December always presents excellent opportunities for drinking bubbles. We had a number of interesting bottles to try, particularly a few that I acquired in my travels this year. I'll start with those:
From my home state of New York in the USA, I purchased a bottle of Chateau Frank 2004 Brut. To be honest, this was not my preferred purchase from this vineyard, as the blanc de noir is supposed to be the best that this maker offers. But I couldn't find this in my local shop, just the brut, which is a blend of the traditional champagne grapes of chardonnay, pinot noir, and pinot meunier. It was only OK, definitely not a classic champagne as it was overwhelmed with apple cider flavour and too much sweetness on the finish, very typical of an American sparkling wine. I'll keep trying this maker, though, both for the still wines they produce and for the elusive blanc de noir, which I'll have to order on-line.
Next were two from Canada - a mixed group. We really liked Gray Monk's Odyssey White Brut 2008, a riesling and chardonnay blend that had a wonderful citrus freshness to it and plenty of tiny bubbles (which was a surprise from all of the flatter Canadian sparkling wines that I'd tried in the past). It was incredibly refreshing, the sort of wine you just want to keep on drinking because it's somehow both so flavourful and so clean on your palate. Less successful was Blue Mountain Brut, a mix of pinot noir, chardonnay, and pinot gris grapes. This was just not very memorable, a bit of apple and citrus flavour with a touch of candied apple on the end, and nowhere near enough bubbles. Really not worth writing more about.
Some friends sent us a bottle of proper champagne for the holidays from Bedales - one we hadn't tried before called Jean Milan Blanc de Blancs. This family was originally a grower who first started making champagne for Krug and who now produce their own wines. This was a lovely bottle, with all of the things that make a blanc de blancs delicious - a light yeastiness on the nose, a crisp finish, loads of fruit flavours in the middle, and masses of delicate bubbles. What a fantastic gift - thank you!
I've saved my very favourite for last, though, as my husband bought me an English sparkler from The Wine Pantry. This was Coates & Seely Rose, which on the bottle says is made from pinot noir, pinot meunier, and chardonnay grapes (while their website doesn't include the chardonnay). At first, we weren't sure about this wine, as the bottle is done up in knock-off French, claiming to be from 'Britagne' and being made in 'methode britannique'. We weren't sure if they were taking the mickey or trying too hard to confuse the less au fait among us into thinking that they were actually champagne. But we forgive the exterior of the bottle for what was inside - smelling of the freshest summer berries, tasting of pink grapefruit, and leaving a lingering mouthful of tart candied peel. The bubbles matched the explosion of flavour, leaving me in no doubt that I will buy and drink this wine again!
Looking forward to trying some more in the run-up to New Year's...
Showing posts with label Bedales. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bedales. Show all posts
Monday, 26 December 2011
Sunday, 20 March 2011
Back to Borough Market
I had to go to Borough Market again on Friday - to buy shrimp for dinner and some meat for a meal I made this weekend. As usual, to reward myself for braving the crowds, I stopped into Bedales to see what bubbles they had. I chose a Brut Reserva Rose cava from Joan Sarda, thinking that it might complement the orange sauce I made with the shrimp. This wine is a 50/50 mix of grenache and monastrell grapes - an unusual combination for a sparkling wine.
The shrimp were delicious, the cava less so. I was surprised when my husband said he liked it. When I asked why he said it was because it actually had some flavour, unlike so many rose wines and cavas. But to me, the flavour was completely unbalanced. The cava hit the front of the tongue with an overpowering sweetness, and then milliseconds later hit the back of the tongue with an unpleasant sour taste that lingered. I just didn't like it. This was not a 'sip in the garden as an aperitif' sort of cava - it needed food to mask the sweet/sour dichotomy, and even then, the sour finish predominated.
A little disappointing from Bedales...but I have to say that I didn't ask for advice while I was there and, since they know my taste, they perhaps might have pointed me to something different.
The shrimp were delicious, the cava less so. I was surprised when my husband said he liked it. When I asked why he said it was because it actually had some flavour, unlike so many rose wines and cavas. But to me, the flavour was completely unbalanced. The cava hit the front of the tongue with an overpowering sweetness, and then milliseconds later hit the back of the tongue with an unpleasant sour taste that lingered. I just didn't like it. This was not a 'sip in the garden as an aperitif' sort of cava - it needed food to mask the sweet/sour dichotomy, and even then, the sour finish predominated.
A little disappointing from Bedales...but I have to say that I didn't ask for advice while I was there and, since they know my taste, they perhaps might have pointed me to something different.
Thursday, 27 January 2011
Something a Little Different
I met a friend at Bedales on Saturday, a place I never manage to leave empty-handed. Having already purchased two bottles of white wine from the downstairs shop, I had a good look around the upstairs while I was waiting for my friend. To my surprise, they had a Hungarian sparkling wine - Hungaria Grande Cuvee Brut - something I've never seen before! At £12, I couldn't not buy it, so in my bag it went.
