We spent the weekend hanging out in the garden - celebrating both the incredible weather and my husband's return from a trip to the US. Yesterday, one of our neighbours had people over, and we could hear them over the fences popping open bottles of champagne. The sound was too much for us, so out came the cold bottle of Ruinart NV from Majestic Wine that was in the fridge.
Our impression of this champagne hadn't changed much since the last time we drank it. It's a very nice champagne. The entire kitchen smelled of yeasty-goodness when the bottle was opened. It had a huge, clean, lemony flavour and plenty of bubbles. My husband said that he actually liked the champagne more than he remembered, until I reminded him of the price point issue - and greedy people that we are, we agreed that we would rather have two bottles of the Roger Legros that I had been drinking earlier in the week than one bottle of the Ruinart NV. And this is the problem with this champagne, it's just not special enough to justify the price.
Speaking of price, for those of you who don't read the FT, in this past weekend's edition, Jancis Robinson ranked her favourite summer wines. I thought her sparkling picks were entirely uninspiring and was very disappointed that the only sparkling wine she could recommend below the £40 price point was an English sparkler...she apparently doesn't read my blog!!
Monday, 28 June 2010
Saturday, 26 June 2010
Still a Star
I've been sipping a bottle of Roger Legros Cuvee Speciale from the Champagne Warehouse for the past few nights and really enjoying it in the surprisingly hot weather we've been having. I'm always pleased when a champagne I've had before and liked lives up to the memory!! And this one actually surpassed it - having far more bubbles than I'd remembered, which even held up over a few days in the opened and capped bottle. If you haven't tried this champagne, you really should, it's exceptionally good, especially for the price (less than £25/bottle).
Friday, 18 June 2010
Date Night - June 10
Wednesday was date night, but we had a pretty crazy week this week, so we decided to stay home, chill out, and cook a simple meal - cornflaked chicken, cheesy rice with broccoli, and some grilled asparagus. To make the evening a bit more special, we opened the bottle of G. Tribaut Millesime 2002 that I got from the Champagne Warehouse.
The champagne is a 50/50 blend of chardonnay and pinot noir. It had the surprising (in a good way!) aroma of chocolate when we first poured it. The flavour was incredibly rich, with lots of prune taste, but with enough acidity to make it a very clean champagne. While I really enjoyed how it smelled and tasted, this champagne just doesn't have enough bubbles for me, the last third of each glass was completely flat. Very disappointing for what could otherwise have become a favourite of mine.
The champagne is a 50/50 blend of chardonnay and pinot noir. It had the surprising (in a good way!) aroma of chocolate when we first poured it. The flavour was incredibly rich, with lots of prune taste, but with enough acidity to make it a very clean champagne. While I really enjoyed how it smelled and tasted, this champagne just doesn't have enough bubbles for me, the last third of each glass was completely flat. Very disappointing for what could otherwise have become a favourite of mine.
Wednesday, 16 June 2010
Just Yummy
We had one of my favourite meals last night - everything in the fridge pasta, made with wheat-free pasta and just about everything you might find in my refrigerator including ground beef, chorizo, tomato sauce, left-over red wine, olives, capers, courgettes and mozzarella cheese. It's one of those meals that's easy and you don't have to think about and that is always so much more delicious than you ever expect it to be.
Since there was also a bottle of Billecart-Salmon Brut Blanc de Blancs in the fridge, we had that too (the point of the meal was to empty out the refrigerator, although the champagne shelf never stays empty for long...). It probably wasn't the most elegant meal that the champagne has been served with, but it did make everything that much more yummy!!
Since there was also a bottle of Billecart-Salmon Brut Blanc de Blancs in the fridge, we had that too (the point of the meal was to empty out the refrigerator, although the champagne shelf never stays empty for long...). It probably wasn't the most elegant meal that the champagne has been served with, but it did make everything that much more yummy!!
Monday, 14 June 2010
Maybe, Just Maybe
On Saturday, my husband and I thought we should watch the US vs UK World Cup match - rarely do we get to see our two home countries in competition. We settled in for the game with a bottle of champagne that some friends gave us (thank you!), Guillaume de Gand Brut Reserve. This champagne is a blend of chardonnay, pinot noir, and pinot meunier. It was much heavier than what we've been drinking lately, with a rich taste of hazelnuts and bubbles galore! It's definitely a go-with-food champagne, good thing I had a piece of flourless chocolate cake from one of my favourite local restaurants to nibble with it.
