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.
Sunday, 25 July 2010
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...
Friday, 16 July 2010
Bye Ali!
My niece has been visiting for the past 10 days and we had our final dinner together last night. My husband suggested we also serve a bottle of champagne, and she requested something pink so what better than Billecart-Salmon rose? It was lovely with our grilled steak and veg, and even better with my husband's homemade mixed-berry ice cream for dessert. Not so much a celebration, as it's very sad to see her head home, but a small way of showing how glad we were to have had her here!
Monday, 5 July 2010
A Very Happy 4th!
Although we hadn't planned on doing anything to celebrate the 4th of July, some friends also had no plans, so we had an impromptu BBQ in the garden. Thankfully I always have cold bubbles in the house - we started off the afternoon with a bottle from the Champagne Warehouse, Charmant Premier Cru Brut Rose. This champagne is a 40/40/20 blend of pinot noir, pinot meunier, and chardonnay and it made the most wonderful aperitif with its ripe strawberry flavour. It's a bit sweeter than the Billecart-Salmon rose that we've been drinking, but not overwhelmingly so. The only thing that would make this champagne better is my usual request - more bubbles please.
My friends very kindly also brought a bottle of Mumm Cordon Rouge , so we put it in the fridge to chill and served it for dessert with our homemade strawberry and blackberry shortcake. This champagne is a 45/25/30 blend of pinot noir, pinot meunier, and chardonnay and had an incredible richness that suited the dessert. It smelled of stone fuits on opening, and tasted of carmelised hazelnuts with the most amazing, long finish.
A bit of a shame that we didn't have any American bubbly for the holiday (although my husband did track down American beer!), but the French did give us the support we needed to gain independence so I guess their place at the table was appropriate!
My friends very kindly also brought a bottle of Mumm Cordon Rouge , so we put it in the fridge to chill and served it for dessert with our homemade strawberry and blackberry shortcake. This champagne is a 45/25/30 blend of pinot noir, pinot meunier, and chardonnay and had an incredible richness that suited the dessert. It smelled of stone fuits on opening, and tasted of carmelised hazelnuts with the most amazing, long finish.
A bit of a shame that we didn't have any American bubbly for the holiday (although my husband did track down American beer!), but the French did give us the support we needed to gain independence so I guess their place at the table was appropriate!
Sunday, 4 July 2010
B is for Billecart-Salmon
I got the results of my first garden design project on Friday - a B+. Fittingly, I had a bottle of Billecart-Salmon rose in the fridge, so popped that open to congratulate myself. Now I'm left wondering:
1. What will I drink when I get my first A grade (can anyone recommend a good brand that begins with the letter A)?
2. Will it really be worth the effort to get the A if I have to switch from Billecart-Salmon?
Cheers!!
1. What will I drink when I get my first A grade (can anyone recommend a good brand that begins with the letter A)?
2. Will it really be worth the effort to get the A if I have to switch from Billecart-Salmon?
Cheers!!
Monday, 28 June 2010
The Power of Suggestion
We spent the weekend hanging out in the garden - celebrating both the incredible weather and my husband's return from a trip to the US. Yesterday, one of our neighbours had people over, and we could hear them over the fences popping open bottles of champagne. The sound was too much for us, so out came the cold bottle of Ruinart NV from Majestic Wine that was in the fridge.
Our impression of this champagne hadn't changed much since the last time we drank it. It's a very nice champagne. The entire kitchen smelled of yeasty-goodness when the bottle was opened. It had a huge, clean, lemony flavour and plenty of bubbles. My husband said that he actually liked the champagne more than he remembered, until I reminded him of the price point issue - and greedy people that we are, we agreed that we would rather have two bottles of the Roger Legros that I had been drinking earlier in the week than one bottle of the Ruinart NV. And this is the problem with this champagne, it's just not special enough to justify the price.
Speaking of price, for those of you who don't read the FT, in this past weekend's edition, Jancis Robinson ranked her favourite summer wines. I thought her sparkling picks were entirely uninspiring and was very disappointed that the only sparkling wine she could recommend below the £40 price point was an English sparkler...she apparently doesn't read my blog!!
Our impression of this champagne hadn't changed much since the last time we drank it. It's a very nice champagne. The entire kitchen smelled of yeasty-goodness when the bottle was opened. It had a huge, clean, lemony flavour and plenty of bubbles. My husband said that he actually liked the champagne more than he remembered, until I reminded him of the price point issue - and greedy people that we are, we agreed that we would rather have two bottles of the Roger Legros that I had been drinking earlier in the week than one bottle of the Ruinart NV. And this is the problem with this champagne, it's just not special enough to justify the price.
Speaking of price, for those of you who don't read the FT, in this past weekend's edition, Jancis Robinson ranked her favourite summer wines. I thought her sparkling picks were entirely uninspiring and was very disappointed that the only sparkling wine she could recommend below the £40 price point was an English sparkler...she apparently doesn't read my blog!!
Saturday, 26 June 2010
Still a Star
I've been sipping a bottle of Roger Legros Cuvee Speciale from the Champagne Warehouse for the past few nights and really enjoying it in the surprisingly hot weather we've been having. I'm always pleased when a champagne I've had before and liked lives up to the memory!! And this one actually surpassed it - having far more bubbles than I'd remembered, which even held up over a few days in the opened and capped bottle. If you haven't tried this champagne, you really should, it's exceptionally good, especially for the price (less than £25/bottle).
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