I have been looking for ages for a good sparkling red wine. Outside of the wine list at Ransome's Dock, no one seems to carry them. But I found one finally - from a shop I found on-line called The Sampler.
This bottle of wine was worth the time I've spent hunting one down. It was the 2009 sparkling pinot noir from Penley Estates, an Australian producer who predominantly makes traditional red wines. The sparkling wine was wonderful, big and juicy, with loads of raspberry and blackberry flavour, with just a touch of prune on the finish. It had a good amount of fizz that lasted and kept the wine from being too heavy. It was perfect for last night's warm weather with grilled steaks. I will definitely be buying a few more bottles of this, in hopes that we get some more warm days to BBQ.
I know that for proper red wine drinkers and champagne fanatics, this sort of thing is just not on. But I like sparkling reds, I like having a wine with a bit more heft that still has the frivolity of the bubbles. As a friend has always told me, "a good wine is one that you like, regardless of how much it cost or what name is on the bottle". This was a good wine.
Showing posts with label ransome's dock. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ransome's dock. Show all posts
Monday, 4 July 2011
Monday, 28 March 2011
South American Surprise
We went to Ransome's Dock for lunch yesterday with some friends. We were keen to try some of the new Austrian wines that are on the wine list. We started with a lovely riesling, which we all agreed was a perfect match for the spring day!
As only some of us were having dessert, we decided to order a sparkling wine with that course so that those of us who weren't eating pudding could at least sip on something. The restaurant always has interesting things to choose from, and we selected the Miguel Torres Reserva de la Familia, a brut pinot noir sparkler from Chile. My past experiences with sparkling wines from Chile have been mixed - they can be very good and they can be a bit of nothing. But I trust Ransome's Dock, they're only going to put something good on their list. And this wine was very good!
It had tons of bubbles, always a big bonus for me. It also had a light, pleasing aroma, with hints of fresh flowers like jasmine combined with crisp orchard fruits. It tasted like juicy apples, with neither too much sweet or acid flavour. Best of all, it was enjoyed as much on its own as by those drinking it with their desserts, everyone around the table had positive things to say.
If I could find this in a shop, I would buy it as an easy-drinker at home. It can easily compete with the better proseccos and cavas that I've had, as well as some of the small-maker champagnes.
As only some of us were having dessert, we decided to order a sparkling wine with that course so that those of us who weren't eating pudding could at least sip on something. The restaurant always has interesting things to choose from, and we selected the Miguel Torres Reserva de la Familia, a brut pinot noir sparkler from Chile. My past experiences with sparkling wines from Chile have been mixed - they can be very good and they can be a bit of nothing. But I trust Ransome's Dock, they're only going to put something good on their list. And this wine was very good!
It had tons of bubbles, always a big bonus for me. It also had a light, pleasing aroma, with hints of fresh flowers like jasmine combined with crisp orchard fruits. It tasted like juicy apples, with neither too much sweet or acid flavour. Best of all, it was enjoyed as much on its own as by those drinking it with their desserts, everyone around the table had positive things to say.
If I could find this in a shop, I would buy it as an easy-drinker at home. It can easily compete with the better proseccos and cavas that I've had, as well as some of the small-maker champagnes.
Monday, 3 January 2011
Hello 2011!
We had a wonderful, quiet New Year's Day on Sunday. I spent most of the day out in the garden, which I always enjoy. We had a casual dinner at home, with me making mac and cheese with bacon and spinach (always yummy) and an upside-down banana cake, a new favourite recipe. Accompanying it, we had Maison Lenique 2005, with its intense apple flavour and lots and lots of bubbles. All in all, it was a good day.
Yesterday, a group of us went to Ransome's Dock for lunch, and in his infinite wisdom, my husband pre-ordered a magnum of Billecart-Salmon rose. There's something about a magnum of champagne, the bottle just seems endless, although we always manage to finish it. The champagne was only eclipsed by the fantastic company and the most delicious dessert - a gingerbread pudding with ginger sauce, cream, and custard. It was to die for, the kind of cooking I've learned to expect at Ransome's Dock.
A great start to the New Year, now to some more healthy eating for the rest of January...
