While it is far too late to be blogging (after midnight, way past my bedtime) I really feel I want to put fingers to keys before the bubbles consumed tonight fizzle out.
Bibendum Wine, being the great food blogger event organizers they are, recently invited a bunch of peeps over to their offices for another round of wine tasting. This time the subject matter (shouldn't that really be "subject liquid"?) was champagne.
Sadly, it was also the last event where Dan at Bibendum (aka @up_shiraz) was present as he is leaving London for the sunny shores of Australia. Watch out for the killer kangaroos Dan, I hear they are lethal. He was at his best though, making sure we all enjoyed a wide variety of the golden bubbles. As you can clearly see, Dan was very happy to have managed to match his leaving event with the fat bottles from the Champagne region...
Dan the @up_shiraz wine man @BibendumWine
Originally uploaded by Manne.
They also took the chance to introduce a new web site dubbed "Bibendum Times" where the intention is to create a hub around which to present of course news about wine but also other of the great things in life that have a relation to wine. Food, Travel, fun, most notably I would think. Head on over and take a look, it seems poised to become a really exciting project if it takes off.
On the tasting tables this night were a non vintage, a vintage and a rosé from each of Moët et Chandon, Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin (lovely grape juice, absolutely rubbish web site), De Castellane and Lanson.
Now, I am the first to admit that I don't know squat about champagne (although I do know I lurv the widow...). Part of the greatness of these Bibendum events is that time is taken to provide some of the basic background of the beverages on offer, and that you have access to really skilled people who you can bombard with the most inane questions and they will happily answer while getting you ever so slightly more sloshed.
During these questions and answers I found out that champagne is always only based on three grapes (Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier) in different proportions. Pinot Noir is what gives a champagne structure, base and complexity while a high proportion of Chardonnay produces a much lighter drink with a taste that lingers for a shorter time in the mouth.
Lanson was represented by Chris, while Robert held the flag high for Möet. Hmm. Funny that there is a Swedish character there. Anyway. We started off with Chris explaining to us what is so unique about Lanson.
There is some sort of connection to the Knights of Malta here, but my memory is to weak (or the bubbles too many...).
Originally uploaded by Manne.
Actually, first Stephen from Dinner Diary stole the show and explained the basic process of making champagne. Nothing basic about it really, it seems quite spectacular! Chris then augmented the explanation by informing us that Lanson is one of a very small number of houses that employs a non malolactic fermentation process (this is the unique component) for their champagne. Without going into any detail (which I would be completely unable to anyway) it means that they make things a bit more difficult for themselves. While it requires a longer aging time it produces a bubbly that is fresher, more crisp and fruity.
In other words, Lanson is a good choice if you want to serve up a nice welcoming glass of fizz, or bring a bottle of champers along for a picnic in the park. Light, very spritzy, tastes of apple and lemon, rather acidic in a refreshing way.
While I didn't particularly enjoy the rosé (if the non vintage Black Label was apples and lemons, the rosé was grapefruit to me...), the vintage (Gold Label Vintage 1998) vas really nice.
Done with Lanson but thirsty for more we rotated over to Robert, to get a taste of Möet.
Name is Belgian in origin and the guy was a buddy of Napoleon, is all I remember...
Originally uploaded by Manne.
Now, being a bit prejudiced, I didn't think I would enjoy any of the Moëts. If I am to be completely honest I think Moët is a really worn out brand and it is for me associated with a lot of things and types of people I don't particularly enjoy. I also think their non vintage is rather dull.
That said, as I sipped the vintage (Grand Vintage Brut 2003) I completely changed my mind. Perhaps it is the high Chardonnay content (50%), perhaps it is the fact that (as Robert explained) 2003 was a scorching heatwave year producing interesting overtones of burned caramel in the wine... What do I know. I liked it. B really approved and felt that this was definitely the champagne she would bring with her to keep her company on a deserted island, if she had to choose.
Moët actually owns Veuve Clicquot these days, the brand we moved on to next.
The widow enters the fray!
Originally uploaded by Manne.
Served by Dan's successor Gal (aka @zoharwine) this was to me the treat of the evening. I love Veuve Clicquot. The only champagne I love more is La Grand Dame, from the same house. I have however never ever tasted Dom Perignon, so I guess that sort of disqualifies me from having a solidly formed opinion...
The non vintage is good, but the vintage (Vintage 2002) is to me an amazing drink. Not even close to the ambrosia that La Grande Dame tastes of, but still very satisfying.
If Lanson is the wine you would offer up as a light conversation starter before a meal, Veuve Clicquot steps right in and dominates the stage. Rich, full bodied, with a much more complex nature this is a wine that needs to be matched with food. Gal, who has a sommelier background from L'Anima and The Wolseley) explained that some restaurants even decant it before serving.
Mainly this is due to the high content of Pinot Noir, 50% to 60%. Clearly the Pinot Noir packs some punch as this makes for a taste that stays much longer in the mouth, and it really makes an impression from start to finish.
My personal opinion is that champagne is a very sly drink. Several champagnes I find start out really nicely in your mouth. It tickles your tongue, gets the party started a bit, releases some lovely flavours but then... Just as you think it is getting interesting it fizzes out and goes away. While this leaves me thirsty for more, which obviously is a good thing, it is really frustrating.
The Ponsardin widow is not a tease. She invades your mouth, opens up a bag of flavours and delivers all the way leaving you satisfied and happy. I am still thirsty for more, but in the case of Veuve Clicquot it is probably more due to me being a greedy piglet.
Enough about Veuve, the last tasting station presented by Gareth and Rachel using proper slides (!) was all about De Castellane.
De Castellane has the cross of St Andrew on the label. Supposedly one of the oldest logos in the age of marketing.
Originally uploaded by Manne.
This was not a champagne I had ever tasted before. While the label is a bit dull (Spanish sounding name, a cross that reminds me of England and the word "CHAMPAGNE" in big letters as if they have to convince the world that they actually are...) I was very pleasantly surprised.
B did use the word "replaceable" about the non vintage, but we both felt the vintage (Vintage 2002) is a really nice champagne that we gladly would drink on its own mingling about on a terrace in the south of France watching the sun slowly go down while lazily painting the hill sides of the Pyrenees a golden red.
Right. First ever post I have written on wine. I think I will stop here, as it is late and I still need to post this, add all the photos in and do all the links.
One final note. I really need to attend more events like this. Through Bibendum I have now met several lovely people, among them of course Dan from Bibendum itself, Niamh from Eat Like a Girl, Stephen and Kerri from Dinner Diary, Patrick from Oestra Edulis and several more who I am afraid I only know by Twitter names.
For several months I have very introvertly tried to figure out why I don't find myself making time for blogging anymore, and why I find it so hard to write these days. Well I think I have figured it out, it is quite simple really: writing posts that excite me needs input, and where better get input to food related writing than through mingling with the food bloggers, underground restaurant entrepreneurs (you are all heroes in my book) and wine lovers of London?
Note to self: get self in front of more food, among more random people!
Spectacular write-up manne. Especially for one done in the middle of the night! More wine please!
Posted by: Dan | November 25, 2009 at 08:38
Thank you!
I will have to give the wine some rest now though, this is far to exhausting for an old man like me. ;)
Posted by: Manne | November 25, 2009 at 08:45