A little while back, my wife and I were thrilled to join 5 other guests at a friend’s first annual Bubble-Q in their back yard. The idea was to serve a multi-course BBQ meal and to pair each course with a different Champagne from the host and hostess’ cellar. The goal, in part, was to demonstrate the versatility of Champagne across a wide range of foods served throughout the course of an entire evening. In the end, I have to admit that I was won over to our host’s way of thinking, as indeed all of the Champagnes showed wonderfully and many of the pairings were unexpectedly sublime.
Arrival:
N.V. Billecart-Salmon Champagne Brut Réserve. Served from magnum. A was really floored by how much I was drawn to this blend of 40% Pinot Meunier, 30% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay (from Lot 776692 27806M). It all starts with the beautiful, crystal clear bouquet of toast, brioche, flowers, ginger, apple, pear, lemon and smoke that is extremely elegant, yet pliant and giving. Moreover, it has just a great overall mouthfeel to it, expanding out to all corners of the mouth with its airy, finessed and silky-textured goodness. There is excellent energy and verve here all the way through, keeping the flavors of pear, apple and tangy citrus absolutely dancing on the palate. It is classy, fun and edgy stuff that serves as a perfect start to the evening. It was one of my absolute favorite wines of the night.
First course: Aged cheeses and dried fruits
N.V. Krug Champagne Grande Cuvée Brut. Served from a magnum purchased in 2006. Really, I think this is showing pretty tight at the moment—as it needs a lot of air to come around and a second glass to really start to show its chops. Overall, I find the nose to be dark and toasty, with lots of roasted nut, piecrust, wood, peach, apple, citrus peel, flinty mineral and struck match aromas taking turns leading the way. In the mouth, it is rather leesy, quite creamy-textured and a bit nutty in nature. It is certainly dry, but also rich with flavors of ginger, sweet citrus, peach, browned pears, nuts and smoke. One clearly senses, though, that the wine is just not ready to fully release its glory yet. I’d hold this at least a few more years before trying again.
Second course: Spiced Tuna with Avocado Salsa & Pickled Cucumbers
1990 Perrier-Jouët Champagne Belle Epoque. Served from magnum. One sees very slow, sporadic bubbles in the glass with this wine. Initially, the nose is cool, minerally and precise. Over time, though, it starts more and more to show a bit of advancing age, with notes of brass, toffee and marzipan starting to fill in below the top-note aromas of peach, stones, chalk and lime peel. In the mouth, it makes many fewer concessions to its age—showing excellent life and presence all the way through. It is very dry but also quite giving and generous in its deeply-layered flavors of dark yellow fruits, citrus, pear, limestone and quinine. This is really an outstanding food wine and both it and the dish were elevated via this ideal pairing.
Third course: A Trio of Sausages, a Trio of Dips
N.V. Henriot Champagne Brut Souverain. Served from magnum. This wine features a crisp and crunchy nose somewhat narrowly-defined by aromas of struck flint, smoke, graphite and botanical herbs riding atop some shy notes of cherry skins, apples and pears. Although tight on the nose, it is more giving in the mouth, with a significant push of white peach, clotted cream, citrus, minerals and mint flavors carried along a creamy-textured frame. Yet, it also displays very good acidic bite—with a taut and tensile finish that cuts right through the fat and spicy heat elements found in several of the sausages (Thai Spice, Apple Gouda, Sundried Tomato and Mozzarella) and their dipping sauces. It is very nicely balanced in that way and seems like a rather versatile food Champagne to me.
Fourth course: Honeydew and Brown Tomato Salad with Toasted Pepitas
1990 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne Brut La Grande Dame. Served from magnum. This wine was in absolute top form this night—taking Wine of the Night honors for me. First off, it has a beautiful, elegant and classy bouquet of lemon, yeast, stone, toasted citrus peel, drawn butter, apple and smoke aromas that is much more than the sum of its parts. It remains serious, classy, contemplative and complex once one sips it, too. It is leesy, broad, gently foamy, but also intense and extremely flavorful. In short, it has it all going on right now and would seem to be drinking right in the zone.
Intermission, with several games of bocce:
2005 J. Lassalle Champagne Cuvee Angeline. I think this was the only Champagne served from a regular 750ml bottle. It has a really fun and overt nose redolent of lime pith, graphite, white peach, lemon pixie stick powder, lavender and cherry aromas. It is much the same in the mouth, where it comes across as a pretty and fun wine with immediate appeal, if not quite the grandeur or pensiveness of some of the other wines served throughout the evening. It is juicy and doles out a healthy serving of slightly sweet peach and apricot fruit that lead to a flowery, cherry-tinged finish. It is a bit soft in texture and not the most structured, but again it goes for and achieves an easy, leisurely feel that certainly delivers a solid dose of drinking pleasure.
Fifth course: Beef Sliders with Aged Cheddar and Rosemary Truffle Polenta Fries
1990 Deutz Champagne Cuvée William Deutz. Served from magnum. I’ve had this wine a few times and I think this was probably the best showing to date—certainly better than the magnum a few of us had in 2009 and probably a bit better than the bottle we had in 2007. The bubbles here are tame, but the wine itself is doing just fine. The bouquet is nice, with aromas of peach, bergamot, stones, wax and yeasty dough. It is lusciously creamy and pleasingly layered in the mouth, but with fine lift to the tree fruit and citrus flavors. It displays good length and overall is drinking very well, in my opinion. Still, my previous experiences suggest that drinking up is still the best advice with this wine.
Sixth course: Country-style Pork Ribs a la Pink Adobe Restaurant with Jicama Slaw
N.V. Henriot Champagne Brut Rosé. Served from magnum. Man, this is young and explosive—giving off a big blast of sulfer on the nose to start, followed quickly by aromas of cherry, raspberry soda, quinine and lime pith. In the mouth, it is similarly super-lively, with everything bright and shiny and exuberantly tangy. It displays a bold profile of steel, raspberry, cherry and citrus that just doesn’t quit. It doesn’t have much in the way of nuance, but it sure is a wake-up call.
Dessert: Almond & Berry Dream; An Assortment of Greek Pastries from Athans Bakery
1989 Moulin Touchais Coteaux du Layon. Ed and I convinced our host to let us bring something to the party and so we agreed to supply some sweet wines. My contribution to the festivities was this bottle of 1989 Moulin Touchais. First off, the nose is chock full of lanolin, wool, clover honey, lemon rind, herbs, bergamot, dried nut and mineral aromas that are distinctive and rather intriguing to contemplate. In the mouth, it is only moderately sweet (especially compared to the Baumard QdC)—with great minerality to go with the wax candy, hay, wool, herb and sweet citrus flavors. It has a really nice vivacity to it and an oily density I really like, too. Overall, it is classy, really characterful and tasty, and most definitely built for the very long haul.
1990 Domaine des Baumard Quarts de Chaume. This is much more amplified in just about every way compared to the Moulin Touchais. First, the bouquet is huge and gorgeously sweet—oozing with aromas of crème brulee, botrytis spices, caramel, spun sugar, toasted citrus peel and orange marmalade that are layered, creamy and multi-faceted. This grabs your attention, whereas the Moulin Touchais is a lot more contemplative and subdued. In the mouth, it is full of caramel, tangy citrus, pear, quince and chutney sorts of flavors that are rich, sweet, sexy and long-lasting. It is impressive stuff, though I have to admit that the intense sweetness is almost a bit too much after a while. I can really enjoy a glass or two of this, whereas I think I could happily drink a good deal more of the Moulin Touchais (though not after all this food and Champagne!). These were two completely different Chenins and a fun study in contrasting styles.
-Michael