Yesterday, a group of us went to Ransome's Dock for lunch, and in his infinite wisdom, my husband pre-ordered a magnum of Billecart-Salmon rose. There's something about a magnum of champagne, the bottle just seems endless, although we always manage to finish it. The champagne was only eclipsed by the fantastic company and the most delicious dessert - a gingerbread pudding with ginger sauce, cream, and custard. It was to die for, the kind of cooking I've learned to expect at Ransome's Dock.
A great start to the New Year, now to some more healthy eating for the rest of January...
Friday, 26 November 2010
D-Fly In Da House
To set the scene for this post - Champagne Magazine recently released its annual list of the top 100 champagnes. I sent the list to a friend of mine who has an interest in champagne, saying that I was a little disappointed with it as it seemed like a marketing exercise for the big producers. I don't really need a magazine to tell me that the big brand names that cost hundreds of pounds are good. I also can't believe that there aren't any smaller producers who can't compete in that field, especially because I think I've drunk some. And to top it off, does anybody besides rap stars drink Cristal, so how relevant is all of this anyway?
Two days later I had to drink my words about Cristal. We were at Ransome's Dock for dinner with some friends. There on the wine list was a new addition - Louis Roederer Cristal 1996. Part of what we love about Ransome's Dock is that the chef doesn't believe in price gouging on wine. If he buys the wine at a reasonable price, he marks it up to a reasonable margin, so the Cristal was on offer for a far better price than any rap star is paying. Don't get me wrong, it still cost more than my entire outfit that night, shoes and handbag included. But comparatively, it was a bargain, so we ordered a bottle.
This champagne has the most unusual nose, which the chef helped us place - freshly-made cooking stock. It's actually a bit strange, because it's not what you expect from a champagne. The flavour is where Cristal hits the mark. It tastes like a perfectly made lemon tart, balancing buttery richness with tart (not sour) citrus and a creamy finish. It is incredibly well made, well balanced, and very, very good. It has interesting bubbles, too - big, fat, and plentiful on pouring, then calming down into a fine stream as you drink. This pleased me, as some of the other older champagnes that I've drunk have been lacking on the bubble front. I can see what the hype is about.
That said, it does still come down to a relative value proposition for me. While it was interesting to try this once, if I were spending the money again, I'd rather have three bottles of Billecart-Salmon than one bottle of Cristal.
Two days later I had to drink my words about Cristal. We were at Ransome's Dock for dinner with some friends. There on the wine list was a new addition - Louis Roederer Cristal 1996. Part of what we love about Ransome's Dock is that the chef doesn't believe in price gouging on wine. If he buys the wine at a reasonable price, he marks it up to a reasonable margin, so the Cristal was on offer for a far better price than any rap star is paying. Don't get me wrong, it still cost more than my entire outfit that night, shoes and handbag included. But comparatively, it was a bargain, so we ordered a bottle.
This champagne has the most unusual nose, which the chef helped us place - freshly-made cooking stock. It's actually a bit strange, because it's not what you expect from a champagne. The flavour is where Cristal hits the mark. It tastes like a perfectly made lemon tart, balancing buttery richness with tart (not sour) citrus and a creamy finish. It is incredibly well made, well balanced, and very, very good. It has interesting bubbles, too - big, fat, and plentiful on pouring, then calming down into a fine stream as you drink. This pleased me, as some of the other older champagnes that I've drunk have been lacking on the bubble front. I can see what the hype is about.
That said, it does still come down to a relative value proposition for me. While it was interesting to try this once, if I were spending the money again, I'd rather have three bottles of Billecart-Salmon than one bottle of Cristal.
Monday, 18 October 2010
Still Celebrating
On Sunday, to continue our anniversary celebration, we went to lunch at one of our favourite restaurants, Ransome's Dock. You'll be surprised to hear that we didn't have any bubbles there, instead ordering a wonderful gruner veltliner from Austria and an unusal Spanish red wine made with mencia grapes. As always, we had a fantastic meal and walked away from the restaurant feeling stuffed and completely spoiled.
But we had fresh apple pie at home, and having skipped dinner, we ate pieces of that before bedtime with a glass of bubbles. To challenge me, my husband had bought Cremant d'Alsace by Dirler while he was at Green & Blue. I never, ever buy cremant wines because I am positive that they're not going to have enough bubbles. And to be honest, it's not really fair to the French sparkling wine makers, because I will buy cavas and proseccos knowing that they're not likely to have enough bubbles, either. My husband knows I tend to like Alsatian wines, so he decided to make me try this, a blend of pinot gris, pinot noir, and auxerrois grapes. The cremant was perfect with the pie having lots of soft apple and pear flavours. It had plenty of fizz, too, not big bubbles, but enough effervescence through the glass to keep it interesting. I'm curious to see how the capped bottle holds up overnight...
