Relatively recently, at a friend's house, and on the last evening of my visit, I thought a Champagne experience was inevitable and my thoughts were leaning towards a magnum, and how it benefits the tipple; more importantly how the benefits manifest themselves in the experience of the tipple.
Chance had had it that there was nothing exciting on the shelves but the same chance had let me take it on another, completely unknown (to me) fizz. In other words, Pierre Paillard Les Parcelles was the only Champagne available in magnum. I didn't hesitate very long, which, as you may know, is a rare event, but I thought: 'a Grand Cru, from Bouzy' could turn out interesting! I think taking a chance on a unknown Champagne is the ultimate expression and extent of my gambling.
The joy of ignorance is in its bliss; the joy of Champagne is in the bottle, and little did I know only to be pleasantly surprised what a seductive, intellectually compelling this wine would turn out.
A lean-mean-elegant-classic-Champagne-machine on the palette and on the nose. Long, flirty, with a masculine drive casts a pretty dark shadow on some of the giants in the region. This sexy chemo-sensory stimulus is a tipple that has just added itself on to the list of 'assess again', but I couldn't just wait to complete my rule of 3 and then share the joy of drinking this perfection.
And the wine was another Champagne perfection.
Bollinger might be Absolutely Fabulous, but Pierre Paillard's Les Parcelles was Absolutely Perfect. This, of course, is just my current view on the tipple and I will of course review it again and again just to ensure that my reader doesn't feel cheated.
A MUST!
P.S. I must have had the virtually the whole magnum to myself, even though I was sharing my enthusiasm of this wine with an obliging audience, along with the wine, but on the following day I was told that I had fallen asleep on the bar stool in the kitchen. Oh well...
Sunday 29 July 2018
Saturday 28 July 2018
16TH INTERNATIONAL CHAMPAGNE DAY
So it is the time of the year when I usually sum up what I have been drinking in the past year and let my beloved reader know what were the outstanding tipples.
Previously, I had raved about the Chardonnay Jewel of Champagne, namely Mesnil-Sur-Oger's cooperative branded, Le Mesnil, however there was another nectar that I have yet to mention and write about separately.
I also reunited myself with Bonnaire which became my go to when I visited many of my friends across Europe. Elegance and richness of the cuvees make them an outstanding nectar at a very good price, but, sadly, and probably for the better, access to it in certain countries isn't great.
At last, but of course not least, and I will write about the following tipple in a greater details soon, was an unheard-of tipple from Bouzy under the brand of Pierre Paillard.
So despite the considerably reduced Champagne intake of the last year, there is still space for new and exciting creations from this sensational region.
And these are just my suggestions for this year's International Champagne Day; as always.
Enjoy the 18th August 2018 and toast to the greatest drink at 18:00 wherever on earth you might be!
Think, Drink, Believe Champagne!
Previously, I had raved about the Chardonnay Jewel of Champagne, namely Mesnil-Sur-Oger's cooperative branded, Le Mesnil, however there was another nectar that I have yet to mention and write about separately.
I also reunited myself with Bonnaire which became my go to when I visited many of my friends across Europe. Elegance and richness of the cuvees make them an outstanding nectar at a very good price, but, sadly, and probably for the better, access to it in certain countries isn't great.
At last, but of course not least, and I will write about the following tipple in a greater details soon, was an unheard-of tipple from Bouzy under the brand of Pierre Paillard.
So despite the considerably reduced Champagne intake of the last year, there is still space for new and exciting creations from this sensational region.
And these are just my suggestions for this year's International Champagne Day; as always.
Enjoy the 18th August 2018 and toast to the greatest drink at 18:00 wherever on earth you might be!
Think, Drink, Believe Champagne!
Friday 22 June 2018
LE MESNIL - THE CHARDONNAY JEWEL WTH ANOTHER ONE OF ITS FACETS
I have written about this tipple before. Everytime I drink it, I am astonished at what this simple non-vintage shows in its liquid form. May it be because it is a chardonnay or champagne or simply just grand cru, this wine rocks on all fronts!
