Champagne for Christmas
Of course there are Champagnes out there at bargain prices (and not all are thin and acidic) but it would not do justice to the region to ignore the great houses.
One Champagne House I have always had affection for is Charles Heidsieck, which for many years was the Aer Lingus on-board Champagne. My wife worked in the airline leasing business in the 1990s and thanks to the generosity of flight crews we always had a supply of snipes (quarter bottles) in our fridge which we drank at all times of the day (sometimes even for elevenses).
Charles Heidsieck was bought in 2011 by French luxury goods company EPI having been rather ignored by its previous owners (Remy Cointreau). The neglect means they now have excellent stocks of old vintages and the quality of the wines is even better than I remember.
The bottles have been given an attractive makeover and were recently re-launched in Ireland by Liberty Wines. I tasted my way through the range at a breakfast at the Cliff Town House on St Stephen’s Green this Autumn and confirmed once again how well Champagne matches eggs and smoked salmon.
I review the NV below but I also very much liked the Vintage Millésime 2005 and the 1999 Rosé, both having typical Heidsieck creaminess with a fine balance of elegance, structure and complexity. The Chardonnay based Prestige Cuvée Blanc des Millénaires 1995 was of course the highlight with fine creamy dough and lemon pith aromas, lingering rich dried fruit on the palate and beautiful finesse.
The Champagne highlight of 2014 was undoubtedly the Krug Rosé at Ballymaloe’s Krug event in July (sadly it costs €300 per bottle). Inevitably I also liked the 2002 Bollinger RD (recently disgorged) which had a beautiful combination of stony minerality, creamy yellow apple richness mixed with lemon curd and a lingering slightly spicy finish.
Stockist: O’Briens
From an excellent small Co-Op with around 250 growers and an average plot size of less than half a hectare each. Aromas of citrus and pear with a good hit of brioche and a dry sustained finish. The cherry infused rosé is also great value at €38 and the extra bottle-ageing by this house shows in both wines.
Stockist: Tesco
Produced for Tesco by the large (but quality driven) Union Co-Op this is a great price for a blanc-de-blanc (100% Chardonnay) Vintage Champagne that has masses of toasted almonds and fresh-baked bread aromas, lingering persistent mousse, and an elegant citrus infused finish.
Stockist: Wines Direct, Mullingar; Arnotts, Dublin; www.winesdirect.ie
Last date for Chirstmas orders from Wines Direct is Wednesday December 17th. The Charpentier Family are grower-producers with 38 plots of vineyards. This blanc-de-noirs is 80% Pinot Meunier and 20% Pinot Noir and has fine rich almond and quince aromas, a rich but elegant palate and lingering slightly smoky fruit flavours.
Stockist: The Corkscrew www.thecorkscrew.ie
thecorkscrew.ie need any Christmas orders by December 19. Drappier likes to use a high proportion of Pinot Noir (this is over 80%) which gives their wines a rich provocative aroma and punchy flavours. This has red and peachy fruit aromas and flavours and a supple fine mousse that doesn’t overpower the slightly smoky citrus fruit finish.
Stockists: O’Briens, Mitchell & Son, The Corkscrew, www.thecorkscrew.ie
Bollinger owns considerably more vineyards than most houses (150 ha) in some particularly good spots and use at least some oak fermentation in all their wines. The Special Cuvée is toasty, citrus and pear flavoured with a luscious penetrating depth of flavour. O’Briens have the best price this year at €52.
Stockists: Bradleys, No. 21 Coburg, World Wide Wines, O’Briens, Wine Centre Kilkenny
Brioche and ripe lemon aromas with a rich creamy mouth-feel, tiny persistent bubbles, ripe and full-flavoured with lingering flavours of fresh-baked croissant and citrus. This was one of the best NV Champagnes I tasted all year and is my top recommendation for Christmas Day breakfast.
