Friday, 26 November 2010
Thanksgiving 2010
Yesterday was Thanksgiving, and as tradition has it, I made apple pie for my husband to enjoy. It's always good for him to be thankful for a wife who makes the best apple pie in the world! He insisted that it needed to be eaten with champagne, the perfect match for apple pie, so he opened the bottle of Maison Lenique that was in the fridge. Another thing to be thankful for - a full champagne shelf!! It's been a good year : )
D-Fly In Da House
To set the scene for this post - Champagne Magazine recently released its annual list of the top 100 champagnes. I sent the list to a friend of mine who has an interest in champagne, saying that I was a little disappointed with it as it seemed like a marketing exercise for the big producers. I don't really need a magazine to tell me that the big brand names that cost hundreds of pounds are good. I also can't believe that there aren't any smaller producers who can't compete in that field, especially because I think I've drunk some. And to top it off, does anybody besides rap stars drink Cristal, so how relevant is all of this anyway?
Two days later I had to drink my words about Cristal. We were at Ransome's Dock for dinner with some friends. There on the wine list was a new addition - Louis Roederer Cristal 1996. Part of what we love about Ransome's Dock is that the chef doesn't believe in price gouging on wine. If he buys the wine at a reasonable price, he marks it up to a reasonable margin, so the Cristal was on offer for a far better price than any rap star is paying. Don't get me wrong, it still cost more than my entire outfit that night, shoes and handbag included. But comparatively, it was a bargain, so we ordered a bottle.
This champagne has the most unusual nose, which the chef helped us place - freshly-made cooking stock. It's actually a bit strange, because it's not what you expect from a champagne. The flavour is where Cristal hits the mark. It tastes like a perfectly made lemon tart, balancing buttery richness with tart (not sour) citrus and a creamy finish. It is incredibly well made, well balanced, and very, very good. It has interesting bubbles, too - big, fat, and plentiful on pouring, then calming down into a fine stream as you drink. This pleased me, as some of the other older champagnes that I've drunk have been lacking on the bubble front. I can see what the hype is about.
That said, it does still come down to a relative value proposition for me. While it was interesting to try this once, if I were spending the money again, I'd rather have three bottles of Billecart-Salmon than one bottle of Cristal.
Two days later I had to drink my words about Cristal. We were at Ransome's Dock for dinner with some friends. There on the wine list was a new addition - Louis Roederer Cristal 1996. Part of what we love about Ransome's Dock is that the chef doesn't believe in price gouging on wine. If he buys the wine at a reasonable price, he marks it up to a reasonable margin, so the Cristal was on offer for a far better price than any rap star is paying. Don't get me wrong, it still cost more than my entire outfit that night, shoes and handbag included. But comparatively, it was a bargain, so we ordered a bottle.
This champagne has the most unusual nose, which the chef helped us place - freshly-made cooking stock. It's actually a bit strange, because it's not what you expect from a champagne. The flavour is where Cristal hits the mark. It tastes like a perfectly made lemon tart, balancing buttery richness with tart (not sour) citrus and a creamy finish. It is incredibly well made, well balanced, and very, very good. It has interesting bubbles, too - big, fat, and plentiful on pouring, then calming down into a fine stream as you drink. This pleased me, as some of the other older champagnes that I've drunk have been lacking on the bubble front. I can see what the hype is about.
That said, it does still come down to a relative value proposition for me. While it was interesting to try this once, if I were spending the money again, I'd rather have three bottles of Billecart-Salmon than one bottle of Cristal.
Catching Up
My computer was down for a while as my husband and I painted our study, so I've been a bit remiss in reporting some bubbles that have been drunk. Of particular note was a bottle of Dosnon & Lepage champagne that my husband picked up from Roberson's wine shop on High Street Ken. We've not had champagne from this maker before, and the person at the store pitched this one - the blanc de blanc, Recolte Blanche - to my husband as Krug-like. How could we not try it?
While the champagne was very good, it was not at all Krug-like. It had a wonderful yeastiness on the nose, and lots of stong, fresh, clean flavour with a very long finish. But it lacked the richness and depth that you get with Krug. This isn't a criticism of the champagne, very few champagnes offer what Krug does which is why they're priced in the tens-of-pounds and Krug is priced in the hundreds-of-pounds. I just wish the people in the shops would stop making the comparison, as it's really unfair to what are otherwise pefectly nice champagnes. We still would have bought it had they just told us how good it was.