Not only did this tipple set a bar a high enough, it actually exceeded it; a sensational experience after sensational experience. Too few can be ascribed that!
Recently, I was surprised to find a bottle at £25 (CAD 50.00) that, of course had stood on the shelf for ages (who knows about this obscure house anyway?), so naturally, the storage wasn't ideal. In fact, probably second to being cooked in the Sun or near a hot element.
But still this wine showed impressive qualities! Ripe, big with notes of exotic fruits dominated by pineapple the wine showed qualities of a superb Chardonnay that can put some more famous wines from the Cotes des Blancs to shame.
Although, a basic non-vintage, this wine is a cuvee de prestige at a price where others add another zero to it! And I am not the only one recognising that! Certain department stores do actually stock it, but, at nearly double the price!
So I guess, Le Mesnil is wining this year's prize of MY FAVOURITE CHAMPAGNE NOW.
At least now I know what I will be drinking on the day of 16th INTERNATIONAL CHAMPAGNE DAY
....well, at least I made up my mind there. :)
Not only did this tipple set a bar a high enough, it actually exceeded it; a sensational experience after sensational experience. Too few can be ascribed that!
Recently, I was surprised to find a bottle at £25 (CAD 50.00) that, of course had stood on the shelf for ages (who knows about this obscure house anyway?), so naturally, the storage wasn't ideal. In fact, probably second to being cooked in the Sun or near a hot element.
But still this wine showed impressive qualities! Ripe, big with notes of exotic fruits dominated by pineapple the wine showed qualities of a superb Chardonnay that can put some more famous wines from the Cotes des Blancs to shame.
Although, a basic non-vintage, this wine is a cuvee de prestige at a price where others add another zero to it! And I am not the only one recognising that! Certain department stores do actually stock it, but, at nearly double the price!
So I guess, Le Mesnil is wining this year's prize of MY FAVOURITE CHAMPAGNE NOW.
At least now I know what I will be drinking on the day of 16th INTERNATIONAL CHAMPAGNE DAY
....well, at least I made up my mind there. :)
Sunday 28 January 2018
CHAMPAGNE DRAPPIER - CUVEE ST. GEORGE
The rule of 3, that is that I declare/form, my opinion on a Champagne has been applied to this tipple.
This cuvee is a special blend for Oddbins which was released relatively recently. I have drunk more than just 3 bottles of it, but I have only drunk 3 bottles during which I was determined to form my opinion.
As attempt 1 was not reliably conclusive, attempt 2 hadn't helped my thoughts on it either. I left it for a few months, so that my taste balances out and I build up an interest and appetite for this wine. So, committed to my own rules, bottle 3, or attempt 3 has to decide what I think of it.
So what is it like?
Anyone that drinks champagne often enough will probably like it. I think the cuvee is designed to be tasted not drunk because drinking makes the wine grow in your mouth; by that I mean that the flavours do expand on the palette, but sadly don't entice you to drink more. That in itself is mark of a bad champagne. But, bad champagne this is not!
Although very low on sugar, this wine is naturally very ripe and very meaty. Sadly it lacks elegance and flirt which would entice anyone to either rave about it or at least drink more. Its acids are quite tired and the ripeness dominates more making a reasonably pertinent point to wonder what may become of champagne once the summers there get too hot and berries too ripe. (maybe a bit more Chardonnay from Chouilly would give it the desired life)
It is a good non-vintage fizz, with ripe, almost over-ripe plum and mirabelle textures which may be confused with Bollinger Special Cuvee, but unlike Bolly, this has a lot less life in it. It reminds me of an old, and tired vintage of Veuve that had its prime in its youth and not the best for aging. As I have implied the likeness to Bolly, I will not be too far from boldly stating that this wine is a Bollinger wannabe!
I am only presuming, that St. George, is supposed to denote an English dedication, and as much as, historically the English contributed to the creation of champagne as we know it now, I regret to state that the honey tones of ripe to over ripe Pinot Noir in a non-vintage blend just don't work.
