We did it - we finally drank the last bottle of Philizot et Fils , the dreaded numero 2. My husband put it in the fridge figuring that we could drink it with some ribs that he made. We wouldn't ordinarily drink champagne with ribs, but thought the food would squelch some of the unpleasantness out of the numero 2.
My husband poured small glasses while we were cooking. To our surprise, the numero 2 was surprisingly drink-able. We're now left wondering if we got two bad bottles (improbable, but not impossible) or if we had simply steeled ourselves against the unusual taste of this champagne. We also agreed that, while this bottle wasn't as hard work as the previous ones, it's still not a champagne that we like. It smelled strongly of play-doh, brine, and sharp green herbs and tasted less like the black pepper of the first bottles, but still very bitter. It was OK with the ribs, but completely ruined the lovely sweetness and chocolately richness of the Green and Black's butterscotch eggs we had for dessert - not a go-with-chocolate drink!
I'm relieved to be done with this - not a feeling I often get with champagne!!
Showing posts with label philizot et fils. Show all posts
Showing posts with label philizot et fils. Show all posts
Thursday, 3 March 2011
Sunday, 7 November 2010
Bonfire Night
Last night was bonfire night here in the UK - and since our dog is terrified of fireworks, we planned a nice evening inside with the TV on and lots of noise to distract her from what was happening outside. As part of that, I made a nice, satisfying meal of turkey meatloaf and roasted veg, including some Jerusalem artichokes that I dug out of my garden earlier in the day. The house smelled amazing, which did more to distract the dog than the TV noise!!
We debated on what to drink with it - red or bubbles - and for some reason, I was leaning toward bubbles. So we opened the Philizot et Fils numero 2 with some trepidation. It was OK, definitely less peppery than the first bottle we drank. It smelled of a combination of pencil eraser and sourdough bread - a raw, yeasty sort of smell. It still tastes very herbal, but this bottle had a sweeter finish than the first, which made it more drinkable. It's a go-with-food champagne, it's still much too harsh-tasting to sip on its own.
We debated on what to drink with it - red or bubbles - and for some reason, I was leaning toward bubbles. So we opened the Philizot et Fils numero 2 with some trepidation. It was OK, definitely less peppery than the first bottle we drank. It smelled of a combination of pencil eraser and sourdough bread - a raw, yeasty sort of smell. It still tastes very herbal, but this bottle had a sweeter finish than the first, which made it more drinkable. It's a go-with-food champagne, it's still much too harsh-tasting to sip on its own.
Thursday, 16 September 2010
Getting Over the Hump
It's been a long week this week, I don't know what it is. Yesterday seemed particularly long, and when my husband got home from work, I mentioned to him that I wouldn't mind a glass of wine with dinner. He eyed the bottle on the champagne shelf - then pulled a face when I told him it was our last bottle of Philizot et Fils numero 3. We both still have bad memories of the numero 2 (of which two bottles remain, unloved, at the bottom of a box in the utility room).
We opened it anyway, and then patted ourselves on the back because it's a perfectly drinkable champagne. It was lovely to stand outside sipping while my husband grilled our chicken. It was even better to drink while we plucked ripe cherry tomatoes out of the garden and dipped them in the most delicious pesto from Romeo Jones. It definitely helped us get over 'hump day', the rest of the week should just fly by now.
We opened it anyway, and then patted ourselves on the back because it's a perfectly drinkable champagne. It was lovely to stand outside sipping while my husband grilled our chicken. It was even better to drink while we plucked ripe cherry tomatoes out of the garden and dipped them in the most delicious pesto from Romeo Jones. It definitely helped us get over 'hump day', the rest of the week should just fly by now.
Monday, 6 September 2010
BYOBB Sept'10
We held this year's second round of Bring Your Own Bottle of Bubbly - BYOBB (TM) yesterday. Like the one in May, it was good fun, great company, and a lot of yummy bubbles. We re-tasted some of the sparklers from May, as well as a few new ones. The ground-rules remained the same as in May: non-vintage bubbles, blind tasting, and marks out of 10 points for each bottle, with 10 being the best you've ever drunk and 1 being undrinkable. I will report on the order in which we drank, although please keep in mind we didn't find out until the end of the afternoon what each bottle was.
