A while back, Jancis Robinson wrote up her top sparkling picks for the holidays in the FT. One of her recommendations appealed to me - the Eric Rodez Cuvee des Grands Vintages - because the winemaker used to work at Krug. How can you go wrong with that?
I tracked a bottle down from Gauntley's, and opened it last night to go with the lemon-caper chicken with broccoli risotto that my husband made. It was a very good match with the food, the 60/40 pinot noir/chardonnay blend of the wine making it weighty enough for a meal. It has a wonderful toffee-apple aroma and taste, a big, full mouthful of flavour. There are two drawbacks, though. First, it goes sour just after you swallow it, although for only a second, and then leaves a lovely, honey finish. Second - NOT ENOUGH BUBBLES.
To all of the sparkling winemakers out there - if you're going to make a wine with bubbles, please make sure they last through the glass. And if you're writing about wine with bubbles, please tell your readers when the bubbles don't hold up. It's so disappointing to spend £40+ on a bottle of bubbly only to be drinking something practically still after 15 minutes.
Showing posts with label gauntley's. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gauntley's. Show all posts
Friday, 24 December 2010
Tuesday, 21 December 2010
Let it Snow...
My husband is supposed to be away this week with a friend of ours, so I stocked up on some bubbles to enjoy while I was home alone. But the snow scuppered their plans, the flights were cancelled, and they're now here with me, helping me tuck into my champagne stash.
On Monday, we popped open a bottle of Francoise Bedel's Entre Ciel Et Terre. It is a predominantly pinot meunier champagne, being a 72/14/14 split of pinot meunier, chardonnay, and pinot noir. I bought this on-line from Gauntley's, having gone there to buy something else, but recognising this bottle from a trip to Epernay last year. I can't remember if I actually drank this champagne when I was there since I didn't blog about it, but it had a very distinctive label that caught my eye. I will remember it now. It started off well, having a slight whiff and taste of brine that opened into more honey-and-apple flavours. But the bubbles didn't last through the glass, a big disappointment for me. I will have to pass the next time this bottle catches my eye.
Last night, the guys were drinking martinis while I opened a bottle of Ridgeview Merret Bloomsbury 2008 that I bought from Ocado. This maker has been racking up awards, including beating several big-name champagne houses to be named best sparkling wine of the year by Decanter magazine. The Bloomsbury is a chardonnay, pinot noir, pinot meunier blend and I can see why the maker is winning awards. The wine had a clean floral aroma - a little bit like freesias - followed by a very pleasing grapefuit taste. It also had loads of bubbles, and it will be interesting to see how they hold up in the capped bottle in the fridge. Unlike some of the other English sparklers that I've had, this one wasn't distinctive because it had a strong or unusual taste. This one was much more polished and I think I would be hard-pressed to distinguish it from a French champagne. We'll have to include a bottle in our next blind tastings! I'm looking forward to trying more from this maker, and considering the bottles are in the low-£20 range, they won't break the bank.
On Monday, we popped open a bottle of Francoise Bedel's Entre Ciel Et Terre. It is a predominantly pinot meunier champagne, being a 72/14/14 split of pinot meunier, chardonnay, and pinot noir. I bought this on-line from Gauntley's, having gone there to buy something else, but recognising this bottle from a trip to Epernay last year. I can't remember if I actually drank this champagne when I was there since I didn't blog about it, but it had a very distinctive label that caught my eye. I will remember it now. It started off well, having a slight whiff and taste of brine that opened into more honey-and-apple flavours. But the bubbles didn't last through the glass, a big disappointment for me. I will have to pass the next time this bottle catches my eye.
Last night, the guys were drinking martinis while I opened a bottle of Ridgeview Merret Bloomsbury 2008 that I bought from Ocado. This maker has been racking up awards, including beating several big-name champagne houses to be named best sparkling wine of the year by Decanter magazine. The Bloomsbury is a chardonnay, pinot noir, pinot meunier blend and I can see why the maker is winning awards. The wine had a clean floral aroma - a little bit like freesias - followed by a very pleasing grapefuit taste. It also had loads of bubbles, and it will be interesting to see how they hold up in the capped bottle in the fridge. Unlike some of the other English sparklers that I've had, this one wasn't distinctive because it had a strong or unusual taste. This one was much more polished and I think I would be hard-pressed to distinguish it from a French champagne. We'll have to include a bottle in our next blind tastings! I'm looking forward to trying more from this maker, and considering the bottles are in the low-£20 range, they won't break the bank.
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