But we had fresh apple pie at home, and having skipped dinner, we ate pieces of that before bedtime with a glass of bubbles. To challenge me, my husband had bought Cremant d'Alsace by Dirler while he was at Green & Blue. I never, ever buy cremant wines because I am positive that they're not going to have enough bubbles. And to be honest, it's not really fair to the French sparkling wine makers, because I will buy cavas and proseccos knowing that they're not likely to have enough bubbles, either. My husband knows I tend to like Alsatian wines, so he decided to make me try this, a blend of pinot gris, pinot noir, and auxerrois grapes. The cremant was perfect with the pie having lots of soft apple and pear flavours. It had plenty of fizz, too, not big bubbles, but enough effervescence through the glass to keep it interesting. I'm curious to see how the capped bottle holds up overnight...
Sunday, 25 July 2010
Perfect July Day
Yesterday was the perfect day - not too warm, just sunny enough, no rain in sight. Absolutely lovely. We had fortunately booked lunch with friends at Ransome's Dock, which is a great place to eat on a day like that, as they have outdoor tables for the sun-lovers and can also open up the restaurant so it gets loads of fresh air for those people who want to avoid the sun.
Our friends were caught in traffic, so while we waited for them I had a glass of Ayala champagne. It was very nice, but a bit richer than the champagnes I've been drinking lately. It smelled of dried fruit, and carried just a little sweetness through its flavour and into its finish. Very nice, but perhaps better with food than as an aperitif.
Unfortunately, my friends aren't big drinkers of bubbles, so we didn't have any of the other bubbly gems on the wine list. But the glass I had stuck in my husband's head, and later in the evening, as we were enjoying a quiet night and some time in the garden, he opened a bottle of Billecart-Salmon brut reserve. The bubbles in this champagne were incredible, an eruption of them coming up from the bottom of the glass without stopping through the last sip!! It was the perfect end to the perfect day.
Our friends were caught in traffic, so while we waited for them I had a glass of Ayala champagne. It was very nice, but a bit richer than the champagnes I've been drinking lately. It smelled of dried fruit, and carried just a little sweetness through its flavour and into its finish. Very nice, but perhaps better with food than as an aperitif.
Unfortunately, my friends aren't big drinkers of bubbles, so we didn't have any of the other bubbly gems on the wine list. But the glass I had stuck in my husband's head, and later in the evening, as we were enjoying a quiet night and some time in the garden, he opened a bottle of Billecart-Salmon brut reserve. The bubbles in this champagne were incredible, an eruption of them coming up from the bottom of the glass without stopping through the last sip!! It was the perfect end to the perfect day.
Friday, 26 February 2010
That Wine's From WHERE?
We went out to dinner at Ransome's Dock last night with some friends. I was the first to arrive and was informed that the rest of the party would be late, so I settled in to read the wine list over a glass of the house champagne, currently Joseph Perrier Cuvee Royale Brut. I really enjoyed the first few sips, but as I got further into the (extensive) wine list and as everyone grew later and later, I realised that the very tiny bubbles that were at first in my glass had completely disappeared. While it had a traditionally and enjoyably champagne-y flavour, I'm all about the bubbles, so this was disappointing.
Thankfully the rest of the party arrived and turned out to be a group of wine lovers, so we introduced them to a bottle of something interesting - a sparkling wine called Espumante 3B from Filipa Pato. We challenged the group to place the wine, and while everyone agreed that it wasn't French, and someone came close by guessing Spain, noone guessed that this wine is from Portugal. Yes, Portugal! It's a rather unique sparkling wine, both in that it's a blend of baga and bical grapes and in that the winemaker is female. We had tasted this wine at Ransome's Dock at a Portugese wine tasting several months earlier and were completely pleased and surprised by it. It's a very pleasant sparkling wine with nicely rounded and balanced fruit and acidity - one of our group likened it to a Sweet-Tart candy. The only down-side is that it has no finish, which is fine if you want a completely clean palate after you swallow, but which is a bit of a shame to me because the wine itself is so tasty. Not a really mainstream wine, but one that's definitely worth trying!
