Life has been a bit hectic of-late, so I've missed a few posts on champagnes that I've drunk - nothing new to report, but a few delicious bottles of Billecart-Salmon and Maison Lenique.
This weekend, though, with the holiday and the good weather, we've been trying a few new things so I'm compelled to blog again.
On Friday, we had some friends over for BBQ. They had given me a bottle of Perrier-Jouet Belle Epoque Millesime 2002 for my birthday a couple of years ago, and with great restraint, I waited to open it until we could find a nice day together in our garden. Friday was such a day, and it was totally worth the wait! The champagne, a chardonnay, pinot noir, pinot meunier blend, had a slightly floral, somewhat jasmine scent, very light and fresh. It had a much richer flavour, of ripe apples and biscuits, with an incredibly long finish. It also had non-stop bubbles, perfect for me. A fantastic gift, thank you very much!
My friends had also brought a bottle of Bruno Paillard NPU 1995 to try, so we opened that next. I wasn't sure what to expect, because I've only ever drunk the 1990 vintage of this maker, and while it tastes wonderful, it never has enough bubbles for me. Not the case with the 1995, which bubbled away happily in my glass, leaving me feeling much more favourably about this maker!! The 1995, a 50/50 split of chardonnay and pinot noir, lacked the amber-coloured richness of the 1990, but had a similar, well-rounded flavour with lots of orchard fruits and yeasty-goodness. My husband preferred it to the Perrier-Jouet that we had started with, saying that the Bruno Paillard wasn't as heavy on the palate.
In all, an excellent start to the weekend, and two stunning champagnes.
Showing posts with label bruno paillard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bruno paillard. Show all posts
Sunday, 24 April 2011
Monday, 28 March 2011
Not a Special Occasion
As I've been putting bottles of champagne on the champagne shelf in the refrigerator, I noticed that I tend to avoid 'the good stuff' - the vintage bottles that my husband gave me for Christmas - thinking that maybe I'll want them for something more special in future. But then I realised I wasn't walking the walk. These bottles deserve to be drunk to be enjoyed, not just on special occasions! So I put a bottle of Bruno Paillard NPU 1990 in the fridge, and we drank it on Saturday.
Seriously, there was nothing special going on. It was a nice day - we grilled steak, asparagus, and potatoes. And we really, really enjoyed the lovely richness of the champagne with it. It was a beautiful amber colour and tasted of stewed apples and yeast - dense fruit, with a long, rounded finish. As before, more bubbles in this champagne would make it perfect, but it was still pretty fantastic!
Seriously, there was nothing special going on. It was a nice day - we grilled steak, asparagus, and potatoes. And we really, really enjoyed the lovely richness of the champagne with it. It was a beautiful amber colour and tasted of stewed apples and yeast - dense fruit, with a long, rounded finish. As before, more bubbles in this champagne would make it perfect, but it was still pretty fantastic!
Saturday, 18 September 2010
Gracious Chef
Some friends of ours encouraged us to play hooky from our usual Friday activities and we took the train out to Whitstable for a leisurely lunch at the Sportsman Seasalter. It was a perfect day for it, too, beautiful blue skies filled with puffy white clouds giving us fantastic views from the train.
My friend knows the chef at the restaurant, and he very graciously allowed us to bring a bottle of bubbly with us. We chose a bottle of Bruno Paillard NPU 1990, part of my Christmas gift last year from my husband. We decided to drink it as an aperitif while we were reviewing the amazing menu and making our choices. Rather worryingly, the bottle opened with a soft 'pfft', but thankfully demonstrated enough fizz and mousse once it was poured. Everyone marvelled over the colour of the champagne, a rich, brownish-honey-colour that you often see with aged calvados. The richness came through in the flavour, too, which had just a touch of oxidation that added depth to the acidity in the champagne.
It was a great start to a meal that included a main-sized portion of home-made pork terrine as my starter followed by some wonderfully fresh lemon-sole fillets in pea puree. We also had some fantastic still wines from the restaurant's list with our food - I would recommend both the Albarino Vionta Rias Baixas 2008 (loads of flavour but clean and crisp) and the Châteauneuf-du-pape Domaine du Vieux Lazaret 2007 (juicy fruit without any tannins) that we drank to the non-bubbly drinkers out there.
It will be so hard to go back to real-life following a Friday afternoon like that.
Many thanks to our friends for organising the day and to the chef for allowing us our bottle of bubbly!!
