We celebrated my husband's birthday yesterday, and he had asked me to pull a 'good bottle' of bubbles out of the assortment we had in the house. I knew exactly which to choose - Larmandier-Bernier Blanc de Blancs that came from Green & Blue. After the previous day's fiasco with the Champalou, I wanted to serve him a wine that we hadn't tried before, but from a maker that we trust and like.
This one was just right for the evening - a low dosage champagne whose cork exploded into my hand with a surprising and celebratory 'POP'. It smelled just like the apple pie my husband was eating, tart apples and buttery pastry. The green apple carried through in the flavour, complemented by a clean, chalky finish, a lovely, more-ish flavour. The bubbles were plentiful on pouring but didn't last long in the glass, which meant we kept having to top up our glasses to refresh the bubbles. This bottle didn't last long, and was enjoyed immensely.
Friday, 10 June 2011
Thursday, 9 June 2011
Ick!
I made a huge mistake. I bought a bottle of Champalou Brut from Green & Blue based on the description on their website:
"We implore you not to think of this as a cheap alternative to champagne but as a gorgeously scented, honeyed quince and apple flavoured wine"
I trusted them. I tend to think that Green & Blue is the kind of place where they've actually tried the wine and bought it because it was good and written about it from their experiences, rather than just flog it off with the maker's PR. In this case, I think I was wrong. How could anyone, anywhere, who knows even the minute-est thing about wine write that Champalou is any kind of alternative to champagne?
First off, it smelled like a used Band-Aid, damp and plastic-y. It tasted like how some grandmothers smell, sweet, a little floral, and slightly musty. Mercifully, it had no finish. And the bubbles...not even worth mentioning. It improved when we drank it with some really salty cheeses, but not by much. It wasn't anywhere close to champagne, I wouldn't even compare this to some of the worst cavas that I've drunk.
Right off, my husband, who didn't know what this was, asked if it was from Vouvray. He knew from the first sip that it was a wine typical of that area. In his words - "they bottle it sweet, and it's a crapshoot from there how it turns out". So if you like that kind of wine, then Champalou is for you. If you're looking for a cheap alternative to champagne, try some of the cavas or proseccos that I've liked, they'll be safer bets!
"We implore you not to think of this as a cheap alternative to champagne but as a gorgeously scented, honeyed quince and apple flavoured wine"
I trusted them. I tend to think that Green & Blue is the kind of place where they've actually tried the wine and bought it because it was good and written about it from their experiences, rather than just flog it off with the maker's PR. In this case, I think I was wrong. How could anyone, anywhere, who knows even the minute-est thing about wine write that Champalou is any kind of alternative to champagne?
First off, it smelled like a used Band-Aid, damp and plastic-y. It tasted like how some grandmothers smell, sweet, a little floral, and slightly musty. Mercifully, it had no finish. And the bubbles...not even worth mentioning. It improved when we drank it with some really salty cheeses, but not by much. It wasn't anywhere close to champagne, I wouldn't even compare this to some of the worst cavas that I've drunk.
Right off, my husband, who didn't know what this was, asked if it was from Vouvray. He knew from the first sip that it was a wine typical of that area. In his words - "they bottle it sweet, and it's a crapshoot from there how it turns out". So if you like that kind of wine, then Champalou is for you. If you're looking for a cheap alternative to champagne, try some of the cavas or proseccos that I've liked, they'll be safer bets!
Tuesday, 7 June 2011
BC Bubbles
My husband and I spent the weekend in Vancouver. I know, it's a long way from London, and yes, I am feeling it today. But it was a great trip, a really lovely, walkable city, and I was very excited about trying some Canadian sparkling wines. The best part was that both wine shops and restaurants showcased local British Columbian wines. I also really liked that two of the restaurants we visited offered 2-oz 'taster' glasses, making it easy to sample a few different wines with your meal.
Overall, I walked away with a very positive feeling about all of the wines we drank. The biggest surprise was a still, aromatic muscat from Joie Vineyards. Ordinarily, I would have avoided this wine because I find muscats to be a bit too much for me, but since I could order a 2-oz taster I thought, "Why not?". I was so pleased that I did, because this was, like the name of the vineyard, pure joy. It had an intensely floral aroma, so much so that I really thought I wouldn't like the wine. But the flavour was a wonderful balance of freesia and grapefuit, the perfect blend of floral and acidity. Next time, I would buy a whole glass of this, if not a whole bottle.
But on to the sparkling wines...
We first tried Sumac Ridge 2006 Stellar's Jay Brut. This wine is a blend of pinot blanc, pinot noir, and chardonnay. It was a very pretty colour, with a tinge of apricot along the rim. The apricot carried on in the flavour, hitting the mid-tongue with just a flash of sweetness. Interestingly, the wine smelled of sawdust, with a clean, dry wood scent. This sparkler was almost as much about what it wasn't - yeasty, toasty, biscuity - than what it was - fruity and tartly rich. It was hard to discern how good the bubbles were in the small quantities that we tried, although a fine stream of small bubbles was present on pouring.
