A Couple More to Report

I've been negligent in my blogging, and finally clearing up the last two bottles that we're drunk that have been sitting by my sink waiting to be typed up. They were interesting, but I'm not sure I'd rush to drink either again.

The first was the Cuvee Fleurie from Jean Claude Mouzon, which I bought from the Champagne Warehouse. This is a 100% chardonnay champagne, but unlike any others that I've tried before. It had a lush melon taste, but with a sweetness that hit the mid-palate rather than the finish. It was surprising, when I drank it, I asked myself if I really tasted that sweetness, and didn't comprehend that I had until I offered my husband a top-up and he said "No, it was too sweet". You don't often get sweet in the middle. I didn't mind it so much, because it disappeared on swallowing, so I was left with this melon-y taste. But as my husband proved, this one isn't for everybody.

The second champagne to report on was Bertrand Gautherot's Blanc d'Argile, which I purchased from Green & Blue. Not only is this a biodynamic wine, but it is also low dosage. The best comparison I could make for this wine is that it tastes just like the 1990 Bruno Paillard NPU that I've had, but with much better bubbles. And considering the former costs in the £100's where the Blanc d'Argile was around the £50 mark, I know which I'd prefer!! This had that same oxidised taste of rich orchard fruits - something I really enjoyed, but just couldn't drink a lot of. Well worth the investment, though, if you want wonder-year flavour without the same price tag.

Two Very Different Pinot Noirs

We had two bottles of bubbles during the week. The first was part of my Fizz Club case from the Champagne Warehouse, the latest release of 1+1=3 brut nature pinot noir. This was a juicy, berry-flavoured cava with a gorgeous, deep pink colour. Very yummy, although the bubbles weren't quite as good as the last batch of this cava that we drank.

The second bottle that we opened was the 2006 Cubitt Reserve from Denbies. This was also a pinot noir-based sparkler, but couldn't have been more different from the cava. To start, it wasn't a rose. Where the cava was full of berries, this was grape-y, like the kind of grape flavour you get in lollipops and bubble gum as a kid. The grape turns into grapefruit on the finish, with a nice acidity.

The only similarity came in the bubbles, which provided lots of fizz on opening, but didn't last through the glass. Disappointing for me, as I do love my bubbles.

Two from the Fizz Club

We tried two bottles of bubbles from our Fizz Club membership with the Champagne Warehouse late this week, and they were both wonderful!! Had I ordered these wines through the regular website, I would have only ordered single bottles and then thought "I'll have to buy more of this". With the Fizz Club, I already have second bottles here, just waiting to be drunk : )

The first bottle we tried was the extra dry prosecco from Stocco. This is made from 100% prosecco grapes and couldn't be more different from the previous bottle of rose prosecco that we drank from Stocco. This one was fresh and aromatic, smelling of spearmint with a touch of candied banana. The first impression on the tongue was a flash of the mint, but followed up by lots of green apple - not like apples off of the tree, but the kind of green apple flavour you get in sour candies. It had loads of bubbles and was just so much fun to drink. I definitely preferred this to their rose.

The second bottle that we tried was the new release of Vignarosa Amorino brut rosato. It was just gorgeous!! The ruby colour never ceases to amaze me, and the rich, balsamic vinegar aroma just draws you in. Like past bottles that we've drunk, this one had deep red berry flavours that go on and on. And I knew we were in for some good bubbles when I couldn't get the cork out and had to hand the bottle over to my husband...while I don't like the delay in opening the bottle, I loved the sharp, explosive 'pop' and all of the bubbles!!

A great start from the Fizz Club, thanks Champagne Warehouse!

Not What I Was Expecting

The lovely team at the Champagne Warehouse sent me a bottle of rose prosecco to try as a 'thank you' for some feedback that I gave them about their newly-launched Fizz Club. The wine was Rosamossa Rose Extra Dry from Stocco, a 100% cabernet sauvignon sparkler. I had high hopes for this wine having loads of berry flavours from the tasting notes that were sent to me, but it didn't turn out to be anything like what I was expecting.

The wine itself was a salmon-pink colour, and from the start, it had an incredibly amount of tiny, fizzy bubbles. It smelled like very acidic strawberries. When my husband asked what my first impression was on first sip, though, my reaction was - tomato. Not juicy, ripe-off-the-vine tomato, but just the slight aftertaste of tomato skin. There were definitely some berry flavours in there, but this wine was so dry it had a lot of vegetable flavours, as well. As it warmed up, it had a subtle finish of vegetable stock, with a mild celery and parsley taste.

