Thread: 13 Champagnes, 13 dishes, 18 guests

Mike Tommasi wrote:
> Sunday 7 September Cathy and I got together with Nils Gustaf of AFW fame
> and Christina and 14 other friends for lunch around the theme of
> Champagne, each couple had to bring something they thought could pair up
> with well bred bubbles, and I would then determine the food-wine
> pairings. 13 wines were served, many biodynamic, all top names spanning
> just about all the best terroirs of the appellation, including the
> famous Chardonnays from Cramant, Le Mesnil, Avize and the famous Pinot
> Noirs from Aÿ and Ambonnay.
>
> Diebolt-Vallois: Blanc de Blancs Prestige (Cramant, Côte des Blancs),
> 100% chardonnay 2/3 vinified in wood, with foie gras on grilled spicy
> shortbread with my home made eggplant jam. A wine that everyone loved,
> delicate and rich with good balance. ***
>
> Vilmart & Cie: Grand Cellier d’Or 2001 (Rilly-la-Montagne, Montagne de
> Reims), 70% chardonnay 30% Pinot Noir vinified in wood “foudres”,
> accompanied by two goat-cheese ravioli with my home made tomato jam. A
> fine delicate wine. **
>
> Bertrand Gautherot : Blanc d’Argile (Buxeuil-sur-Arce, Côte des Bar),
> 100% Chardonnay, biodynamic, barrel vinified, served with wild smoked
> salmon from Sweden (Nils Gustaf & Christina). It is hard to match smoked
> salmon to wine, even harder with real smoked salmon, but everyone
> appreciated it with the slight oxidation of this powerful and, how can I
> say it, “precise” wine. ***
>
> Bérèche & Fils : Reflet d’Antan (Le Craon de Ludes), 50% Chardonnay 50%
> Pinot Noir barrel vinified, served with our cold cucumber and crab soup
> with a julienne of granny smith apples. A fresh and delicate wine for a
> zingy dish. **
>
> Pierre Moncuit : Blanc de Blancs 1996 brut (Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Côtes
> des Blancs), 100% chardonnay, served with prawns, Puy lentils and dal
> (Lucien & Annie). Super wine, iodine, persistent. ***
>
> Benoit Lahaye : Fleur de Terroir (Bouzy, Côte des Noirs), 50% Pinot Noir
> 50% chardonnay, biodynamic, vinified in barrels, powerful, lively and
> balanced, served with provençal stuffed eggplant and pepper rolls
> (Lucien & Andrée). Spicy food with concentrated tastes and a powerful
> wine to keep it all clean and fresh. **
>
> Champagne Raymond Boulard : Les Rachais 2002 (La Neuville aux Larris,
> Vallée de la Marne), 100% chardonnay, converting to biodynamic, served
> with spicy prawns (Bob). When this wine was younger, it exhibited the
> smells of the ocean coast, of oysters and seaweed almost, some of us
> loved it that way, and with time it has become round and well behaved
> with beautiful mineral character. ***
>
> Gatinois : Brut Millésime 2002 (Aÿ, Vallée de la Marne), 90% Pinot Noir
> 10% Chardonnay, served with crostini of sardine fillets (Georges &
> Cathy). A powerful wine that fared well with the unctuous and almost
> delicate sardines. ***
>
> Larmandier-Bernier : Terre de Vertus (Vertus, Côtes des Blancs), 100%
> chardonnay, biodynamic, served with a glass of shrimp, avocado and
> grapefruit (Laurent & Manu). Super intense wine that played well with
> the acidity of the grapefruit and the fat of the avocado, nice effect. ***
>
> Roses de Jeanne : Blanc de Noirs « Les Ursules » (Celles-sur-Ource, Côte
> des Bar), 100% Pinot Noir, served on wild mushroom vol-au-vent (Jean
> Pierre & Evelyne). Autumn flavors on a delicate wine. **
>
> Egly-Ouriet : Brut « VP » (Ambonnay, Côte des Noirs), 70% Pinot Noir 30%
> Chardonnay with 84 months of bottle aging, served with duck breast
> marinated in Lagavulin whisky, morels and a light Chinese imperial tea
> sauce (Mike & Cathy). Extraordinary rich balanced wine well matched to
> the smoky aroma of the duck. ***
>
> Dehours & Fils : Blanc de Pinot Meunier 2003 (Cerseuil, Vallée de la
> Marne), 100% Pinot Meunier vinified in barrels, served with potatoes
> roasted in spiced “lardo” made by Elio’s mum (Elio & Ute). A generous
> wine for these finely spiced spuds. **
>
> Jacques Selosse : Exquise (Avize, Côte des Blancs), 100% chardonnay,
> dry, dosage 18g/l, served as a finale after (not really with) my home
> made duo of traditional blancmange of real almond milk (i.e. made only
> with water and almonds) topped by a "Bellini" of white peaches and
> sparkling Provence rosé lightly gelled with xanthan gum and surrounded
> by a miniature tropezienne cake and a raspberry macaron. After a dessert
> with summer flavors, this truly unique wine with a hint of marmalade and
> Christmas pudding completed our tasting. ***
>
> * = disappointing
> ** = nice
> *** = excellent
> Exactly equivalent to the DaleW scale, minus the minuses and pluses
> which are Dale's subliminal way of attaching numerical scores :-))))
>
>


PS all wines were supplied by Le Cercle Champenois and selected by my
friend Pierre Yves Cainjo who runs this incredible wine store.

