Sparkling wine from France and Italy

Three sparkling wines in different styles and countries and regions. First up is a sparkling wine from Champagne. It is a Moet & Chandon Grand Vintage Rose from 2006. It has an ABV of 12,5%. Vintage champagne is not made every year. Year 2006 had a hot July followed by a cool and rainy August. But when the harvest started it was hot and dry. Then the wine rested seven years on the yeast before being degorged. I let it rest for four more years before opening the bottle. In the taste I get raspberry, spicy bread with good acidity and body. A lovely rose wine which could probably been resting for many more years.

Then going south to Italy we find the producer Ciu Ciu and the wine Altamarea which is a Vino Spumante Brut. The ABV is 12% an it is a non vintage sparkling wine. On the nose I get some pear. The taste is light and slightly bready. Could work as an alternative to Prosecco.

Last is the sparkling wine Spumante brut from producer I Pastini in Puglia in Italy. The vintage is 2017 and the ABV 12%. The grape used for this wine is Verdeca. The taste is of melon, apple and some bread notes. Quite nice and light. Short to medium finish. A nice sparkling wine.

Two champagnes, Napoleon and Moet Chandon Imperial

At the end of the year is the only time as I taste Champagne. The first champagne is the Napoleon of the vintage 2002. It has been lying on the yeast for 13 years so one can expect quite a bready champagne. The producer is Champagne Ch. & A. Prieur and it was founded in 1825. This vintage consists of equal parts Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The smell is quite powerful. The taste is of bread and some apples or pears. For me it is just a bit to much bready but for others this will be the perfect champagne.

Moet Chandon is a big producer of Champagne and their Moet Chandon Imperial is a very common Champagne. It is a non vintage champagne. The taste is of bready and apples with some acidity. A bit similar to to Napoleon but lighter in taste.

Champagne and more champagne

For new years eve I had the chance to sample several champagnes.

Baron Fuente is a brut vintage champagne from 2002. I bought it several years ago and I had almost forgotten that I had it. When pouring this champagne it were not so much bubbles any more but it smelled nice. The taste were still strong but I had the feeling that this champagne were on its last legs and would probably become worse in the upcoming years.

Next champagne were the vintage champagne Comte Audoin de Dampierre from 2002. This one still had all the bubbles left and the smell of this were very strong. It had an elegant taste and I think this champagne can be stored for several more years.

I also had the chance to try a brut nature champagne, which is a champagne with no added sugar. Very good and dry.

Sparkling wine from new year

A tradition on new year is to drink sparkling wine. But the best idea is to start with the best wine first before ones taste buds have become numb.

A bottle which has been lying in my cellar for a couple of years now is a Ruinart brut Millésimé from 2000. It is dry and has a taste of apples, bread, some citrus and blood oranges. Very good and a perfect start of the evening. Very elegant sparkling wine.

A sparkling wine producing region that I have never tasted anything from before is Franciacorta in Lombardy in Italy. But this were to change after tasting the wine Lo Sparviero brut of vintage 2008 by the producer of the same name, Lo Sparviero. It is very nice, taste of citrus and bread. Lot of bubbles to start with so I had to let it rest a half a minute before drinking it.

New Year is sparkling

Sparkling wines and new year go hand in hand and this year is no different. The first sparkling wine were a champagne, namely a Taittinger Millesime from 2004. I bought it five years ago and it was time to try it now. The bouquet was wonderful, a lot of floral notes. The taste were of strong notes of citrus, bread and apples. It had a very long lingering aftertaste. Excellent champagne.

The second sparkling wine of the evening were a South African sparkling wine. From producer Simonsig comes Kaapse Vonkel Brut from 2011. A first time for me. Very good wine. Complex taste with citrus and some almost smokiness in the aftertaste. Delightful, I hope I can taste it again soon. The grapes used in this were the same as used in Champagnes (Pinot noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier.)

The evening finished with Cremant D'Alsace and a bottle of Kabir (Moscato di Pantelleria) from producer Donnafugata. The Kabir taste better now after a year of storage so will the last bottle taste better in one years time? Only time will tell.

Charles Ellner brut 1999

After the birthday tasting of champagne it was new year and yet another good reason to try out one more champagne. I decided to stay in the nineties with a champagne from 1999 by Charles Ellner. Now this champagne is good and my first impression was. Wow, this is so much bread taste in this one it is huge. Certainly not for all people, but very good dry champagne.

When celebrating my 40th birthday I thought a champagne tasting wold be in order, especially some good vintage champagnes. And it would be interesting to see how the different champagnes would work together with the food also. But Champagne works very well with everything, right?

The first champagne of the day was a Delamotte Blanc de Blancs from 2002. The smell were delightful. Very good. The taste were of fruits, dry and very elegant. An excellent champagne for aperitifs. Went very well together with the Breasola with Parmesan and olive oil.

For the maincourse of pie made from Västerbotten cheese the first champagne was Wilmart & Cie from 1999, a Grand Cellar d'Or. The smell very strong and delightful yet again. The taste were strong, dry, fruits and a yeast/bread taste which was very good. yet again an excellent wine. Worked very well together with the pie.

The third wine of the evening were a Moet & Chandon from 2000. The smell delightful. The taste of this champagne were very complex. Dry, bread, citrus and a hint of minerals. Very good.

For the dessert which consisted of an Italian Panatone the drink of the day were yet again a champagne. This time a Jaquart, 2002 Millesime. Smelled a bit less tha the three other tasted champagnes. Now this felt like an aperitif champagne. Dry, citrus taste. Very good yet again. Worked very well with the panatone.

A wonderful evening spent discovering the excellent taste of vintage champagnes.

De Venoge champagne, Blanc de Noirs

Almost Christmas and what better way to relax and enjoy a good meal than to open a bottle of champagne. The food of today was hamburger made of boar and cow meat. Maybe not the normal food for champagne, but interesting to see how it would fit together.

The champagne of today was a bottle of De Venoge, Blanc de Noirs. The Champagne House de Venoge has been producing champagne for over 160 years. And a Blanc de Noirs is a champagne made with only with the grapes Pinot meunier and Pinot noir.

The champgne had a very nice taste. Some fruits, a bit apple like and then a very long aftertaste that lingered in the mouth. It was a taste of summer berries, very nice.

The interesting thing was that the champagne worked very well together with the hamburgers. When checking the label after the meal it said that this champagne was served with game or duck liver dishes.

God jul!