The first bottle was a re-run from May, Philizot et Fils numero 1. This champagne had a slightly poorer showing this time around, receiving marks of 5s to 7s (compared to 6s and 7s in May), and with tasters commenting that it was 'fine, but characterless' and that it had no finish. The total score was 38/70, leaving it in 5th place out of 6 bottles.
The next bottle was a new entry, Inflorescence by Bouchard, which I had drunk before and thought my tasters might enjoy. I was right, as the champagne received consistent marks of 6s and 7s across the group, who agreed that it was a 'fresh, well-made' champagne. The total score was 45/70, placing 2nd out of 6 bottles.
Our third bottle was another champagne that we had tried in May and that had scored toward the lower end of the spectrum then. Charles Ellner Brut Integral gathered marks ranging from 3s and 4s to a 6. Compared to the previous bottles we had opened, this champagne smelled almost medicinal, with one taster saying it 'smelled like a hospital' (funnily enough, the same person gave it the '6' ranking). By the end of the afternoon, more than half of this bottle remained undrunk (and now awaits its final fate in my fridge as an ingredient in champagne risotto), it just couldn't compete in the line-up we had. It placed last out of the 6 bottles with a total score of 28/70.
Our fourth bottle was a huge hit after the disappointment of the third bottle, with tasters commenting on the 'strong bubbles that evaporate quickly in your mouth' and the full-flavour of the champagne being more like a 'wine with bubbles'. Billecart-Salmon Brut Blanc de Blancs, was another re-run from May (and a regular in my fridge!). Despite the positive comments and a quickly-emptied bottle, it scored less well than I would have expected with marks ranging from 4s to 8s (it was our top-scorer in May, receiving all 7s and 8s). The total score was 43/70, placing this champagne 3rd out of 6 bottles.
The only rose of the day came next, another new entrant in the field. This was Champagne Thienot Brut Rose, a fruity, bubbly, luscious wine that also disappeared from our glasses very quickly with tasters commenting that it was 'very drinkable'. It scored mostly 6s, book-ended with one 5 and one 7 ranking. With a total score of 42/70, it placed 4th out of the 6 bottles. It's also worth noting that this champagne was a particularly good match with the apple and blackberry pie we had for dessert.
At this point, we noted that while we had so far drunk some very good sparklers, none of them had really wow'ed us as a group. That ended with our final bottle, which had loads and loads of bubbles, and 'flavours of apricot and lychee' - a totally different taste and style to all of the other bottles we had opened. Camel Valley Brut, the only non-French sparkler in the group, topped the tables as a new entrant with rankings of 5s to 8s and a total score of 47/70. This comes with a caveat, though - some of our tasters felt that where they could drink some of the other high-scorers throughout an evening or throughout the year, the distinct flavour of this wine limited its appeal to a single glass as an aperitif, or possibly as a warm weather sparkler. So even though it scored well, I ended up finishing the bottle while I was washing up after everyone left (yet still managed not to break any of my Billecart-Salmon-branded glassware)!
(NB While I was typing up my notes, I noticed that the Camel Valley was a 2007 vintage, so technically should be disqualified from this year's BYOBB competition which was to include only non-vintage bubbles!)
My thanks to everyone who came for bringing bottles, eating almost everything I cooked, giving honest feedback, and helping to take notes and clean up! Cheers!!
The first bottle was a re-run from May, Philizot et Fils numero 1. This champagne had a slightly poorer showing this time around, receiving marks of 5s to 7s (compared to 6s and 7s in May), and with tasters commenting that it was 'fine, but characterless' and that it had no finish. The total score was 38/70, leaving it in 5th place out of 6 bottles.
The next bottle was a new entry, Inflorescence by Bouchard, which I had drunk before and thought my tasters might enjoy. I was right, as the champagne received consistent marks of 6s and 7s across the group, who agreed that it was a 'fresh, well-made' champagne. The total score was 45/70, placing 2nd out of 6 bottles.