--
Mike Tommasi - Six Fours, France
email link http://www.tommasi.org/mymail

Mike Tommasi wrote:
> Sunday 7 September Cathy and I got together with Nils Gustaf of AFW fame
> and Christina and 14 other friends for lunch around the theme of
> Champagne, each couple had to bring something they thought could pair up
> with well bred bubbles, and I would then determine the food-wine
> pairings. 13 wines were served, many biodynamic, all top names spanning
> just about all the best terroirs of the appellation, including the
> famous Chardonnays from Cramant, Le Mesnil, Avize and the famous Pinot
> Noirs from Aÿ and Ambonnay.

What a great lineup of foods and wines, Mike. I'm jealous! I was
actually surprised at the number of names that I recognized:
Diebolt-Vallois, Vilmart, Moncuit, Boulard (of course),
Larmandier-Bernier and the stardards Egly-Ouriet and Selosse.


> Larmandier-Bernier : Terre de Vertus (Vertus, Côtes des Blancs), 100%
> chardonnay, biodynamic, served with a glass of shrimp, avocado and
> grapefruit (Laurent & Manu). Super intense wine that played well with
> the acidity of the grapefruit and the fat of the avocado, nice effect. ***

Sounds great. Isn't this the non-dosage version? I've had their
regular NV Vertus, which is also a nice sparkling Chardonnay ;-)

Mark Lipton
--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

Pretty nice lineup, though I think I've only had a few of those
producers: Egly-Ouriet , Selosse, Vilmart, Moncuit, Larmandier-
Bernier . Sounds like fun!

> Exactly equivalent to the DaleW scale, minus the minuses and pluses
> which are Dale's subliminal way of attaching numerical scores :-))))
>
Hey, did I ever claim there was any difference? To me, one is ranking
wines whether one's system is points, grades, stars, prongs, Stooges,
buy/don't buy, or any other scale you use. I use grades because it's
most intuitive to me, but never have dissed those who use points or
stars. My only objection is to those who claim a consistent and
quantative meaning to those points, grades, stars, or prongs.

DaleW wrote:
> Pretty nice lineup, though I think I've only had a few of those
> producers: Egly-Ouriet , Selosse, Vilmart, Moncuit, Larmandier-
> Bernier . Sounds like fun!
>
>> Exactly equivalent to the DaleW scale, minus the minuses and pluses
>> which are Dale's subliminal way of attaching numerical scores :-))))
>>
> Hey, did I ever claim there was any difference? To me, one is ranking
> wines whether one's system is points, grades, stars, prongs, Stooges,
> buy/don't buy, or any other scale you use. I use grades because it's
> most intuitive to me, but never have dissed those who use points or
> stars. My only objection is to those who claim a consistent and
> quantative meaning to those points, grades, stars, or prongs.

ha ha ! Sensssssitivvvve... :-)

Actually grades are intuitive, we grew up with them and are ingrained in
our heads... I think A B and C are sufficient for wine; the + and -
imply that you can have C- C C+ B- B B+ A- A A+ and maybe some -- and
++, so there you have a scale of 10. Anyhow, fundamentally we agree that
there is nothing more ridiculous than comparing a 92 to a 93... :-)

--
Mike Tommasi - Six Fours, France
email link http://www.tommasi.org/mymail

Mike Tommasi wrote:
> DaleW wrote:
>> Pretty nice lineup, though I think I've only had a few of those
>> producers: Egly-Ouriet , Selosse, Vilmart, Moncuit, Larmandier-
>> Bernier . Sounds like fun!
>>
>>> Exactly equivalent to the DaleW scale, minus the minuses and pluses
>>> which are Dale's subliminal way of attaching numerical scores :-))))
>>>
>> Hey, did I ever claim there was any difference? To me, one is ranking
>> wines whether one's system is points, grades, stars, prongs, Stooges,
>> buy/don't buy, or any other scale you use. I use grades because it's
>> most intuitive to me, but never have dissed those who use points or
>> stars. My only objection is to those who claim a consistent and
>> quantative meaning to those points, grades, stars, or prongs.
>
> ha ha ! Sensssssitivvvve... :-)
>
> Actually grades are intuitive, we grew up with them and are ingrained in
> our heads... I think A B and C are sufficient for wine; the + and -
> imply that you can have C- C C+ B- B B+ A- A A+ and maybe some -- and
> ++, so there you have a scale of 10. Anyhow, fundamentally we agree that
> there is nothing more ridiculous than comparing a 92 to a 93... :-)
>

Which is why the French are happy with the 20 point scale (which I guess
was adopted as the Davis (no relation) scale). Every kid K through
Terminal is graded out of 20...

-E