When I look at the tech spec, the cepage shows the desire for a bold and muscular wine, but as I am assuming that the chief buyer of Oddbins was involved in the making this tipple, a warning sign to us all needs to be a notion that not every nose or palette that is capable of drinking and tasting wine is capable of blending base wine for our noble tipple.
So to sum up, this Bollinger wannabe, is a nice try that comes at a relatively affordable price, is a good drink, and a reasonably good champagne but the blending skills in the cepage indicates, lack of experience, lack of understanding what champagne is expected to be and with reticence, a wine that is more tired in youth than I would expect it to be. The lack of youth and vibrancy isn't all that bad, but when it dominates in your glass for the 2 hours of drinking it, it becomes oppressive and dull; adjectives one would not want to associate with Champagne.
It is not bad, I admit, but that, sadly, is not good enough.
Having said what I have said, I am willing to accept that this is the wine's identity, but I must admit that this identity isn't a champagne identity; it is way too old for a new entry onto the market. Nice try by Oddbins, but a far cry from making a sensational champagne. Let's see how successful it will be, just as let's see how much longer will Oddbins remain on our streets.
For alternatives, look at NV Bollinger, Philipponnat and Louis Roederer.
I wasn't charmed!
This cuvee is a special blend for Oddbins which was released relatively recently. I have drunk more than just 3 bottles of it, but I have only drunk 3 bottles during which I was determined to form my opinion.
As attempt 1 was not reliably conclusive, attempt 2 hadn't helped my thoughts on it either. I left it for a few months, so that my taste balances out and I build up an interest and appetite for this wine. So, committed to my own rules, bottle 3, or attempt 3 has to decide what I think of it.
So what is it like?
Anyone that drinks champagne often enough will probably like it. I think the cuvee is designed to be tasted not drunk because drinking makes the wine grow in your mouth; by that I mean that the flavours do expand on the palette, but sadly don't entice you to drink more. That in itself is mark of a bad champagne. But, bad champagne this is not!
Although very low on sugar, this wine is naturally very ripe and very meaty. Sadly it lacks elegance and flirt which would entice anyone to either rave about it or at least drink more. Its acids are quite tired and the ripeness dominates more making a reasonably pertinent point to wonder what may become of champagne once the summers there get too hot and berries too ripe. (maybe a bit more Chardonnay from Chouilly would give it the desired life)
It is a good non-vintage fizz, with ripe, almost over-ripe plum and mirabelle textures which may be confused with Bollinger Special Cuvee, but unlike Bolly, this has a lot less life in it. It reminds me of an old, and tired vintage of Veuve that had its prime in its youth and not the best for aging. As I have implied the likeness to Bolly, I will not be too far from boldly stating that this wine is a Bollinger wannabe!
I am only presuming, that St. George, is supposed to denote an English dedication, and as much as, historically the English contributed to the creation of champagne as we know it now, I regret to state that the honey tones of ripe to over ripe Pinot Noir in a non-vintage blend just don't work.
When I look at the tech spec, the cepage shows the desire for a bold and muscular wine, but as I am assuming that the chief buyer of Oddbins was involved in the making this tipple, a warning sign to us all needs to be a notion that not every nose or palette that is capable of drinking and tasting wine is capable of blending base wine for our noble tipple.
So to sum up, this Bollinger wannabe, is a nice try that comes at a relatively affordable price, is a good drink, and a reasonably good champagne but the blending skills in the cepage indicates, lack of experience, lack of understanding what champagne is expected to be and with reticence, a wine that is more tired in youth than I would expect it to be. The lack of youth and vibrancy isn't all that bad, but when it dominates in your glass for the 2 hours of drinking it, it becomes oppressive and dull; adjectives one would not want to associate with Champagne.
It is not bad, I admit, but that, sadly, is not good enough.
Having said what I have said, I am willing to accept that this is the wine's identity, but I must admit that this identity isn't a champagne identity; it is way too old for a new entry onto the market. Nice try by Oddbins, but a far cry from making a sensational champagne. Let's see how successful it will be, just as let's see how much longer will Oddbins remain on our streets.
For alternatives, look at NV Bollinger, Philipponnat and Louis Roederer.
I wasn't charmed!
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