This was such a surprise, and I'd be keen to try this with food rather than sipping it on its own as we did. It's not at all like the run-of-the mill rose proseccos that are out there, this is much more unusual.

A big thank you to the Champagne Warehouse for such an interesting bottle of prosecco, and a pitch for the Fizz Club, too - each month, the Champagne Warehouse are offering 6-bottle cases with 3 kinds of grower wines (2 bottles of each wine) - with options of just champagne, just non-champagne sparklers, or a mix of champagne and non-champagne sparklers. These wines aren't on offer on their website until well after the Fizz Club members have had their chance to order and re-purchase at a discount - so some of these wines might never reach the general website. It's quite reasonably priced, and no minimum commitment, so please do get in touch with them to sign up to receive the monthly tasting notes!!

Autumnal

Nope, not the weather, but the champagne we drank last night - Roger Legros Millesime 2002, a chardonnay/pinot noir mix which I bought from the Champagne Warehouse. This was such a nice champagne!It smelled like the perfect autumn day in an orchard, with fallen apples and fresh-cut hay, a slightly oxidised aroma, but in the way that a good sweet wine smells. There was no sweetness to this wine though, just lots of rich apple with some biscuit on the finish. The bubbles were excellent, too. I was very surprised to see this priced at less than £30 on the Champagne Warehouse website, it was a lot of quality for a very reasonable price!!

Blissful Rain

I was so excited that it rained yesterday - not just because my garden so desperately needed it, but because I have had builders working on the outside of the house and even though they're incredibly considerate, it was wonderful to have the house to myself yesterday when they stopped work because of the weather. I was able to get into my kitchen and cook a proper dinner - turkey meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans. Yummy.

We accompanied it with one of my favourite cavas, 1+1=3 Brut Rose Seleccion from the Champagne Warehouse. The colour of this wine still amazes me, it is just so beautiful. The wine was great with the food, too, its fruity flavour but incredible dryness perfectly offsetting the creaminess of the potatoes and the herbs in the meatloaf. I need to buy more of this wine, it will be great to have on-hand all summer.

That Was Cava?

We drank an interesting cava yesterday - the Brut Nature from 1+1=3, which I got from the Champagne Warehouse. We've had this before and really liked it with food because of the complexity of its flavour. I didn't really get as much of a chance to appreciate it last time, though, because we had guests and I was concentrating on cooking. This time, I got to focus on and properly admire the cava - starting with its goat cheese scent, a grassy, creamy, slightly smoky aroma. This carried through into the flavour with the creaminess balanced by a grapefruit acidity. This cava wasn't like the sterotypical cava, it was much fuller and more challenging to the palate. I still think it's not a light sipper, definitely a 'go-with-food' wine.

End of the Weekend

Part of me was sad to see the end of the holiday weekend, but part of me was glad it was coming to a close because my husband was away in Italy with friends for the 4 days. I was excited for him to come home and put a bottle of prosecco - Vignarosa Amorino Brut Rosato from the Champagne Warehouse - in the fridge thinking he might want something Italian and bubbly as a nightcap. We sipped glasses as he recounted the adventures from the weekend. While I was sorry to have missed the trip, it sounded like they all had a great time. And I enjoyed the bubbles with his stories, marvelling again at how this prosecco is such a great balance of berry fruits and crisp dry-ness.

I'm also very excited because my husband arrived home bearing gifts from himself and from our friends, some new proseccos to try!! So very thoughtful of them!

Back to the Good Stuff

We had a kind of lazy weekend - I can't completely remember why or when, but we decided to have a bottle of champagne at some point. That completely fits with my theory behind champagne drinking...you don't need a good reason to open a bottle of champagne, just drink it because it's there to be enjoyed!!

I do remember the champagne, because it was very nice - G. Tribaut Cuvee de Reserve from the Champagne Warehouse. We've had this champagne before and really liked it. It held up to the memory, too - a very well-balanced wine, with just a touch of sweetness that didn't overwhelm or offend because of the perfect level of acidity of the wine, lacking any sour or bitter notes. It had a wonderful, grape-y flavour and tons of bubbles.

I should mention, too, that the Champagne Warehouse was recently named Best Online Champagne Retailer 2011, a well-deserved award. I've acquired some very nice champagnes and sparkling wines through them, and the team has always been helpful and lovely to work with. Cheers to them!

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.

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!

