CHAMPAGNE

Champagne makes the blood tingle, ensures the party gets started, and indeed seems wholly appropriate at all hours of the day and night. I wonder if Boris will adopt his idol Winston Churchill’s practice of an Imperial pint of Pol Roger brought to him on a silver plate at 11 am each morning!

Champagne comes from the eponymous region 70 kilometres east of Paris. Only sparkling wines made using the Méthode Champenoise in this region are entitled to use the name Champagne, and any attempt by others to use the name are fiercely rebuffed. That said the use of Méthode Champenoise (or Méthode Traditionelle, as it is often called) is responsible for the worlds’ finest bubblies. It involves two fermentations, the second of which takes place within a sealed bottle, thus, as the grape sugar is gobbled up by the yeast, carbon dioxide is produced which is re-absorbed into the wine and ensures the finest of bubbles, which persist in the glass. From picking the grapes (Chardonnay and Pinots’ Noir and Meunier are the only grapes permitted) to the release, a bottle occupies around 40 man-hours. It is complex and magical.

If you get the chance to visit the region you must! The Cathedral in Reims is most impressive, and if you find yourself at a loose end late in the evening you can hone your Karaoke skills at Le Bar des Amis in Rue Emile Zola. Many styles of Champagne exist, the principal one being Brut Non-Vintage, accounting for around 85% of production. Blanc de Blancs (100% Chardonnay) is wonderful in the right hands, citrusy and tingling fresh when young, taking on some toasty, brioche flavours with age. Blanc de Noirs is always Pinot, so it

can feel fuller in flavour. If not specified on the label, then the blend will most likely constitute all three grapes.

Around 17,000 Champagne houses exist within the 33,000-hectare landscape, dominated by Moët & Chandon, who corner 25% of the market. Many smaller, family houses remain at the top of the quality spectrum and we particularly recommend Louis Roederer, Taittinger, and Pol

Roger. There are equally some tremendous small Growers who produce some delicious fizz, and price competitively as there is no “marketing spend” written in to the cost. Do try our excellent Esterlin Brut, really fresh and fabulous, as well as Gardet, which is a little fuller in flavour, and in one instance was likened to “mini Krug” – praise indeed!

Champagne seems to taste wonderful 24/7 and is always appropriate. As Napoleon said, “I could not live without champagne; in victory I deserve it, in defeat I need it.” I will raise a glass to that!

Julian Chamberlen

JS 91

POINTS

BRUT ECLAT, NV

ESTERLIN NON-VINTAGE

DRINK 2020+

6x75 £117.85

I tasted it recently and drained the glass embarrassingly quickly; it is really excellent, exceptionally fine mousse and dangerously drinkable – the blend is 50% Chardonnay, and 50% Pinots Noir and Meunier, it is superbly fresh, with notes of white flower and mineral, the Chardonnay singing. Good looking bottle too!

MEET THE GROWER

Esterlin

Esterlin is a family champagne house, and we approve very much of “family” so it is a pleasure to have as our “house champagne”, and I hope you will enjoy it as much as we do! In 1948, three families combined to grow and make champagne themselves, rather than sell the grapes on to winemakers. They began with 23 hectares, have kept investing, and now have 105 hectares. Their Brut Eclat is made from Chardonnay, and equal parts Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. There’s 52 different villages and terroirs covered by Esterlin’s vineyard holdings. Mostly each vineyard has its own press, so the quality of the grapes and juice is assured, as they are pressed immediately after picking. The range of different terroirs across Champagne allows the blender and head wine maker, Laurent Etienne, to make a consistent and quite rich house style in terms of colour and fruit profile. They have a large warehouse holding 3.5 million bottles, each wrapped up to protect it from natural light. Temperature remains constant at 12 degrees all year. For their non-vintage blend, they can then choose from a large range of wines held over many years to make their house style. The secondary vinification occurs after blending. It undergoes 36-month minimum bottle ageing – high for a NV – and then a further 6 months in bottle after secondary fermentation. This creates a very balanced style with great fruit and slightly nutty profile, simply delicious!