Our third bottle was another champagne that we had tried in May and that had scored toward the lower end of the spectrum then. Charles Ellner Brut Integral gathered marks ranging from 3s and 4s to a 6. Compared to the previous bottles we had opened, this champagne smelled almost medicinal, with one taster saying it 'smelled like a hospital' (funnily enough, the same person gave it the '6' ranking). By the end of the afternoon, more than half of this bottle remained undrunk (and now awaits its final fate in my fridge as an ingredient in champagne risotto), it just couldn't compete in the line-up we had. It placed last out of the 6 bottles with a total score of 28/70.
Our fourth bottle was a huge hit after the disappointment of the third bottle, with tasters commenting on the 'strong bubbles that evaporate quickly in your mouth' and the full-flavour of the champagne being more like a 'wine with bubbles'. Billecart-Salmon Brut Blanc de Blancs, was another re-run from May (and a regular in my fridge!). Despite the positive comments and a quickly-emptied bottle, it scored less well than I would have expected with marks ranging from 4s to 8s (it was our top-scorer in May, receiving all 7s and 8s). The total score was 43/70, placing this champagne 3rd out of 6 bottles.
The only rose of the day came next, another new entrant in the field. This was Champagne Thienot Brut Rose, a fruity, bubbly, luscious wine that also disappeared from our glasses very quickly with tasters commenting that it was 'very drinkable'. It scored mostly 6s, book-ended with one 5 and one 7 ranking. With a total score of 42/70, it placed 4th out of the 6 bottles. It's also worth noting that this champagne was a particularly good match with the apple and blackberry pie we had for dessert.
At this point, we noted that while we had so far drunk some very good sparklers, none of them had really wow'ed us as a group. That ended with our final bottle, which had loads and loads of bubbles, and 'flavours of apricot and lychee' - a totally different taste and style to all of the other bottles we had opened. Camel Valley Brut, the only non-French sparkler in the group, topped the tables as a new entrant with rankings of 5s to 8s and a total score of 47/70. This comes with a caveat, though - some of our tasters felt that where they could drink some of the other high-scorers throughout an evening or throughout the year, the distinct flavour of this wine limited its appeal to a single glass as an aperitif, or possibly as a warm weather sparkler. So even though it scored well, I ended up finishing the bottle while I was washing up after everyone left (yet still managed not to break any of my Billecart-Salmon-branded glassware)!
(NB While I was typing up my notes, I noticed that the Camel Valley was a 2007 vintage, so technically should be disqualified from this year's BYOBB competition which was to include only non-vintage bubbles!)
My thanks to everyone who came for bringing bottles, eating almost everything I cooked, giving honest feedback, and helping to take notes and clean up! Cheers!!
Wednesday, 21 July 2010
Summer Cold
I'm sick - my second cold this summer, which is just so unfair considering how horrible I feel and how nice it is outside. It's one thing to have a cold in the winter when everyone is snuffling and sneezing, but a totally different story when everyone around you is healthy and tanned (well, we really only get 'less-white' here in the UK, but still...).
When it turned 7 pm last night and no word from my husband on his eta, I had finally had enough of feeling ill and sorry for myself. So I opened the bottle of Philizot et Fils numero 3 from 3-D Wines that was chilling in the fridge. It was a nice distraction from my misery, and my husband also seemed to enjoy having a cold glass of bubbles in the garden after a long day at work. The champagne was richer and more full of apple flavours than I remember, but perhaps that's my bunged-up nose playing tricks on me...
When it turned 7 pm last night and no word from my husband on his eta, I had finally had enough of feeling ill and sorry for myself. So I opened the bottle of Philizot et Fils numero 3 from 3-D Wines that was chilling in the fridge. It was a nice distraction from my misery, and my husband also seemed to enjoy having a cold glass of bubbles in the garden after a long day at work. The champagne was richer and more full of apple flavours than I remember, but perhaps that's my bunged-up nose playing tricks on me...
Monday, 24 May 2010
BYOBB May'10
I have been blessed with a very thoughtful and helpful circle of friends. They're the sort of people who, when you invite them over, always ask what they can bring, and will even call you on the day to make sure there's nothing you missed that they can't pick up on the way over. I always want to tell them something useful to bring, but a lot of the time, I just can't think of anything.
Then I had this idea during the year of bubbles. It was rather forward, really. But I thought, why not invite a group of people over for some fantastic food and ask each family-group, up-front, to bring their own bottle of bubbly that we can open and try during the meal? Thus, the Bring Your Own Bottle Of Bubbly - BYOBB (TM)- event was established.