The next wine we tried was Sperling 2009 Sper...itz. As the name indicates, this wine is more of an effervescent wine than a real sparkler - it less has bubbles and more has a texture on your tongue. Those of you who read my blog regularly will be completely dumbfounded when I write that the lack of bubbles totally didn't bother me with this wine, I really, really enjoyed it! The Sper...itz is made from riesling, bacchus, and perle of csaba grapes. On first smell, it was a rose garden in full bloom, but then this dissipated into a tropical island aroma. The flavour was a wonderful Hawaiian salad, with papaya, lime, and pineapple. This was so much fun to drink, and at only 7.5% alcohol, not at all a worry if you have one glass more than you intended!
The last wine we tried was a rose sparkler from 8th Generation Vineyard. This one was not on the wine list at one of the restaurants we visited, but on hearing my interest in BC sparklers, the nice lady who was serving us dug up a taster glass of this for me. Here's the thing, though - she told me it was a sparkling chardonnay, but a visit to 8th Generation's website doesn't show them making a rose sparkling chardonnay. I suspect what I had was actually the Confidence Frizzante, which is a chardonnay/pinot noir blend. The wine smelled like a Sharpie pen, (something that I really liked). It had a very dry, red berry flavour, not just the sweeter berries like strawberries and raspberries, but the richer ones, too, like currants and cranberries. The quantity wasn't enough for me to assess bubbles, but there were a few streaming up in the small glass.
I was encouraged enough by these experiences to find room in my suitcase to bring back to London a couple of bottles from other makers - very much looking forward to trying them!
Overall, I walked away with a very positive feeling about all of the wines we drank. The biggest surprise was a still, aromatic muscat from Joie Vineyards. Ordinarily, I would have avoided this wine because I find muscats to be a bit too much for me, but since I could order a 2-oz taster I thought, "Why not?". I was so pleased that I did, because this was, like the name of the vineyard, pure joy. It had an intensely floral aroma, so much so that I really thought I wouldn't like the wine. But the flavour was a wonderful balance of freesia and grapefuit, the perfect blend of floral and acidity. Next time, I would buy a whole glass of this, if not a whole bottle.
But on to the sparkling wines...
We first tried Sumac Ridge 2006 Stellar's Jay Brut. This wine is a blend of pinot blanc, pinot noir, and chardonnay. It was a very pretty colour, with a tinge of apricot along the rim. The apricot carried on in the flavour, hitting the mid-tongue with just a flash of sweetness. Interestingly, the wine smelled of sawdust, with a clean, dry wood scent. This sparkler was almost as much about what it wasn't - yeasty, toasty, biscuity - than what it was - fruity and tartly rich. It was hard to discern how good the bubbles were in the small quantities that we tried, although a fine stream of small bubbles was present on pouring.
The next wine we tried was Sperling 2009 Sper...itz. As the name indicates, this wine is more of an effervescent wine than a real sparkler - it less has bubbles and more has a texture on your tongue. Those of you who read my blog regularly will be completely dumbfounded when I write that the lack of bubbles totally didn't bother me with this wine, I really, really enjoyed it! The Sper...itz is made from riesling, bacchus, and perle of csaba grapes. On first smell, it was a rose garden in full bloom, but then this dissipated into a tropical island aroma. The flavour was a wonderful Hawaiian salad, with papaya, lime, and pineapple. This was so much fun to drink, and at only 7.5% alcohol, not at all a worry if you have one glass more than you intended!
The last wine we tried was a rose sparkler from 8th Generation Vineyard. This one was not on the wine list at one of the restaurants we visited, but on hearing my interest in BC sparklers, the nice lady who was serving us dug up a taster glass of this for me. Here's the thing, though - she told me it was a sparkling chardonnay, but a visit to 8th Generation's website doesn't show them making a rose sparkling chardonnay. I suspect what I had was actually the Confidence Frizzante, which is a chardonnay/pinot noir blend. The wine smelled like a Sharpie pen, (something that I really liked). It had a very dry, red berry flavour, not just the sweeter berries like strawberries and raspberries, but the richer ones, too, like currants and cranberries. The quantity wasn't enough for me to assess bubbles, but there were a few streaming up in the small glass.
I was encouraged enough by these experiences to find room in my suitcase to bring back to London a couple of bottles from other makers - very much looking forward to trying them!
