full 25 minutes before it finally relinquished, revealing itself in such sheer brilliance that it brought me to tears,” he said.

“It possesses an inherent coiled reticence from the outset, a tense and compact singularity that even after 14 years begs for the passage of time to draw it out.’’

Stelzer awarded the Champagne 100 points in his ‘The Champagne Guide’.

“It goes without saying that this is one of the greatest champagnes of the modern era, and it is charged with the potential to outlive anybody reading these words,” he said.

A bottle of Krug Clos du Mesnil 2008 is priced at $3500.

Stelzer’s tasting notes describe the vintage as “scintillating” and “charged with high tensile energy.” 

“Pure, luminous white fruits bask in the exuberance of barrel fermentation like only Krug can deliver, conjuring silky, creamy, mouth-seducing texture that brings a mood of calm, utterly astonishing in the midst of such a chilling avalanche of glittering chalk mineral snow,” he said.

If you’re seeking something a little more budget friendly for Christmas celebrations, Stelzer gave Louis Roederer Collection 244 NV ($110) 95 points, while Charles Heidsieck Brut Réserve NV ($110) received 94 points.

Stelzer recently told Meiningers International that the profile of the Australian Champagne consumer is changing.

“We drank a million bottles in 2000. We drank 10-and-a-half million last year,” he said.

“Australia is drinking more Champagne, but we are finally starting to mature as a market. Anything that wasn’t entry level — growers, vintage, rosé, low dosage — represented a very low proportion of the Australian market. We were drinking 2.8% of rosé compared to the global level of 10%. The future for Champagne in Australia is more interest in those diverse categories. Australia is drinking Champagne as an everyday drink now. It’s no longer the celebratory drink it was 20 years ago. It’s part of people’s regular repertoire.”

Stelzer’s The Champagne Guide launched online earlier this year. Incorporating the full content and more than 3500 reviews from six editions of The Champagne Guide since 2011, The Champagne Guide Online will be continually updated with new reviews and articles, including thousands of new reviews that have never been published. 

Champagne tastes change in Australia