CLASSIC GRAPE VARIETALS

Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier

SOIL TYPE

Kimmeridgian limestone

FAVOURITE PRODUCERS

Pol Roger, Dom Perignon, Taittinger, Krug and Veuve Clicquot

AREA UNDER VINE 34,300ha

MEET THE GROWER Taittinger

Founded in 1734. this quality Champagne house headquartered in Reims is run by Pierre Emmanuel Taittinger and his highly energetic children, Clovis and Vitalie. Never afraid to take risks they invested in some land in Kent on which they will produce Domaine Evremond using the Methode Champenoise. The first release is anticipated in 2023. Having recently spent time at Wiston estate in Sussex it is clear that our noble country does have excellent scope to produce world class sparkling wines; the enduring question is how will we find a collective noun to describe our great British Bubbly. In Champagne they are big owners of vineyards, with 288 hectares spread over the landscape. The style of the house is one of elegance, delicacy and finesse, with their Brut Non-Vintage being incredibly consistent. Do try the top cuvées: Comtes de Champagne, which is always a vintage wine - both Blanc de Blancs (100% Chardonnay) and Rosé are made, and they are exquisite.

BRUT RESERVE, NV

TAITTINGER NON-VINTAGE

DRINK 2020+

6x75 £160

Representing a bottling currently circulating in Europe as their self-proclaimed “signature” cuvee, Taittinger’s NV Brut Reserve delivers fresh apple and lime on an exuberantly juicy palate, with notes of zest and apple pit adding invigoration to a lusciously lingering finish. Less complex or subtle – not to mention less strikingly buoyant – than its U.S. “La Francaise” counterpart that I tasted alongside, the sweetness of this Reserve renders it all the more vividly apple-y, though that implies a certain sweetsour tug. Certainly its finish exhibits impressive sheer grip. I imagine that it might become more interesting over the coming year, but I would not hold bottles longer.

—DAVID SCHILDKNECHT

WA 88

POINTS

COMTES DE CHAMPAGNE BLANC DE BLANCS

TAITTINGER 2007

DRINK 2018 – 2029

3x150 £530

The 2007 Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs is an excellent but tightly wound rendition of this cuvée, offering up pretty aromas of brioche, lemon oil, lily pollen and dried white flowers, with comparatively few of the overtly toasty signatures that will likely emerge with more protracted time on cork. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, pure and incisive, with a refined mousse, tangy acids, a tensile core and a harmonious, integrated profile. While it is giving pleasure today, to my palate, its plenitude is still five or six years away; it’s certainly more backward than its 2006 predecessor. This was disgorged with nine grams dosage after just over nine years on the lees.

—WILLIAM KELLEY

WA 95

POINTS

Come quickly, I am tasting the stars!

—DOM PERIGNON

RECIPE

Pot-au-feu

INGREDIENTS

• 1 x 2kg/5lb piece beef brisket • selection of vegetables, such as leeks, carrots, celery, onions, parsnips, turnips and butternut squash, cut into pieces • salt and freshly ground black pepper • bouquet garni (made with flatleaf parsley, thyme and bay leaves) • 2 boiling sausages • 1 small chicken

• 3 tomatoes

• 2 handfuls spaghetti, broken into pieces

METHOD

1. Put the beef in a very large pan and cover with cold water. Bring slowly to the boil, removing the foam that will form on the surface of the water, using a slotted spoon.

2. Add the chopped vegetables to the pan along with the salt and freshly ground black pepper and the bouquet garni. Simmer, covered, for two hours over a low heat.

3. After two hours, add the chicken and sausages to the pan. Simmer for a further two hours until all of the meat is tender and cooked through. Take the pan off the heat.

4. Carefully remove the meat and vegetables from the pan and keep warm.

5. Put the pan back on the heat, and, when simmering, add the spaghetti. Cook for a further 7-10 minutes until the pasta is cooked through.

6. Serve the broth first and then the warmed meat on the side, along with some mustard and gherkins.