Thankfully the rest of the party arrived and turned out to be a group of wine lovers, so we introduced them to a bottle of something interesting - a sparkling wine called Espumante 3B from Filipa Pato. We challenged the group to place the wine, and while everyone agreed that it wasn't French, and someone came close by guessing Spain, noone guessed that this wine is from Portugal. Yes, Portugal! It's a rather unique sparkling wine, both in that it's a blend of baga and bical grapes and in that the winemaker is female. We had tasted this wine at Ransome's Dock at a Portugese wine tasting several months earlier and were completely pleased and surprised by it. It's a very pleasant sparkling wine with nicely rounded and balanced fruit and acidity - one of our group likened it to a Sweet-Tart candy. The only down-side is that it has no finish, which is fine if you want a completely clean palate after you swallow, but which is a bit of a shame to me because the wine itself is so tasty. Not a really mainstream wine, but one that's definitely worth trying!
Sunday, 11 January 2009
Antiquing on a Saturday
The nice folks over at Puritan Values sent me tickets to an antique fair in London where they were exhibiting this weekend, so we did something we rarely do anymore - left the dog at home and headed into Central London on a Saturday. There were some very nice pieces at the fair, although most were out of our price range, so we only spent about an hour there. Since we had already left the dog on her own, we thought we might as well make the most of the rest of the afternoon, and headed to Ransome's Dock for a late lunch.
I noticed while perusing the menu that their 'champagne by the glass' has been updated in the New Year. When I was there last month, they were serving Henriot. This month, they're serving Billecart-Salmon's Brut Reserve by the glass, something that was most tempting to order. But, my husband went one better - instead ordering for us a half-bottle of Billecart-Salmon's Brut Rose.
This is one of my favourite champagnes. A lot of rose champagnes can be either sweet or insipid. This one is extremely dry, incredibly fruity, and has a long, smooth finish. The bubbles also don't disappoint - with a fine but voluminous stream of bubbles that lasts from the first sip to the last drops of the bottle. It went equally as well with my husband's cesaer salad as it did with my usual order of eggs benedict.
While we always like to try new things, this is a champagne that I can drink over and over again - and one that you should try if you haven't before!
I noticed while perusing the menu that their 'champagne by the glass' has been updated in the New Year. When I was there last month, they were serving Henriot. This month, they're serving Billecart-Salmon's Brut Reserve by the glass, something that was most tempting to order. But, my husband went one better - instead ordering for us a half-bottle of Billecart-Salmon's Brut Rose.
This is one of my favourite champagnes. A lot of rose champagnes can be either sweet or insipid. This one is extremely dry, incredibly fruity, and has a long, smooth finish. The bubbles also don't disappoint - with a fine but voluminous stream of bubbles that lasts from the first sip to the last drops of the bottle. It went equally as well with my husband's cesaer salad as it did with my usual order of eggs benedict.
While we always like to try new things, this is a champagne that I can drink over and over again - and one that you should try if you haven't before!
Sunday, 21 December 2008
I Love Birthdays - Continued!!
One of my good friends also has a December birthday, and we usually find a way to do something to celebrate together. His girlfriend, also a good friend, persisted with me to find a day (today) to go out to lunch despite crazy-busy work and travel schedules. We went to an old favourite, Ransome's Dock, where we know we'll always have a fantastic meal and enjoy ourselves immensely.
I, of course, started with a glass of champagne. They serve Henriot, a French chardonnay/pinot noir blend, which I've drunk before (Oddbins carries the brand). I think the pinot noir in it makes it hold up really well with all kinds of food. It tastes exactly like what you think champagne should taste like, and you could own it in large quantities and not have to think too hard about what to serve it with. I sipped my glass with the best Eggs Benedict in London, a great start to an excellent meal.
I, of course, started with a glass of champagne. They serve Henriot, a French chardonnay/pinot noir blend, which I've drunk before (Oddbins carries the brand). I think the pinot noir in it makes it hold up really well with all kinds of food. It tastes exactly like what you think champagne should taste like, and you could own it in large quantities and not have to think too hard about what to serve it with. I sipped my glass with the best Eggs Benedict in London, a great start to an excellent meal.
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