My husband and I opened it with our dinner on Tuesday. For the life of me, I can't remember what we ate, it was one of those 'nothing-special-Tuesday' meals. But I remember the wine : )
It smelled of bubble gum and soda pop in an appealing way, although it raised a little concern that the wine might be too sweet for my taste. Thankfully, it was cold enough that the sweetness came through in more of a dried-pineapple richness, balanced with some depth and a little acidity. As the wine warmed up, the sweetness intensified, but not overwhelmingly so. There's not much structure or finish to this wine, but it's an easy drinker, and completely different to the cavas and proseccos you see at this price point. The bubbles were strong at first, but disappeared by the end of the glass, the only disappointing thing about the wine.
This was worth trying once and an interesting comparator to other sparkling wines. I'm not sure it's something I'd purchase on a regular basis.
My husband and I opened it with our dinner on Tuesday. For the life of me, I can't remember what we ate, it was one of those 'nothing-special-Tuesday' meals. But I remember the wine : )
It smelled of bubble gum and soda pop in an appealing way, although it raised a little concern that the wine might be too sweet for my taste. Thankfully, it was cold enough that the sweetness came through in more of a dried-pineapple richness, balanced with some depth and a little acidity. As the wine warmed up, the sweetness intensified, but not overwhelmingly so. There's not much structure or finish to this wine, but it's an easy drinker, and completely different to the cavas and proseccos you see at this price point. The bubbles were strong at first, but disappeared by the end of the glass, the only disappointing thing about the wine.
This was worth trying once and an interesting comparator to other sparkling wines. I'm not sure it's something I'd purchase on a regular basis.
Friday, 17 December 2010
Birthday Bubbles
I had a great birthday yesterday, finished off with cake made by my husband and a very special bottle of cava from Bedales - Privat Opus Evolution gran reserva brut nature. I was fortunate enough to have tasted from this range of cava at the shop and really loved it, and my friend very kindly gave me a bottle (thank you!). Not only is the packaging spectacular, but the cava is unlike any other I've tried before. It has a rich, dried fruit aroma, tasting of candied figs (but without being too sweet) and toasted hazelnuts. It was perfect with my cake, although you could just drink it on its own.
This cava also has amazing bubbles - so much so that they almost mask the flavour. When I tried this at Bedales, we decanted it so that we could really appreciate the taste without getting distracted by the bubbles. I shouldn't admit this, but despite my friend's instructions to decant, I drank mine straight from the bottle because I really like the bubbles. But to get the best from this cava, you might want to decant and drink it at a slightly warmer temperature than other sparkling wines - you really want to enjoy all of the amazing richness in this cava.
Bedales has a limited number of bottles, I recommend you buy it before they run out!!
This cava also has amazing bubbles - so much so that they almost mask the flavour. When I tried this at Bedales, we decanted it so that we could really appreciate the taste without getting distracted by the bubbles. I shouldn't admit this, but despite my friend's instructions to decant, I drank mine straight from the bottle because I really like the bubbles. But to get the best from this cava, you might want to decant and drink it at a slightly warmer temperature than other sparkling wines - you really want to enjoy all of the amazing richness in this cava.
Bedales has a limited number of bottles, I recommend you buy it before they run out!!
Monday, 2 February 2009
Bubbles from Bedales
I was at Borough Market this weekend, and had to stop in at my favourite wine store, Bedales. The shop is owned and managed by a group of wonderful, wine-loving people and is a place where we've become friends rather than just customers. I always try to buy something while I'm there - not just because they have such a great selection, but because they're the sort of store I want to keep around in these tough times.
They serve some very nice prosecco at the market at the weekend, and I was tempted to go home with a bottle of that. But they had on the shelf something I'd not tried before - a sparkling rose from Tigress in Tasmania.
We popped it in the fridge and drank it while eating nachos with homemade guacamole and watching the film Old School. It was a not very serious afternoon, and the Tigress was a fun wine to go along with the mood. The pinot noir/chardonnay blend was only slightly sweet, tasting somewhat of cranberry jelly. It's only fault was that it was more fizzy than sparkling, but unless you're a serious fan of big bubbles like I am, you'll be perfectly happy with this wine.
They serve some very nice prosecco at the market at the weekend, and I was tempted to go home with a bottle of that. But they had on the shelf something I'd not tried before - a sparkling rose from Tigress in Tasmania.
We popped it in the fridge and drank it while eating nachos with homemade guacamole and watching the film Old School. It was a not very serious afternoon, and the Tigress was a fun wine to go along with the mood. The pinot noir/chardonnay blend was only slightly sweet, tasting somewhat of cranberry jelly. It's only fault was that it was more fizzy than sparkling, but unless you're a serious fan of big bubbles like I am, you'll be perfectly happy with this wine.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)