Wednesday, 1 June 2011
Home Sweet Home
I had a very brief trip to the US this past weekend, and as much as I enjoyed it, there's nothing like coming back to my own home - especially when my husband has made the effort to track down a champagne we'd not tried before! My husband greeted me with a chilled bottle of Agrapart & Fils Les 7 Crus that he had bought at Green & Blue. This is a blanc de blancs wine, named "7 crus" because the grapes come from the seven villages that are in the Cote de Blancs. This winemaker is also known for a more natural and lower dosage winemaking style, with this particular bottle having a 7 g/l dosage.
I firstly have to comment on the bubbles of this champagne, as they were the best I've had in recent memory. A consistent, fine, fizzy stream, whooshing up from the bottom of the glass. For this reason alone, I was ready to like this champagne! But on top of the bubbles, it was a remarkably good wine. It smelled of a light balsamic vinegar, with a fruity acidity on the nose. It had a clean citrus taste, with just a touch of pith-bitterness on the finish. This champagne went down quickly and it's definitely a do-over. Kudos to my husband for picking it up!
I firstly have to comment on the bubbles of this champagne, as they were the best I've had in recent memory. A consistent, fine, fizzy stream, whooshing up from the bottom of the glass. For this reason alone, I was ready to like this champagne! But on top of the bubbles, it was a remarkably good wine. It smelled of a light balsamic vinegar, with a fruity acidity on the nose. It had a clean citrus taste, with just a touch of pith-bitterness on the finish. This champagne went down quickly and it's definitely a do-over. Kudos to my husband for picking it up!
Friday, 27 May 2011
Blissful Rain
I was so excited that it rained yesterday - not just because my garden so desperately needed it, but because I have had builders working on the outside of the house and even though they're incredibly considerate, it was wonderful to have the house to myself yesterday when they stopped work because of the weather. I was able to get into my kitchen and cook a proper dinner - turkey meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans. Yummy.
We accompanied it with one of my favourite cavas, 1+1=3 Brut Rose Seleccion from the Champagne Warehouse. The colour of this wine still amazes me, it is just so beautiful. The wine was great with the food, too, its fruity flavour but incredible dryness perfectly offsetting the creaminess of the potatoes and the herbs in the meatloaf. I need to buy more of this wine, it will be great to have on-hand all summer.
We accompanied it with one of my favourite cavas, 1+1=3 Brut Rose Seleccion from the Champagne Warehouse. The colour of this wine still amazes me, it is just so beautiful. The wine was great with the food, too, its fruity flavour but incredible dryness perfectly offsetting the creaminess of the potatoes and the herbs in the meatloaf. I need to buy more of this wine, it will be great to have on-hand all summer.
Thursday, 26 May 2011
Biddenden Tasting
I went to a winemaker dinner for Biddenden Vineyards last night at a restaurant in the Clapham/Battersea area called Artisan & Vine. While I've been to winemaker's dinners before, it was my first at this particular venue. The evening was fantastic - the food and wine matching were excellent, and the hosts - both from the restaurant and the vineyard - were both charming and informative. They're doing more events throughout the year, including some day trips out to some of the English vineyards, and I'm hoping to go to another dinner in August.
But the reason why I'm blogging is that we started the evening with a sparkling wine from Biddenden, their Quality Pink Sparkling Wine 2007. This wine is 100% gamay grapes, something a little different for a sparkler. It was good - a lovely, deep rose colour with a strong aroma of strawberries. I was worried that the wine might be too sweet for me, but the strawberry flavour was balanced with just a touch of grapefruit, making it a perfect sipper. It had enough bubbles, too, plentiful on pouring and tapering off to a steady fizz toward the end of the glass. I was pleased with this wine, but don't think it quite deserves its £20 price tag - I've had equally good cavas and proseccos in the £10-15 range, which is where I would have priced this wine.
But the reason why I'm blogging is that we started the evening with a sparkling wine from Biddenden, their Quality Pink Sparkling Wine 2007. This wine is 100% gamay grapes, something a little different for a sparkler. It was good - a lovely, deep rose colour with a strong aroma of strawberries. I was worried that the wine might be too sweet for me, but the strawberry flavour was balanced with just a touch of grapefruit, making it a perfect sipper. It had enough bubbles, too, plentiful on pouring and tapering off to a steady fizz toward the end of the glass. I was pleased with this wine, but don't think it quite deserves its £20 price tag - I've had equally good cavas and proseccos in the £10-15 range, which is where I would have priced this wine.
Monday, 23 May 2011
Sour Grapes
We drank a bottle of Camel Valley's 2006 Pinot Noir Brut sparkling wine this weekend. This blanc de noir was excellent, with a tart grape flavour followed by a Bramley apple finish. It had great balance, lots of crisp flavours without any bitterness and lots of fruit without too much sweetness. The bubbles were great, too!
I have to say that I'm getting more and more impressed with this maker every time I drink their wine.
I have to say that I'm getting more and more impressed with this maker every time I drink their wine.
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