The ground rule has always been that what you bring doesn't have to be expensive or name brand, just a wine with bubbles that interests or excites you. The first year (2008), we were a group of about 10 people, and tried everything from cava to English sparkling wine to Billecart-Salmon rose. We didn't really rank it, just drank and ate a lot, and had a very nice afternoon.
Last year, we stepped things up a notch. We had about 16 people over, and we decided to blind-taste and rank everything we drank. It was a bit too big, to be honest, and because I didn't blog about it, I shamefully can't remember all of the different wines that we drank. I do remember that the favourites of the day were vintage Krug and Ruinart, with a surprisingly strong showing from Biddenden, an English sparkling wine.
This year, the BYOBB board decided that we needed to get back to a smaller group and do some serious (blind) tasting of non-vintage bubbles. And while we unfortunately were missing two guests due to illness, Mother Nature smiled on the six of us who got together on Sunday as we sat in the garden in the glorious sunshine!!
To start, I had been asked by The Champagne Warehouse to taste a bottle of Charles Ellner Brut Integral, a zero dosage champagne. This was a good aperitif, as the flavour of the wine was not very strong but held up to the mango gazpacho and prosciutto/melon/rocket rolls that I had made. Any stronger food and this champagne would be a bit lost, though. I was a little disappointed with the bubbles of this champagne (a common complaint for me throughout the day). This champagne scored an even mix of 4s and 5s out of 10 (10 being the best you've ever drunk, 1 being undrinkable), with a total score of 27/60.
As we were waiting for late arrivals, we moved on to the Philizot et Fils numero 2, a surprise entrant that my husband threw into the mix, as he was wondering what other people would make of this champagne. Thankfully, this bottle was nothing like the first one we opened and lacked the strong ground pepper flavour that made it hard to drink. One of our friends liked it more than the rest of the group, saying that it was fresh and flavoursome. Scores ranged from 4 to 7 out of 10, with a total score of 28/60.
The next bottle we opened was the Philizot et Fils numero 1. We served it with a spinach, chorizo, and potato tortilla and whipped salt cod with bread and crackers. Everyone agreed that this was a light, fresh champagne and marks moved up to 6s and 7s out of 10, with a total score of 41/60.
While I was in the kitchen preparing the next dish, a grapefruit, avocado, and pomegranite salad topped with lemon-marinated shrimp, my husband came in with the next glass of champagne, saying "this is just your thing". It turned out to be Billecart-Salmon brut blanc de blancs, a crisp, yeasty, wonderful champagne (even blind-tasting, my husband knows what I'll like). This was the top-scorer of the day, earning all 7s and 8s, with a total score of 47/60.
The final bottle was opened over our dual desserts of apple and rhubarb crumble and chocolate pate with chocolate-hazelnut shortbread. This wine was a puzzler - it was the only one that had enough bubbles for me. It had intense aromas and a depth of flavour. It defintely wasn't French, but none of us could place it, or identify the kind of grapes. It turned out to be a Russian sparkling wine from Abrau-Dyurso, which is a blend of some traditional champagne grapes and other grapes like riesling. Because it was such an unusual and interesting wine, it scored 5s and 6s, with a total score of 34/60.
It was a little surprising to me that our top two bubbles were French blanc de blancs, but I guess nothing beats a well-made and fresh sparkler on a hot summer day!
Along with thanking my friends for bringing their wines and for spending the afternoon drinking, eating, and ranking with us, I do have to thank my 'corporate sponsors':
Billecart-Salmon, for providing glasses, chilling buckets, and aprons and
The Champagne Warehouse for providing the tasting bottle and some tasting notecards.
We'll be repeating this tasting with the same wines later in the year, and it will be interesting to see if and how our opinions of these wines change with time!
Then I had this idea during the year of bubbles. It was rather forward, really. But I thought, why not invite a group of people over for some fantastic food and ask each family-group, up-front, to bring their own bottle of bubbly that we can open and try during the meal? Thus, the Bring Your Own Bottle Of Bubbly - BYOBB (TM)- event was established.
