Showing posts with label krug. Show all posts
Showing posts with label krug. Show all posts
Wednesday, 29 December 2010
Christmas Morning
The very first gift that I opened on Christmas morning was waiting for me in the fridge - a bottle of Krug Clos du Mesnil 1990 (thank you!!). What a wonderful way to start Christmas day!! We popped the cork and sipped it while we opened the rest of our gifts. It remains one of my favourite champagnes, with flavours of nougat and toasted, buttered bread (perfect for breakfast!). It also had a fantastic amount of bubbles, which almost made me forget that this champagne is 20 years old. Surprisingly for me, it was the only champagne we drank on Christmas, but it's so good that it's hard to follow with anything else.
Friday, 24 December 2010
More Bubbles Please
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.
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.
Tuesday, 17 February 2009
Valentine's Day
I'm not a big fan of Valentine's Day. I really don't like the idea that on a certain day of the year, certain industries have decided that I'm supposed to spend a lot of money professing my undying love for someone who I love equally as much on every other day of the year. It's so much harder to express it consistently throughout the year, it feels like a bit of a cop-out to nominate a single day to show love and let people off the hook for the other 364 days.
On the plus side, it is a great excuse to pop the cork on a bottle of bubbly. Since my husband and I pretty much otherwise ignore Valentine's Day, we decided to splurge on our bottle, and bought the Louise 1990 from Pommery, a swish champagne from a wonder year.
The champagne was the most beautiful colour when we poured it - such a dark amber-yellow that it was almost salmon. My husband dubbed it 'sunset-coloured'. It was also everything that you expect a very good bottle of champagne to be - smooth and creamy, with very fine bubbles and a sweet-apple flavour. Not a trace of bitterness, and stood up equally well to our grilled steak, apple pie, and chocolate truffles.
But can you sense that I wasn't over the moon?
Don't get me wrong, this is a really delicious champagne. But at the price point, I prefer Krug champagnes, which tend to have a more biscuity/yeasty flavour. And under the price point, I could have bought two bottles of Billecart-Salmon rose and been equally as happy.
To balance it all out, the next day when my husband and I were at the supermarket, we picked up a £5 bottle of sparkling wine from Chile. As always, I'll let you know what that's like when we drink it!
On the plus side, it is a great excuse to pop the cork on a bottle of bubbly. Since my husband and I pretty much otherwise ignore Valentine's Day, we decided to splurge on our bottle, and bought the Louise 1990 from Pommery, a swish champagne from a wonder year.
The champagne was the most beautiful colour when we poured it - such a dark amber-yellow that it was almost salmon. My husband dubbed it 'sunset-coloured'. It was also everything that you expect a very good bottle of champagne to be - smooth and creamy, with very fine bubbles and a sweet-apple flavour. Not a trace of bitterness, and stood up equally well to our grilled steak, apple pie, and chocolate truffles.
But can you sense that I wasn't over the moon?
Don't get me wrong, this is a really delicious champagne. But at the price point, I prefer Krug champagnes, which tend to have a more biscuity/yeasty flavour. And under the price point, I could have bought two bottles of Billecart-Salmon rose and been equally as happy.
To balance it all out, the next day when my husband and I were at the supermarket, we picked up a £5 bottle of sparkling wine from Chile. As always, I'll let you know what that's like when we drink it!
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