US Report

I was in the US this past weekend and tried a couple of things I hadn't seen before.

The first was an oddball item. Every year, they flood Fenway Park in Boston and allow the NHL to play an outdoor game there. In conjunction with this, they release a sparkling wine - in 2010 it was the Bruins vs the Flyers and the wine was from Woodbridge Champagne (California). I had no idea they either played hockey at Fenway or connected a sparkling wine to it, so this caught my interest when I saw it at the store. I asked the owner if the wine was any good, and he assured me that they wouldn't sell something undrinkable for such a special event. He lied. The wine was so sweet that my husband and I only managed a few sips each before pouring the bottle out. It was absolutely dreadful. I'm thinking they must make this as a collector's item - the kind of thing you buy as a souvenir to leave on a shelf rather than to drink.

The next bottle was much better - the 2005 Estate Grown Brut Rose from Soter Vineyards (Oregon). Before I sing its praises, I have to say that it was completely oversold to me - the shop owner said that it compares favourably to the Billecart-Salmon rose. They are not at all alike. The Soter lacks the richness, balance, and finish of the Billecart-Salmon. It was also much shorter on bubbles. That said, it had a wonderful black cherry and cranberry flavour, which intensified as the wine warmed - the pinot noir that we love from Oregon coming through very clearly in this sparkler. I think it's pricey in the mid-$40 range - especially considering I can get the Roger Legros Rose for less and it's as-good if not better - but a good sparkler to have tried.

Old Friends

A friend of mine from the US is in town, and we spent Saturday night at my house, catching up over dinner. It only seemed right to serve her one of my favourite champagnes - Billecart-Salmon vintage 2004. It was stunning, as always. It was also a great match to the Shrimp Palermo that we cooked and to my friend's lovely, bubbly personality!!

Late...

My husband is late. We knew he might be late tonight, as he was meeting some friends for drinks at the Scotch Malt Whiskey Society. He told me he would try to get home at a reasonable hour to have a pre-dinner drink with me and then some pasta, but he's not here. He did call to say that he would be home shortly, so I have turned the 'everything in the fridge' pasta that I had started into baked ziti by mixing everything together in a baking dish, coating it with a generous helping of grated mozzarella (so much for my healthy meal), and popping it into the oven. Then I poured myself his pre-dinner drink (since I had already finished mine) and came up to the computer. I really should be finishing off the gardening paper that I started this afteroon, but he'll be home in 10 minutes, which is not enough time.

So I'll report on the pre-dinner drinks instead - kindly provided by the Champagne Warehouse (thank you!) - Roger Legros Rose, a pinot noir, pinot meunier, and chardonnay blend. It has a lovely aroma, full of ripe plums. On first sip, I was really surpised by this champagne. For a rose, it's got a hefty berry taste, not sweet strawberries and raspberries, but rich blackberries and cranberries. This leaves just a slightly bitter note on the finish, not unpleasant, but it's noticeable for just a moment. This champagne also has a consistent and fine stream of bubbles!

The tasting notes say that this is a good wine with summer salads like watermelon and feta or with non-chocolate desserts. I could defintely see those pairings working, and they would probably eliminate that touch of bitterness. I'll be ordering another bottle when watermelon is in season, as I do have a good watermelon, feta, and mint recipe that I've been keen to try.

Another nice champagne from Roger Legros. I'll have to try to visit them if I ever get back to the Champagne region.

A Triple Zero

We went to lunch with some friends on Sunday at Bar Baloud. The plan was to arrive a little early for a drink and then head to our table to sample the burgers for which the restaurant is known. I had heard this before we arrived, but the prices of the drinks were shocking - upwards of £12 for cocktails, the same price range as the burgers!! I cast my eye over the wine list, and was pleased to find a champagne I'd not tried before listed by the glass for around £9. So I ordered that - the Montlouis Petillant Triple Zero from Domaine de la Taille aux Loups.

This champagne is officially 'triple zero' because there are three stages in the champagne-making process where a maker could add sugar but this maker does not. I rate this champagne a triple zero because it 1) was unpleasantly bitter - smelling and tasting of not-quite-ripe greengages 2) had no finish whatsoever and 3) had no bubbles even though my glass came from a just-opened-before-my-eyes bottle. An absolute disappointment, particularly after the pleasure we'd had on Saturday with the Billecart-Salmon extra brut.

