New Champagne Bar in Los Angeles

Golden-era Hollywood is often imitated, but rarely — if ever — duplicated.

One place doing it right? The Edith, a new reservation-only Champagne room at Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse.

Opened earlier this month in Century City, The Edith is a time capsule of a lounge that recalls the private, decadent life of Hollywood’s yesteryear. The place stocks more than 100 different labels of Champagne alone (we’ll get to that), and sports an ambience to match: floor-to-ceiling shimmering curtains, a baby grand piano, and mirrors, wood and leather that feel transported from a previous decade.

The menu offerings are unique to The Edith and fit for foreign dignitaries; the roasted king crab and lamb lollipops are standouts. But the cocktails and spirits deserve top billing.

And did we mention the Champagne?

They’ve got a bottle for every use case, so we asked wine director Mandy Sparacino to offer up a handful of her favorite vintages. Below, she names five Champagnes for five unique occasions, all of which are available at Del Frisco’s and The Edith should you want to try them out firsthand.

A Champagne for Your Steak: 2002 Bollinger RD
Red wine has had a monopoly on red meat for far too long. Resist your instinct to parrot that cabernet or merlot that you’ve ordered a dozen times, and take a chance on bubbles with your steak.
Hear it from Mandy: “Bollinger is one of the big boys in Champagne, and by big boy, I’m talking weight. Bolly is known to be a large-bodied Champagne that can stand up to something a little heavier like a steak. RD simply means ‘recently disgorged.’ This process affords the champagne to age ‘sur lees’ (on it’s yeasts) for a longer period of time than most, which brings out rich, beautiful textures and aromatics.”

A Champagne to Expand Your Horizons: Egly-Ouriet “Vignes de Vrigny”
Champagne doesn’t have the reputation of its non-carbonated cousins in terms of flexibility or diversity, but that’s not because it doesn’t exist. When you’re ready to dip a toe into the world of bubbly, there are worse places to start than Egly-Ouriet.
Hear it from Mandy: “Egly-Ouriet is known as a ‘grower’ Champagne. Where larger houses may buy their fruit from other growers in Champagne, houses like Egly-Ouriet produces wines from their very own estate. Egly-Ouriet produces a Blanc de Noir made entirely of Pinot Meunier. … The palate is a kaleidoscope of dehydrated red raspberries and bright yellow lemon meat.”

A Champagne Free of Sticker Shock: Catherine et Pierre Breton, “Dilettante” Cremant de Loire
To some, wine is like art. To others, it’s a con artist. If you sympathize with with the second camp, here’s where to get a discount.
Hear it from Mandy: “It is 100% Chenin blanc and is made in the traditional Champagne method. This means that even though it isn’t a ‘Champagne,’ it is still made by the same process of undergoing secondary fermentation in the bottle. This husband-and-wife winemaking duo has such passion, and it shows. The two have become international icons of the natural wine movement.”

The Edith

A Champagne on the Lighter Side: Stephane Coquillette Carte d’Or
When there’s something worth celebrating with Champagne, it’s often worth celebrating into the wee hours of the night. For some of us, that means finding a drink that will work with you, not against you, as the hours pile up.
Hear it from Mandy: “Lacy and light with subtle hints of soft caramel, bruised golden delicious apple and lemon meringue on the palate. Perfect for lighter fare or enjoying sans food. Though a more delicate expression, the Carte d’Or doesn’t shy from expressing her personality.”

A Champagne You Should Never Overlook: Moet et Chandon, Dom Perignon
A classic is a classic for a reason, and champagne is no exception to the rule.
Hear it from Mandy: “It is special to me because it was the first Champagne I had that made me realize that there is something very conversational about Champagne. Dom Perignon, has such a cool personality. For me, the juxtaposition between the sultry, sexy, grey-smoke nose and the bright, ripe zesty palate is everything. I love when a wine can spawn one emotion and then yank you to a completely different headspace. It is brooding and dark on the nose, but the palate is clean, steely and sophisticated.”