A Rosy Do-Over

When I ordered my last case of bubbles from the Champagne Warehouse, I ordered a few bottles that I had tried and liked in the past. In an unusal instance of forward planning, I read the tasting notes that they supplied for the Vignarosa Amorino Brut Rosato (they recommended seafood) when I put the bottle in the fridge, and headed out to Borough Market yesterday for some prawns to cook for dinner. They were a great match - cooked in my husband's homemade chimichurri sauce and accompanied by rice with spinach and broccoli - a relatively healthy meal!

The prosecco was wonderful with it, the rich berry flavours shining through the shellfish and mild spice of the meal. It was a fantastic reward for braving the craziness of the market on a Saturday morning (something I can't be bothered to do much anymore with the frenzy of tourists that has taken over!). It was also a great reminder of how much better an already fantastic wine can be when served with the right food.

Date Night - Jan 11

Since 'Date Night' fell on a Sunday, we spent the whole day doing fun things together and trying to make the most of a mild day. We also had our eye on the bottle of 1+1=3 pinot noir cava brut reserve that was in the fridge from the Champagne Warehouse. Since their tasting notes recommended it with ham, cheese, pizza, or pasta, we waited to eat a late lunch, then ordered in some nibbles and pizzas.

Like the rose we had just drunk from 1+1=3, the pinot noir was a beautiful, deep red colour tinged with a bit of pinky-orange, another very pretty wine. It smelled of raspberries and ripe plums - I didn't get too much of the floral scents that are described on the bottle. The flavour was a total surprise. It was completely dry and very rich, with just a touch of cranberry along with the other dark berry flavours, perfect with the tomato-acidity of the pizza. It also had very good bubbles throughout.

This was a completely different wine to the rose, but just as satisfying. For anyone who is sceptical about cava, this is the one to try - it's totally unlike all of the horrible stereotypes that cava has. This cava is a 'wine with bubbles', if I hadn't known it was cava I would have had a hard time placing where it was from.

Pretty in Pink

I received a mixed case of bubbles from the Champagne Warehouse yesterday and, as one does, I immediately put a bottle in the fridge - especially as I was keen to try the new range of cava that I ordered. My husband was pleased to see it when he got home, as we had an intense night of catching up on taped episodes of Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother in front of us.

We opened the 1+1=3 Brut Rose Seleccion, a blend of Trepat, Garnacha, and Pinot Noir grapes, to sip while we watched. Now, I know I'm not supposed to judge wines solely on their colour, but I have to say this was the most beautiful wine I have ever drunk. It was intense, glowing, and ruby red, the kind of colour you want to see in your best crystal rather than the regular old glasses we were using. It was a visually stunning wine, something you could appreciate for its beauty alone. On top of that, it smelled like a mix of wild strawberries and mint, like the perfect summer dessert. This cava was impressive even before I began to drink!

The flavours were fantastic, too. The wild berries continued along with a bit of sour cherry and a dry but ever-so-slighty-sweet finish. My husband and I decided it's the kind of sweet you get with an Italian soda - the juicy-fruity-refreshing kind of sweet - as opposed to the teeth-aching, 'how many tablespoons of sugar are in this' kind of sweet you get with an American soda.

The cava was more fizzy than bubbly, but the fizz lasted throughout so it was OK.

It's tempting to say this is the kind of thing you would drink (and drink lots of!) as an aperitif on a hot summer day. But to be honest, it was perfect last night, following a day of grey and rain at the end of a very long work-week. It cheered us up, it reminded us that the freshness of spring is ahead. So don't shelve it for the summer, enjoy it now!!

16 Years, 364.5 Days

It was our wedding anniversary this weekend - needless to say we drank a bit of bubbly : )

We had originally thought that we would go away for the weekend, but that didn't work out. First off, the start of half-term coincided with the date, so airfares were outrageous and there was nowhere we wanted to go THAT badly. Secondly, many of the hotel-restaurants in the UK that we would have gone to required two nights stay on the weekend, which gets difficult for us with animal care. We really only wanted to go away for one night, and just couldn't be bothered with their greediness. So we stayed home.

I cleaned the house all day on Friday until it was 'hotel clean' so that it would feel even better than having gone away. My reward for that was that my husband cooked a huge pan of chicken nachos with homemade guacamole, and served it with our last bottle of prosecco from the Champagne Warehouse - La Farra Rose Brut which is a mix of prosecco, chardonnay and raboso grapes. This prosecco was a wonderful surprise, mixing the crisp tang of pink grapefruit at the start with the smoothness of pears and orchard fruit on the finish. It had lots of fizz, as well, and really didn't last long because it was so good! For around £11, this is another little gem and real bargain from the Champagne Warehouse.