Three things saved the day. Our friends are great company, and we had a very nice afternoon with them. The burgers were mouthwateringly good, and I'm saying this as someone who's not a huge hamburger-eater. The Piggie Burger, topped with BBQ pulled pork and green chilli mayo hit all of the right spots. And, on top of that, when we got home we had 3/4 of a bottle of Roger Legros Cuvee Speciale to finish.

Will Work for Bubbles

I've been doing some garden design work for some friends, which is great practice for me as I'm undertaking my coursework. On Saturday, they very kindly assembled and gave me a case of champagne to thank me for my efforts. This was totally unnecessary as I'm not really comfortable charging anything for my gardening work with my still-amateur status - but very much appreciated (thank you!). And so I put one of the bottles in the refrigerator for Saturday evening - Billecart-Salmon extra brut - a zero dosage blend of pinot meunier, pinot noir, and chardonnay.

I love this champagne, it is totally my kind of champagne. It smelled like toast and grapefruit (or 'pamplemousse' as my friends say). It had the cleanest, richest, most refreshing taste with lots of citrus but no sourness or bitterness. The finish lasted forever and left us wanting more.

And the bubbles...perfect, round, plentiful bubbles!! The bubbles are my gold-standard for what a champagne should be.

This bottle disappeared far too quickly, even though my husband and I savoured every sip. My husband, cheeky-chappy that he is, suggested that we open the other bottle of champagne that was in our fridge, so that we could compare another champagne that we like to it. He knew I wouldn't say 'no' to that.

So he popped open the Roger Legros Cuvee Speciale from the Champagne Warehouse and we had a glass each. I have to say, I was a little nervous, because I've really liked this champagne in the past and didn't want it ruined because it couldn't stand up to the Billecart-Salmon. I'm relieved to report that, while it's definitely not in the same league as the Billecart-Salmon, it was still a very good champagne.

I should point out that there's no pinot meunier in the Roger Legros and that it's not a low or zero dosage champagne, so we weren't at all comparing like-for-like. These differences are very evident, with the Roger Legros having a much mintier nose, a lighter flavour, and a sweetness that I never noticed before when I'd drunk it on its own. My husband commented that while the Billecart-Salmon was 'toasty' the Roger Legros was more 'biscuity'. The Roger Legros was also far less structured than the Billecart-Salmon, it wasn't as crisp and lacked the amazing finish. While it couldn't quite compete with a bigger player, the Roger Legros still ranks among the top of their price range.

I'm now really starting to understand what you get with some of these bigger name producers...and why it's worth the price differential.

Cava and Colombian Food

On Saturday, some friends came over to teach me how to cook Colombian food. We had a great afternoon, and I really appreciated the thought they put into their lesson and the time they spent teaching me their home cuisine. We made ajiaco, a hearty potato and chicken based soup, arepas, which are grilled cornmeal dumplings that can be filled with cheese, meat, or vegetables, and plaintains stuffed with guava paste and cheese. All of it was delicious, and I'm so excited to have some new recipes to play with.

When we finished cooking, we sat down together to eat. My husband had already poured us glasses of Cava Brut Nature from 1+1=3 that I ordered from the Champagne Warehouse. This cava is predominantly Xarel-lo grapes mixed with a bit of chardonnay. I was impressed at what a good match with the food it was, as cava has the stereotype of being a summer aperitif. This cava had wonderful rich flavours of toast and nuts with the dishes we had, and I was pretty sad when my glass was empty.

That sadness was short-lived. As I was cleaning the kitchen, I discovered that my husband had saved me a little of the cava to try without the food! I quickly finished the dishes, and settled on the sofa with my half-glass of cava. It had very strong citrus aromas that carried through in the taste. Without the food, though, the cava was surprisingly bitter, tasting of grapefruit pith. I preferred this cava with food, I wouldn't serve it on its own.

This was the last bottle of 1+1=3 from my mixed case from the Champagne Warehouse, and overall I've been really pleased with what we've had!