The other thing I really liked about this champagne was its bubbles. It had so many that the cork started to come out of the bottle the second my husband undid the wire cage. Big, fat, belch-inducing bubbles. My husband wasn't too sure about this aspect of the champagne, but it was right up my street!
Roberson's carries a couple of different varieties from this maker, including a Blanc de Noir, so the next time we're in the area, we'll be buying some more.
While the champagne was very good, it was not at all Krug-like. It had a wonderful yeastiness on the nose, and lots of stong, fresh, clean flavour with a very long finish. But it lacked the richness and depth that you get with Krug. This isn't a criticism of the champagne, very few champagnes offer what Krug does which is why they're priced in the tens-of-pounds and Krug is priced in the hundreds-of-pounds. I just wish the people in the shops would stop making the comparison, as it's really unfair to what are otherwise pefectly nice champagnes. We still would have bought it had they just told us how good it was.
The other thing I really liked about this champagne was its bubbles. It had so many that the cork started to come out of the bottle the second my husband undid the wire cage. Big, fat, belch-inducing bubbles. My husband wasn't too sure about this aspect of the champagne, but it was right up my street!
Roberson's carries a couple of different varieties from this maker, including a Blanc de Noir, so the next time we're in the area, we'll be buying some more.
Friday, 12 November 2010
Bella in Brooklyn
My neighbour is an artist, and she found out this week that she has been named as a finalist in an international art competition, with an exhibit and final awards to be held in Brooklyn in Dec 2010. Since we're ex-Brooklyn, she came over last night for tips on where to stay, shop, eat, visit while she's in NYC. We're very excited for her, and had to toast her with a bottle of Maison Lenique 2004. Fingers crossed that she both enjoys her trip and does well in the competition!
Sunday, 7 November 2010
Bonfire Night
Last night was bonfire night here in the UK - and since our dog is terrified of fireworks, we planned a nice evening inside with the TV on and lots of noise to distract her from what was happening outside. As part of that, I made a nice, satisfying meal of turkey meatloaf and roasted veg, including some Jerusalem artichokes that I dug out of my garden earlier in the day. The house smelled amazing, which did more to distract the dog than the TV noise!!
We debated on what to drink with it - red or bubbles - and for some reason, I was leaning toward bubbles. So we opened the Philizot et Fils numero 2 with some trepidation. It was OK, definitely less peppery than the first bottle we drank. It smelled of a combination of pencil eraser and sourdough bread - a raw, yeasty sort of smell. It still tastes very herbal, but this bottle had a sweeter finish than the first, which made it more drinkable. It's a go-with-food champagne, it's still much too harsh-tasting to sip on its own.
We debated on what to drink with it - red or bubbles - and for some reason, I was leaning toward bubbles. So we opened the Philizot et Fils numero 2 with some trepidation. It was OK, definitely less peppery than the first bottle we drank. It smelled of a combination of pencil eraser and sourdough bread - a raw, yeasty sort of smell. It still tastes very herbal, but this bottle had a sweeter finish than the first, which made it more drinkable. It's a go-with-food champagne, it's still much too harsh-tasting to sip on its own.
Tuesday, 2 November 2010
Celebrating Milestones
This month is supposed to be 'austerity November' - we had a pretty decadent October and really need to get re-focused on our healthy eating and exercise habits. Last night I had planned a tasty-but-healthy dinner of homemade chicken and vegetable soup with rice. But then my husband came home and reminded me that yesterday was his 5-year anniversary at the company where he works. In this economic climate, that really is something to celebrate. To top it off, we had a cold bottle of Billecart-Salmon rose in the fridge - the perfect celebration champagne - so how could we let the milestone pass without bubbles? The richness of the champagne was perfect for the evening, and actually went pretty well with the soup!!
Not a great start to 'austerity November', but we got my husband's sixth year at this company kicked off properly!
He's too funny, too. So we won't be tempted to celebrate too many more things in November, my husband filled the champagne shelf with a bottle of Philizot & Fils brut numero 2. Neither of us will be rushing to drink that anytime soon...
Not a great start to 'austerity November', but we got my husband's sixth year at this company kicked off properly!
He's too funny, too. So we won't be tempted to celebrate too many more things in November, my husband filled the champagne shelf with a bottle of Philizot & Fils brut numero 2. Neither of us will be rushing to drink that anytime soon...
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