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(Full disclosure: this actually happened back in September. Since I'm writing the review, it's not getting posted until now. Yes, I know.)

Special occasions call for special champagne. It's as simple as that. And when the special occasion happens to be a 1-year anniversary....well, that needs a really special champagne. I mean really special.

Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to present Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin La Grande Dame Brut 1998 ($180). Yes, a champagne that was born back when I was still in high school. I mean, think about it for a second: this champagne waited 12 years for us. Think of how far this bottle of champagne has travelled in those 12 years! And after all that, after everything this bottle of fizzy grape juice has gone through....it ends up with us on our 1-year anniversary. Isn't that amazing? What are the chances?

Before the actual review, I have to mention the dinner that accompanied our special champagne. The missus made Fettucine Alfredo - with homemade sauce. Watching all the butter, cream, and cheese going into this stuff actually made me feel a little bad about eating it. I mean, geez....it's basically liquid fat. But OH MY GOD IT IS SO GOOD. I can't even describe it. Easily the best pasta dish I've ever had. No exaggeration - it was really that good. And yes....I totally ate more than I should have.

But now on to the star of the show.

I think we mentioned on here before that when a champagne is really good, there's not much you can actually say about it. Well, we pushed ourselves! Trust me, it wasn't easy....because this champagne isn't just good, it's amazing.

The smell is wonderful - delicate, slightly sweet, very clean. It smells meek, light. Then you drink it, and realize it's the exact opposite! Big flavors. Gigantic, bold flavors. It's so rich, you almost start to feel like it's thicker than regular champagne. It coats your mouth. It's like caramel, fruity with a dark sweetness. It kind of has a musk about it, but in a really good way. Not like a musk ox. Then you swallow - which is actually a little difficult. I'm serious, the longer you keep in in your mouth, the better it gets! But once you finally get around to swallowing, you realize it has that perfect "dry but not too dry" finish. Know what I mean? It's just right. And the flavors linger long afterwards....it's amazing. It sounds overly dramatic, but drinking this champagne is really an experience.

Score: a unanimous 5. There's no question about it. When you drink this, you're drinking champagne for real.

Recommended? Without a doubt. Yes, it's expensive - but it's worth every single cent. I can't stress that enough. If you've got a special occasion coming up, seek out a bottle of this stuff. It's like liquid heaven.