“Only the unimaginative
can fail to find a reason for drinking champagne.” –Oscar Wilde, Irish playwright
and novelist
I’ll admit to stating that most don’t enjoy Champagne in a way as to be fair to it. We drink it too cold. Pop, Pour, Fix and Gulp. And if it
foams out of the bottle, even better! I’m not suggesting that it be enjoyed in a
white wine glass and that the mousse be allowed to settle a bit in the glass so
as to enjoy the wine as a wine with
the benefit of some air and without the freshly bubbling mousse over stimulating and clouding the palate
(well, actually, I am).
But I have to concede that Champagne does make every occasion
special. It needn’t be a special
occasion. It’s the Champagne itself that elevates the occasion. Certainly now that the long road of labor
has ended in your successful completion of the university’s requirements for a
PhD – sure: open the Champagne. The
repair shop calls you to advise the problem with your car is not as serious as what
they thought and it will cost much less than what they estimated – sure: wake
up from that dream and enjoy a glass.
Or, it’s Sunday. And you’re looking forward to time with the newspaper
and making something to eat without you having to eat it behind the steering
wheel of your car on your way to work.
Brunch anyone?
I love Champagne. Its
acidity makes it a trusted companion to many foods. A brut can go nicely with
oysters on the half shell or just as well with potato chips on movie night at
home and you in your pajamas. Or poached
eggs and salmon toast. Or wasabi deviled eggs, or actually so many styles of
deviled eggs. Or smoked trout, salmon or other roe over cream cheese and
horseradish filled Belgian endive cups. Sushi, sashimi, oh my!
A previous Sunday was so lazy, I used whatever I had. No trips
to the grocery. Brunch made from what was on hand and wine from the
“cellar”. That meant quiche Lorraine,
fresh fruit, steamed asparagus. That meant Champagne Bollinger special cuvee
brut. On the nose, it’s all clean and
fresh. There’s a whisper of clean sea breeze and a note of kelp. The Kimmergian
shelf extending into Champagne, comprised of the shells of marine
micro-organisms, contributes to a sub-soil of chalk, marl and limestone that
gives the wines from Champagne their unique minerality and (for me) salinity on
the nose. On the palate: a meld of
citrus-orange and brioche. Minerality is
strong and commanding attention while yet being part of a whole. Apple is
dominant. Notes of toasted walnut.
The wine is 60% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot
Meunier. 30% of the juice is aged in used oak barrels of 228-liter size (60.2
gallons) and some (40-year-old) 400 liter casks before blending. It’s rich with
no jagged edges; a nice roundness that can only be appreciated by slowing its
consumption down after pouring it into your glass. Bollinger’s own vineyards are the source of
over 60% of their production which emphasizes Pinot Noir. And while vintage
conditions change with weather, these estate vineyards provide for consistency in
location at least, and in the management and harvesting of the vineyards. The
wine is matured for 30-36 months on the lees with the final blend consisting of
40% to 50% of reserve wines and 5-10% of those reserve wines being 5-15 years
in age and having been kept in magnums, instead of stainless or cask, under cork.
Bollinger has more than 750,000 reserve magnums stored and it is this reserve
wine that contributes
to notes of dried fruit (apricot) that adds to the complexity of their Special
Cuvee. Of the Chardonnay used in their Special Cuvee, 90% comes from premier
and grand cru vineyards in the Cotes des Blancs.
This is labor intensive made Champagne
with other tasters commenting on notes of peaches and pear, crème brulee and
candied Meyer lemon zest and hazel nuts. It is the purest expression of
Bollinger’s house style and, I think, will even get better with 1-2 years aging
in your cellar. Its balance of creaminess and tart-crisp acidity is
Wallenda-like. What a pity to Pop, Pour,
Fizz and Gulp. But with a little time in the glass, what a reward! Be imaginative and think of your own reason
to pair it with something – and make that something something special.
Sante!
……... Jim
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ETCETERA
Imported By: Terlato
Wines International
ALC: 12%
Style: Brut
Dosage: 8-9
grams per liter
ARP $57.
(U.S.)
James Suckling: 92
Points
Wine & Spirits Mag: 93
Points
Wine Spectator: 93
Points
Note: Full disclosure requires I admit to having a built-in,
incontrollable preference for Blanc de Blanc, 100% Chardonnay. You too will have a preference and that may
include Blanc de Noir or sparkling wines, or Champagne other than a brut style,
or Prosecco or still another form of “bubbly”.
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