The ground rule has always been that what you bring doesn't have to be expensive or name brand, just a wine with bubbles that interests or excites you. The first year (2008), we were a group of about 10 people, and tried everything from cava to English sparkling wine to Billecart-Salmon rose. We didn't really rank it, just drank and ate a lot, and had a very nice afternoon.
Last year, we stepped things up a notch. We had about 16 people over, and we decided to blind-taste and rank everything we drank. It was a bit too big, to be honest, and because I didn't blog about it, I shamefully can't remember all of the different wines that we drank. I do remember that the favourites of the day were vintage Krug and Ruinart, with a surprisingly strong showing from Biddenden, an English sparkling wine.
This year, the BYOBB board decided that we needed to get back to a smaller group and do some serious (blind) tasting of non-vintage bubbles. And while we unfortunately were missing two guests due to illness, Mother Nature smiled on the six of us who got together on Sunday as we sat in the garden in the glorious sunshine!!
To start, I had been asked by The Champagne Warehouse to taste a bottle of Charles Ellner Brut Integral, a zero dosage champagne. This was a good aperitif, as the flavour of the wine was not very strong but held up to the mango gazpacho and prosciutto/melon/rocket rolls that I had made. Any stronger food and this champagne would be a bit lost, though. I was a little disappointed with the bubbles of this champagne (a common complaint for me throughout the day). This champagne scored an even mix of 4s and 5s out of 10 (10 being the best you've ever drunk, 1 being undrinkable), with a total score of 27/60.
As we were waiting for late arrivals, we moved on to the Philizot et Fils numero 2, a surprise entrant that my husband threw into the mix, as he was wondering what other people would make of this champagne. Thankfully, this bottle was nothing like the first one we opened and lacked the strong ground pepper flavour that made it hard to drink. One of our friends liked it more than the rest of the group, saying that it was fresh and flavoursome. Scores ranged from 4 to 7 out of 10, with a total score of 28/60.
The next bottle we opened was the Philizot et Fils numero 1. We served it with a spinach, chorizo, and potato tortilla and whipped salt cod with bread and crackers. Everyone agreed that this was a light, fresh champagne and marks moved up to 6s and 7s out of 10, with a total score of 41/60.
While I was in the kitchen preparing the next dish, a grapefruit, avocado, and pomegranite salad topped with lemon-marinated shrimp, my husband came in with the next glass of champagne, saying "this is just your thing". It turned out to be Billecart-Salmon brut blanc de blancs, a crisp, yeasty, wonderful champagne (even blind-tasting, my husband knows what I'll like). This was the top-scorer of the day, earning all 7s and 8s, with a total score of 47/60.
The final bottle was opened over our dual desserts of apple and rhubarb crumble and chocolate pate with chocolate-hazelnut shortbread. This wine was a puzzler - it was the only one that had enough bubbles for me. It had intense aromas and a depth of flavour. It defintely wasn't French, but none of us could place it, or identify the kind of grapes. It turned out to be a Russian sparkling wine from Abrau-Dyurso, which is a blend of some traditional champagne grapes and other grapes like riesling. Because it was such an unusual and interesting wine, it scored 5s and 6s, with a total score of 34/60.
It was a little surprising to me that our top two bubbles were French blanc de blancs, but I guess nothing beats a well-made and fresh sparkler on a hot summer day!
Along with thanking my friends for bringing their wines and for spending the afternoon drinking, eating, and ranking with us, I do have to thank my 'corporate sponsors':
Billecart-Salmon, for providing glasses, chilling buckets, and aprons and
The Champagne Warehouse for providing the tasting bottle and some tasting notecards.
We'll be repeating this tasting with the same wines later in the year, and it will be interesting to see if and how our opinions of these wines change with time!
Tuesday, 18 May 2010
Date Night - May 10
Sunday was date night, except since it was the weekend, we made it date day. We had lunch at the pub that we tried to eat dinner at last month, and were very glad we did!
My husband was drinking beer, so I won't report on his meal. I, on the other hand, started my meal with a glass of prosecco, De Stefani gran cuvee extra dry, to go with my starter of gambas, mussels, and clams with chickpeas and chorizo. It was a great pairing, the prosecco offering lots of bubbles and sour apples to offset the tomato-y spiciness of my food. It's been a while since I've drunk prosecco, and I forget how nice they can be.
