It's Champagne Season! 10.22.2013

Let's face it:  it's always champagne season.  Sometimes, I sip champagne because it's Tuesday and the sunset looks great.  Why not?  But it is true that champagne is my favorite beverage and I never need an occasion to drink it.  

My wine guy, Phil Bernstein, of MacArthur Beverages in DC recently organized a tasting for wine/food bloggers to blind taste grower champagnes.  So I immediately arranged for child care and told Eric I would be out for the evening.  Obviously.

Grower champagnes -- also known as "farmer fizz" -- come directly from the families who own the vineyards.  Larger champagne houses such as Veuve, Moet, or Pol Roger, gather their grapes from the entire Champagne region.  You can distinguish a grower champagne by the initials RM (Recoltant-Manipulant, which means grower producer) on the wine label.

Phil set up eight brut champagnes for us to taste, with one ringer that was champagne but not a grower champagne.  I know what you're thinking:  this is more fun than anyone should be allowed to have.  If you've never been to tasting, you are missing out.  Aside from learning new tastes and textures of wine, the conversation that happens around the tasting is ridiculously fun for any wine nerd.

We blind tasted all eight champagnes, interspersed with comments, and guesses about the ringer.  I'm going to list the champagnes we tasted, with these comments:

My favorite was the Dosnon & Lepage Brut ($40).  It was dry with a tiny hint of sweetness.  It had a smooth texture and went down easy.  I'd enjoy this as my daily champagne, if I was someone who drank daily champagne.  

There were two rosés in the tasting and I was not crazy about them.  I have a hard time with rosé champagne:  the bubbles dissipate in a cluster-like way, which can be distracting from the taste, and the taste was not potent enough for me.  The two rosés were:  Dosnon & Lepage Brut rosé ($40) and Pascal Doquet Brut rosé ($49.99).

The ringer was a Louis Roederer Brut Premier ($40).  When I first smelled it, it was a little funky.  But that's never deterred me from trying a beverage and by the second sip, I was enjoying it.

Other champagnes in the blind taste test were:

• L. Aubry Fils Brut Premier Cru ($39.99):  Very even; something I'd love to drink before (or with) an Indian meal.

• Pierre Peters Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Cuvee de Reserve ($49.99):  a little smoother than the Aubry and a longer finish.

• 2007 Vilmart & Cie Brut Grand Cellier D'Or ($69.99): Phil's description:  "This one would be for the acid freaks."

• 2010 Cedric Bouchard (Inflorescence) Brut Blanc de Noirs Val Vilaine ($59.99):  Powerful finish; perfect to pair with oysters.

During the champagne tasting, there was also a tasting going on for Highland Park Single Malt Scotch Whiskey (12 and 15 years aged).  In addition to being a champagne lover, I also very deeply love single malt scotch whiskey (I am Indian after all).  I tried both and purchased the 12 year;  smoother and just the right amount of intense smokiness.  Big recommend.

For all other wine recommendations, ask my wine guy.

MacArthur Beverages

4877 MacArthur Beverages, NW

Washington, DC 20007

1-866-674-3716

Notes from a Champagne Tasting 02.24.2013

Pouring the good stuff at the Pol Roger tasting at MacArthur Beverages

Shortly after I met Eric, he introduced me to what I now think is the best champagne:  Pol Roger.  He was quite insistent that Pol Roger was the way to go, and he was right.  That first sip to the last of Pol Roger, the crisp cut of the white grapes mixed with the tiniest bit of sweetness, is pure happiness.  It's not surprising that Winston Churchilll loved this champagne so much.

The label from our 1997 Churchill

Shortly after we were engaged, we received a vintage 1997 Pol Roger Brut Cuvee Winston Churchill.  We waited to drink it at our wedding reception and enjoyed every single sip.  And you know every time there is an impending natural disaster or national security threat, I run out and get a bottle or two of Pol Roger just in case the world does end.  And when it doesn’t end, I celebrate by drinking Pol Roger champagne.  It’s really a win-win.

MacArthur Beverages yesterday held a tasting of four varieties of Pol Roger champagne, and it did not take much convincing for me to go.  One was the 1999 Winston Churchill ($199).  There also was a 2004 Rose ($99), a 1999 Blanc de Chardonnay ($109), and the Brut Reserve (what I call the “plain Jane” Pol Roger) for $44.99.  (All of the prices noted are sale prices.)  My favorite was the plain Jane, followed by the Blanc de Chardonnay.  I was surprised not to be blown over by the Churchill, but there it is.  I also really enjoyed the Rose and would drink that again.  But if forced to choose one, definitely the Brut Reserve.  Simple and spectacular.

One of my dream house fantasies involves a rather large wine fridge stocked – every single slot – with Pol Roger Brut Reserve.  Do I want a wall of champagne more than a walk-in closet?  Why yes I do.

Cita Stelzer speaking with champagne tasters next to her book

The tasting yesterday was combined with a book signing by Cita Stelzer, who wrote Dinner with Churchill:  Policy-Making at the Dinner Table.  Stelzer also talked about the book on The Splendid Table yesterday, and I recommend you listen to that conversation.  You can find the show on iTunes under podcasts. Churchill was a gourmand and consumed food and drink with great vigor.  He is known for using the dinner table for international relations, and passionately (and quite effectively) used the table stage as a on which to accomplish his goals .

I’m excited to read this book for a number of reasons, but primarily because the idea of being at the table with people – whether friends or world leaders – is not an insignificant thing.  Aside from the food, there is the conversation, and the building, sustaining, or falling apart of relationships that happens.  The manner in which all of that unfolds is unique at the table because it requires pacing and time.  The placing of plates, silverware, napkins, and glasses – you could not do that without the prospect of time, and time is required for any relationship.

Shall we toast to long, interesting dinners?

MacArthur Beverages

4877 MacArthur Blvd, NW

Washington, DC 20007

1-866-674-3716