I love Champagne as much as the next man, especially if someone else is paying. Over the last decade the prices of NV Champagnes have risen sharply. When once you could almost always pick up a Grande Marque for under £20 from somewhere like Oddbins, now anything under £30 is marketed as the best deal since the Yanks bought Alaska. It rather makes the bubbles stick in one’s throat. Bargain-loving fizz fans need an alternative…
Posts Tagged ‘Champagne’
May
17
Vintage Champagne -Veuve Clicquot Grande Dame and cheese
By Denise Medrano, http://winesleuth.wordpress.com
La Grande Dame 1995 Brut
Champagne and cheese might not be your first choice when it comes to wine and food matching. How about VINTAGE Champagne and cheese? Does that sound any more enticing? It did to me. Hell, just mention vintage Champagne and I’m there holding out my glass to be filled. …
Apr
28
Krug, Fish n Chips
By Gal Zohar
Krug Rosé
We all have these mornings when nothing seems right. Not sure of our lives, are we really happy and wondering if it’s now time for real change. Early last week I almost experienced one but then I remembered it is Krug lunch today. Couple of hours in the office then skip the routine desk …
Apr
09
Bruno Paillard Blanc de Blancs 1996: An exceedingly good Champagne
Enough about Bordeaux 2009 (for now). Time for some bubbles…
1996 was a fantastic vintage in Champagne producing ripe, powerful, intense wines with one notable feature: incredibly high acidity. When the first wines were released on to the market four or five years ago, they were generally impressive but some could be difficult and taciturn. Top Champagne writer Tom Stevenson memorably wrote that Lanson 1996 was akin “to gargling razor blades” – and that was a …
Feb
23
2010 Wish List: Krug Rosé (half bottle)
By Juel Mahoney, http://www.winewomansong.co.uk/
The real stuff in its lavender box
Yes, it must be a half-bottle. Of course, it would be more practical, economical and sensible to buy a full bottle. But don’t be ridiculous. This is my wish list, and it really is not the moment to …
Jan
11
Lunch with Bruno Paillard and Joel Robuchon
By Willie Lebus
Bruno Paillard and Joel Rubuchon
Bruno Paillard, one of the very best Champagne producers, and Joel Robuchon, the chef with more Michelin stars than any other, get on like a house on fire. Or more particularly, they get on like a fine wine paired with exquisite cuisine, and that’s exactly what they put …
Dec
17
Champagne and food matching with Bruno Paillard
By Justin Frisby
Alice & Bruno Paillard
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of spending a day with Alice Paillard, daughter of Bruno Paillard and now the firm’s Export Manager. We had a great day out in London visiting current and hopefully future customers, with the day culminating in an exclusive dinner at the …
Dec
08
Tasting Club – Champagne
By Emma-Jane Bailey
The action
There’s something special about Champagne. Always has been, and I hope there always will be. Last week’s Tasting Club chose to focus on bubbles from that very specific region of France, and once the rather stringent rules controlling the production of the original fizz have been explained, you begin to realise why it tends to cost …
Nov
17
Antidote to turning 30? A jeroboam of Bollinger RD 1985 of course!
Well it definitely helped anyhow! A couple of years ago a friend of mine was trying to raise money for a triathlon in which she was partaking, and badgered me to buy some raffle tickets. Now, I’m not one to get involved in all these charity sporting occasions so I thought it was only fair to donate a fiver for …
Aug
04
Burgundians lost in Champagne?
Quick Bollinger tasting in the office this afternoon. Had to postpone my appointment with the photocopier which was you know, like such a drag, but these are the calls I have to make.
Special Cuvee, La Grande Annee and Rose NV are like three rather ‘confident’ brothers, chaperoning their younger sister on a night out. They are rich, powerful and will squash you like a gnat if your intentions …