With my main course of pea, broad bean, mint and goat cheese risotto (very more-ish!) I switched over to a glass of the pub's house champagne. I have no idea what brand it was, but again, it was a very good match with the food, offering a richness that the prosecco lacked and that the cheese in the risotto needed.
I thought I was finished with the bubbles at that point, but later in the day, my husband popped open a bottle of the Philizot & Fils numero 3 that we got from 3-D Wines - my bubbly habits seem to have worn off on him!! I had a glass of that to finish off what was a very relaxing afternoon, and am looking forward to closing out the bottle later tonight with dinner.
My husband was drinking beer, so I won't report on his meal. I, on the other hand, started my meal with a glass of prosecco, De Stefani gran cuvee extra dry, to go with my starter of gambas, mussels, and clams with chickpeas and chorizo. It was a great pairing, the prosecco offering lots of bubbles and sour apples to offset the tomato-y spiciness of my food. It's been a while since I've drunk prosecco, and I forget how nice they can be.
With my main course of pea, broad bean, mint and goat cheese risotto (very more-ish!) I switched over to a glass of the pub's house champagne. I have no idea what brand it was, but again, it was a very good match with the food, offering a richness that the prosecco lacked and that the cheese in the risotto needed.
I thought I was finished with the bubbles at that point, but later in the day, my husband popped open a bottle of the Philizot & Fils numero 3 that we got from 3-D Wines - my bubbly habits seem to have worn off on him!! I had a glass of that to finish off what was a very relaxing afternoon, and am looking forward to closing out the bottle later tonight with dinner.
Friday, 14 May 2010
numero 2, part 2
Wanting to give the brut numero 2 from Philizot & Fils a fair chance, I tried some again last night with my favourite stand-by dinner, home-made Thai green curry. I wish I could say that the food really helped this champagne, but it was still overwhelming with ground pepper flavour. I kept looking for something else, some more depth, or something on the finish, but was left disappointed. This champagne is really hard work to drink.
Now I'm simply hoping that we got a bad bottle, that the next bottle we open will be different. This is the risk of buying multiple bottles of something you haven't tried before.
Do get in touch, though, if this champagne sounds like your kind of thing, as I'll be surprised if we make it through the other three bottles...
Now I'm simply hoping that we got a bad bottle, that the next bottle we open will be different. This is the risk of buying multiple bottles of something you haven't tried before.
Do get in touch, though, if this champagne sounds like your kind of thing, as I'll be surprised if we make it through the other three bottles...
Tuesday, 11 May 2010
1-2-3
By Sunday, the dog was doing much better, so my husband and I decided to do a tasting of some new champagne that we got through 3-D Wines. They were offering a mixed case of champagne from Philizot & Fils which sounded interesting, as they make low dosage champagnes. We tried all three that came in the case to compare and contrast the differences.
The first, the brut numero 1, was 100% chardonnay. It was a very drinkable champagne, light and fruity with good bubbles, and a good start to the tasting, although not a very interesting or memorable champagne.
The second, the brut numero 2, was a mix of pinot noir and pinot meunier. It smelled and tasted like freshly ground pepper, which made it interesting, but was slightly off-putting. This champagne is not a sipper and should be served with food, so we decided to put it back in the fridge to try again with a meal. This champagne we will remember, although I'm still not sure I really like it...
The third, the brut numero 3, was a mix of pinot noir, pinot meunier, and chardonnay. It smelled like fresh olive oil and tasted of honeysuckle, an unusual but very nice combination. This was easily our favourite of the three champagnes!
The first, the brut numero 1, was 100% chardonnay. It was a very drinkable champagne, light and fruity with good bubbles, and a good start to the tasting, although not a very interesting or memorable champagne.
The second, the brut numero 2, was a mix of pinot noir and pinot meunier. It smelled and tasted like freshly ground pepper, which made it interesting, but was slightly off-putting. This champagne is not a sipper and should be served with food, so we decided to put it back in the fridge to try again with a meal. This champagne we will remember, although I'm still not sure I really like it...
The third, the brut numero 3, was a mix of pinot noir, pinot meunier, and chardonnay. It smelled like fresh olive oil and tasted of honeysuckle, an unusual but very nice combination. This was easily our favourite of the three champagnes!
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