My friend knows the chef at the restaurant, and he very graciously allowed us to bring a bottle of bubbly with us. We chose a bottle of Bruno Paillard NPU 1990, part of my Christmas gift last year from my husband. We decided to drink it as an aperitif while we were reviewing the amazing menu and making our choices. Rather worryingly, the bottle opened with a soft 'pfft', but thankfully demonstrated enough fizz and mousse once it was poured. Everyone marvelled over the colour of the champagne, a rich, brownish-honey-colour that you often see with aged calvados. The richness came through in the flavour, too, which had just a touch of oxidation that added depth to the acidity in the champagne.
It was a great start to a meal that included a main-sized portion of home-made pork terrine as my starter followed by some wonderfully fresh lemon-sole fillets in pea puree. We also had some fantastic still wines from the restaurant's list with our food - I would recommend both the Albarino Vionta Rias Baixas 2008 (loads of flavour but clean and crisp) and the Châteauneuf-du-pape Domaine du Vieux Lazaret 2007 (juicy fruit without any tannins) that we drank to the non-bubbly drinkers out there.
It will be so hard to go back to real-life following a Friday afternoon like that.
Many thanks to our friends for organising the day and to the chef for allowing us our bottle of bubbly!!
Sunday, 2 May 2010
May Day 2010
We had some friends over for lunch yesterday, coinciding with the start of the bank holiday weekend, a very nice way to kick-off a three-day weekend. We had planned to eat out in the garden, and managed to stay ahead of the rain for most of the meal.
As an aperitif, we served Gruet Brut along with some homemade spiced nuts. My husband and I had tried the blanc de blanc by this maker in the US two years ago - it had caught our attention because the wine is made in New Mexico, and we were surprised by how good it was for what is not a well-known wine-making region. The Brut was also nice, good bubbles and some crisp citrus fruit flavours, but not a long finish.
Following that, we opened a bottle of Bruno Paillard NPU 1990 to go with our starter of mango and avocado salad with passion fruit dressing. My husband gave me this champagne for Christmas last year - it's a low-dosage champage from a wonder year. You could see the age of the wine from its dark, honey-ish colour and could taste it in the depth of its flavour, full of orchard fruit and bits of woody vanilla that lingered in your mouth. I'm glad we shared this bottle with friends as it's not something you come across often, but well worth drinking.
We moved to some gorgeous white burgundy wines for our grilled lobster and cheese courses, and then back to champagne with our dessert of almond, fig, and chocolate cake accompanied by sugared figs. With this, we had a bottle of Taittinger Brut Reserve that one of our friends had brought over, which was a perfect match to the figgy dessert with its fresh vanilla and biscuit flavours and classic, fine bubbles. Funnily enough, over our dessert we learned that we had both visited the Taittinger vineyards when we took separate trips to the Champagne region and really enjoyed the tour both for what we learned and also for the hospitality and good-naturedness of the winemakers - a hot tip if you're heading to that area!
As an aperitif, we served Gruet Brut along with some homemade spiced nuts. My husband and I had tried the blanc de blanc by this maker in the US two years ago - it had caught our attention because the wine is made in New Mexico, and we were surprised by how good it was for what is not a well-known wine-making region. The Brut was also nice, good bubbles and some crisp citrus fruit flavours, but not a long finish.
Following that, we opened a bottle of Bruno Paillard NPU 1990 to go with our starter of mango and avocado salad with passion fruit dressing. My husband gave me this champagne for Christmas last year - it's a low-dosage champage from a wonder year. You could see the age of the wine from its dark, honey-ish colour and could taste it in the depth of its flavour, full of orchard fruit and bits of woody vanilla that lingered in your mouth. I'm glad we shared this bottle with friends as it's not something you come across often, but well worth drinking.
We moved to some gorgeous white burgundy wines for our grilled lobster and cheese courses, and then back to champagne with our dessert of almond, fig, and chocolate cake accompanied by sugared figs. With this, we had a bottle of Taittinger Brut Reserve that one of our friends had brought over, which was a perfect match to the figgy dessert with its fresh vanilla and biscuit flavours and classic, fine bubbles. Funnily enough, over our dessert we learned that we had both visited the Taittinger vineyards when we took separate trips to the Champagne region and really enjoyed the tour both for what we learned and also for the hospitality and good-naturedness of the winemakers - a hot tip if you're heading to that area!
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