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I was away last week, and came home to find that the order I had placed with Berry Brothers finally arrived while I was gone. This was good news because I had ordered two bottles of champagne along with the item I really wanted to make up the amount required for free delivery. It was bad news in that I had placed the order so that I could bring a gift to a friend of mine in the US but the order didn't come until after I left. For future reference, when Berry Brothers says '3-6 days' for delivery, they really mean 6+ days.

But it was nice to sit down at the end of the day after a red-eye flight, unpacking, running several errands, and then working all afternoon, to a lovely glass of champagne. I had ordered the Grand Cellier D'Or 2004 made by Vilmart & Co, thinking that I had not tried Vilmart before. I was wrong - my husband reminded me that we had actually tried other champagnes by this maker several years ago and liked them. This one was very good - a blend of 70% chardonnay and 30% pinot noir. It was too cold when I opened it, so all I could smell and taste was sour lemon. Things got much better as the champagne warmed, though, with lots of creamy yeast coming through, and the sourness disappearing. It was delicious and very well balanced, excellent as a sipping champagne.