Like much of the world, I watched the Royal Wedding yesterday. I had joked with some friends that I would have a glass of something bubbly with me right from the start, but to be honest, it was a little early for me. So I drank my Diet Coke through the ceremony, and then caved in and opened the bubbles for the balcony scenes later in the day. I toasted the happy couple with an American sparkler, Roederer Estate's Quartet, a 70/30 chardonnay/pinot noir blend. It is a favourite of mine, and had toasted nut aromas, biscuity flavours, and lots and lots of bubbles. I got this bottle from Ocado for £20, and I have to say, it was good value.
Kate and Wills served their wedding guests non-vintage Pol Roger, which wouldn't have been my first choice. While the champagne house has a long-standing relationship with the UK (and with Winston Churchill in particular), it surprised me that the couple went with a French champagne. With all of the talk on the news coverage about the wedding day showcasing 'brand GB' and with discussions of the food menu centred on how much of it was locally sourced or sourced from one of the Royal estates, you would have thought they'd serve British bubbles!!
Showing posts with label quartet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label quartet. Show all posts
Saturday, 30 April 2011
Monday, 1 March 2010
Going For Gold
I have to be honest - I haven't watched much of the Olympics this year. The late viewing and poor selection of events just didn't add up for me. I mean, really, how much curling can you watch in the wee hours?
But the BBC pulled through for me with men's ice hockey (shame they couldn't have shown the women's hockey, too!). And we were lined up properly last night for the gold medal match between the USA and Canada with a big tray of nachos with guacamole and, in true patriotic spirit, our last bottle of Roederer Estate's Quartet from Majestic.
The wine, as always, was impeccable. Our team's performance, unfortunately, was not, and the Canadians took home a well-deserved gold medal. It left me wondering if the Canadians make any decent sparkling wines, something I'll have to look into!
But the BBC pulled through for me with men's ice hockey (shame they couldn't have shown the women's hockey, too!). And we were lined up properly last night for the gold medal match between the USA and Canada with a big tray of nachos with guacamole and, in true patriotic spirit, our last bottle of Roederer Estate's Quartet from Majestic.
The wine, as always, was impeccable. Our team's performance, unfortunately, was not, and the Canadians took home a well-deserved gold medal. It left me wondering if the Canadians make any decent sparkling wines, something I'll have to look into!
Monday, 15 February 2010
A Two-Bottle Weekend
We had a lot of stuff to do around the house this weekend and we also had a couple of bottles of bubbly in the fridge, so we weren't shy with it.
After a full day of chores on Saturday, I made an easy dinner of Thai green curry which we served with one of our favourites - the Quartet from Roeder Estate, which I had purchased as part of our mixed case from Majestic. Compared to the other wines we've been drinking lately, the Quartet was a little sweeter than I had remembered on first opening, but this was nicely balanced by the curry. As always, this one didn't disappoint.
I had ordered some groceries to be delivered from Ocado on Saturday evening, and to get my order up to the minimum I had added in a bottle of Castillo Perelada Cava Reserva. It's been a while since I've had a good cava - while I freely drink them in Spain, I always worry about how sweet they're going to be when I see them in the UK so tend to avoid them here. This particular cava is a blend of macabeo, xarel-lo, and parellada grapes, the first two of which I quite enjoy as still wines, so I thought I'd give this cava a go.
We opened it as we were unwinding at the end of the day on Sunday. It tasted a bit like a lemon drop candy - slightly lemon-tart but also slightly sweet on the finish - not great but I could live with it. What was more disappointing were the bubbles, which started strong but had no staying power, so my glass was flat before I finished it. At less than £10 for a bottle it was a good experiment and it reminded me to be more adventurous when it comes to buying cava.
After a full day of chores on Saturday, I made an easy dinner of Thai green curry which we served with one of our favourites - the Quartet from Roeder Estate, which I had purchased as part of our mixed case from Majestic. Compared to the other wines we've been drinking lately, the Quartet was a little sweeter than I had remembered on first opening, but this was nicely balanced by the curry. As always, this one didn't disappoint.
I had ordered some groceries to be delivered from Ocado on Saturday evening, and to get my order up to the minimum I had added in a bottle of Castillo Perelada Cava Reserva. It's been a while since I've had a good cava - while I freely drink them in Spain, I always worry about how sweet they're going to be when I see them in the UK so tend to avoid them here. This particular cava is a blend of macabeo, xarel-lo, and parellada grapes, the first two of which I quite enjoy as still wines, so I thought I'd give this cava a go.
We opened it as we were unwinding at the end of the day on Sunday. It tasted a bit like a lemon drop candy - slightly lemon-tart but also slightly sweet on the finish - not great but I could live with it. What was more disappointing were the bubbles, which started strong but had no staying power, so my glass was flat before I finished it. At less than £10 for a bottle it was a good experiment and it reminded me to be more adventurous when it comes to buying cava.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)