The game wasn't as good as the champagne, although I suspect the viewing experience would have been much different in the US. My favourite part was the commericals, the best one being from a newspaper with the tag line of 'Maybe, just maybe'. People here seem to think it's a great ad, and I think it's funny that noone here really dares to believe the UK has a chance. I'm pretty sure the US commericals were all much more positive about who would be triumphant!!
The game wasn't as good as the champagne, although I suspect the viewing experience would have been much different in the US. My favourite part was the commericals, the best one being from a newspaper with the tag line of 'Maybe, just maybe'. People here seem to think it's a great ad, and I think it's funny that noone here really dares to believe the UK has a chance. I'm pretty sure the US commericals were all much more positive about who would be triumphant!!
Friday, 11 June 2010
Cheers To My Husband
As I sit writing this, I'm sipping on a glass of La Marca Prosecco di Conegliano Valdobbiadene. What started as a grim and rainy week has finally ended in a surprisingly warm and sunny afternoon. I've heard not a word from my husband although it's well after work hours - I'm hoping he had the good sense to go the pub with some workmates to unwind and enjoy the sunshine. Left at home on my own with a cold bottle of prosecco that some friends gave us (thank you!) and some blogging to catch up on, opening the bottle seemed like the right thing to do.
The prosecco is incredibly refreshing, as well. Fresh green apple aroma, loads of tiny little bubbles bursting to the top of my glass, and a clean, fresh, grapefruit-y flavour. It just rounds out my week, and reminds me that I should drink more prosecco.
But the actual reason why I am blogging today is to report on the champagne we drank on Wednesday, a bottle of the Maison Lenique 2004 grand cru blanc de blancs that I got as part of my 3-D Wines allocation. It was my husband's birthday, and after a relaxing afternoon out with some friends, we came home to his traditional homemade apple pie and champagne celebration. The Maison Lenique was fantastic as usual, and had more apple and butter flavours than the 2005 we recently drank. My husband was pleased to have a tried and trusted bottle of bubbles to go with his favourite dessert.
Cheers to him for giving me two reasons to have bubbles this week!
The prosecco is incredibly refreshing, as well. Fresh green apple aroma, loads of tiny little bubbles bursting to the top of my glass, and a clean, fresh, grapefruit-y flavour. It just rounds out my week, and reminds me that I should drink more prosecco.
But the actual reason why I am blogging today is to report on the champagne we drank on Wednesday, a bottle of the Maison Lenique 2004 grand cru blanc de blancs that I got as part of my 3-D Wines allocation. It was my husband's birthday, and after a relaxing afternoon out with some friends, we came home to his traditional homemade apple pie and champagne celebration. The Maison Lenique was fantastic as usual, and had more apple and butter flavours than the 2005 we recently drank. My husband was pleased to have a tried and trusted bottle of bubbles to go with his favourite dessert.
Cheers to him for giving me two reasons to have bubbles this week!
Tuesday, 1 June 2010
Maison Lenique 2005
The latest Maison Lenique offering from 3-D Wines arrived at my house late last week - the 2005 grand cru blanc de blancs. It had been brought to my attention that this champagne recently won a bronze medal at the International Wine Competition, so I was keen to quickly put a bottle in the fridge!
We opened it last night as we ate our dinner of grilled chicken, asparagus, corn, and rice. It was wonderful, lots of clean citrus flavours with no bitterness. The finish has a touch of vanilla that just makes you want to drink more. It was a fantastic accompaniment to our light meal, and a very easy drinker. This champagne is exactly what I've come to expect from Maison Lenique, lots of flavour, never-ending bubbles, and no regrets except for the empty bottle when you've finished. I'm so glad to have new stock of this maker back in the house, as I've missed it!
We opened it last night as we ate our dinner of grilled chicken, asparagus, corn, and rice. It was wonderful, lots of clean citrus flavours with no bitterness. The finish has a touch of vanilla that just makes you want to drink more. It was a fantastic accompaniment to our light meal, and a very easy drinker. This champagne is exactly what I've come to expect from Maison Lenique, lots of flavour, never-ending bubbles, and no regrets except for the empty bottle when you've finished. I'm so glad to have new stock of this maker back in the house, as I've missed it!
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