Since the prosecco disappeared well before we were ready to eat the chocolate cake I had made, my husband popped open one of the other bottles that was in the fridge so we could have a glass of bubbly with cake. He made me guess what it was...no problem there as it had that distinct yeasty-apple aroma of Maison Lenique 2005. We were good and kept it to a glass each so that there would be more for the actual anniversary...

Champagne Budget, Beer Taste

Friday came so quickly! I've been head-down most of the week between the scholarship programme I work with and getting my gardening coursework done. I spent all day yesterday drawing (and most of the night, too) so I was very happy to say 'yes' when my husband asked if I wanted some bubbles with dinner.

There was both a bottle of prosecco from the Champagne Warehouse on the champagne shelf as well as a bottle of champagne in the fridge. We had ordered in some Japanese food and thought the prosecco might be a better match with the sushi and rice, so we opened the La Farra Extra Dry made from 100% glera grapes, the traditional prosecco grape. It smelled like an orchard on opening, with a very strong pear scent. It was so yeasty, though, that it tasted like beer, something that didn't go away until the middle of my second glass when the fruit flavours started to come through. I would recommend drinking this prosecco slightly warmer than I like so that you can appreciate the flavours in the wine. It was very good with our food and went down quickly, but I haven't been able to get rid of the (probably unfair) impression that it tasted like something from a pub.

Mixed Feelings

Sunday was a busy day for me as I had to prepare for some meetings that I have today. And knowing the Tube strike would be going forward, I cooked not only a big pot of chilli to eat yesterday, but also a pork, apricot, and prune stew for this evening since I have no idea how long it will take me to get home tonight. But partway through the flurry of the day, I remembered that a while ago we had put another bottle of prosecco from the Champagne Warehouse on the champagne shelf. This one was La Jara's Pinot Grigio Rose Brut, something I was very keen to try because I often like pinot grigio wines, but had never had a sparkling one before. My husband and I opened the bottle, and sipped as we got on with our respective Sunday activities.

For those of you who are American and reading this, you'll understand when I say that it smelled like raspberry ginger-ale (which is one of my favourite non-alcoholic drinks, in diet form). Like the smell, it had a lot of berry flavours, but with a crisp acidity that cut through the sweetness. On first opening, the prosecco had loads of bubbles, too - but they didn't last through subsequent glasses. My first impression was very favourable, I thought this would be an incredibly refreshing thing to serve on a hot summer day. I was having mixed feelings by my second glass, though, as the bubbles disappeared and the acidity in the wine became sharp in my stomach. As we've commented about other champagnes in the past, this might be a 'one glass only' drink.

Power Pink

People who know me know that I'm not into girly, powder pink colours (or 'puff pink' as I call it). If I'm going to wear something pink or paint something pink, it's going to be bright, bold, in-your-face, power pink. I'm the same with rose wines. Don't give me something light and blush-coloured with an insipid taste. Give me something that's a beautiful, rich colour and that packs a wallop.

And that's exactly what the Champagne Warehouse did. We opened the Vignarosa Amorino Brut Rosato yesterday and were absolutely impressed with it. This prosecco is a blend of raboso, cabernet, and merlot grapes, which give it a deep pink colour and even more depth in the flavour - it's a wine with bubbles rather than a sparkling wine, and plenty of them. It's surprisingly dry, with loads of tart, wild strawberry flavour. It was wonderful to sip on its own, but went equally well with our homemade mac and cheese with bacon. At just shy of £11 per bottle, it feels like a real bargain, too!!

I'm loathe to recommend this too highly, as I both don't want to drive prices up and don't want the Champagne Warehouse to run out before I get around to ordering more. But it really is too good to keep it a secret...

The non-Champagne Warehouse

I had exciting news from the Champagne Warehouse earlier this week - they're now stocking a range of proseccos which all look very nice!! I made an early order for a case of 6 different bottles which arrived on Thursday, and one immediately went on the champagne shelf in the fridge.

We opened the bottle of Vignarosa Prosecco Extra Dry, made from 100% glera grapes (the traditional 'prosecco' grape) yesterday and really enjoyed it. It had a very green smell, like a combination of fresh cut grass after the rain topped off with the slightest touch of passion fruit. The flavour matches the smell - very crisp and citrus-y, with a little bit of spearmint or wintergreen keeping it clean all the way through. It was a very easy drinker, although probably most suitable as an aperitif because it was so light. The chocolate cake that I had made totally overwhelmed it, but it was easy enough to eat and drink the two things separately.

We've put the rose from this maker on the champagne shelf so we can try that next...