200 Year Old Champagnes to go to Auction in June

Two bottles of 200 year old champagne are to go to auction in June of this year. The bottles are currently owned by the Finnish province of Aaland and are to be sold by off at the provinces capital Mariehamn on June 3rd.

The bottles were salvaged from a shipwreck in the Baltic Sea last July and were identified by champagne authorities as a bottle of Veuve Clicquot and a bottle of the now extinct Juglar.

Richard Juhlin was one of the lucky few to try these champagnes at an exclusive tasting in November of last year and described the Juglar as "more intense and powerful, mushroomy," and the Veuve Clicquot as more like Chardonnay, with notes of "linden blossoms and lime peels".

The designated auction house is Acker Merall and Condit.

See footage of the tasting by following this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiKPUSA-9Eo&feature=relmfu

Tour of the Veuve Clicquot Cellars, Reims

In March of this year, I was passing through Reims and took the opportunity to drop in to see "where the magic happens" and tour the Veuve Clicquot cellars. It is just off the A4 motorway on the Rue Albert Thomas and is hard to miss on the impressive Avenue de Champagne. Guided tours happen throughout the day but you must make sure you book in advance to guarantee yourself a place on the tour (booking details can be found at the end of this post.)


As we walked through the perfectly manicured gardens and into the visitors centre where we were greeted by a very friendly tour guide who spoke immaculate English. She ushered us into the souvenir-riddled waiting room to wait for the remainder of the group. 

A short wait later and we were ready to go. We started off looking at the basics of how champagne is made and where Veuve Clicquot sources it grapes for their various champagnes. The tour guide was interesting and eloquent at talking to us and had ample visual aids to engage us including a giant 3D map of the whole of champagne. We then moved through the room to learn a bit about La Grande Dame herself, and how she came about becoming the most famous widow in France and possibly the world.


There were many original letters and manuscripts to read, as well as some examples of the different bottles and labels Veuve Clicquot have used over the years. 

On with the tour and to the cellars. Down we went into the first of the stunning caves or "crayeres," where we would have been in pitch-black darkness if it were not for the yellow Veuve Clicquot spot-lights and the small pot hole in the top of each of the crayeres. Here, we were told a little about the ageing of the bottles and a bit about the role the caves played in the wars. 

Then on to the next crayere. At this point, our bubbly tour guide went on to explain how the yeast deposits are extracted from the bottles before they are ready to be sold to the public. Interestingly, it was Madame Clicquot herself who invented the riddling racks called "pupitres," used to slowly tilt the bottles into an upright position to get the deposits in the neck of the bottle before "dégorgement."

After a short look at, what is believed to be the oldest existing bottle of champagne in the world, which was found in the baltic sea last year (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-10673322) it was time to go upstairs and have a taste of the Veuve Clicquot tete de cuvee, La Grand Dame 1998. This unveiled tremendous depth and freshness. It is clearly a wine that has not reached its peak. It displayed lots of smokey, burnt toast-like notes and light, sour apple and apple blossom fruit components. It was very pleasant but not quite up to the standard that the price tag sets. You never know, in a couple of years this may unravel into a beautiful champagne.

Booking info for Veuve Clicquot cellar tours:
http://www.veuve-clicquot.com/en/visits/cellars

Comite Champagne Annual Tasting - London 2011

Last week was the 2011 Annual Champagne Tasting in London hosted by the Comite Champagne. This is one of the most anticipated events on the champagne calendar in the UK. It's a great opportunity for the trade to meet the people behind some of the legendary champagne houses, as well as some humble growers making exceptional champagnes. It is often the first chance the trade have to taste new releases and this year was no exception.

Events like this are a perfect opportunity to taste champagnes side by side. You can compare champagnes from the same vintage, champagnes with similar blends and champagnes from the same region. This gives you a great insight into what defines each champagne house.

With 68 brands showing their champagnes and over 200 champagnes on show it was impossible to taste everything, so my game plan was to concentrate on slightly lesser known houses, which I think will grow in profile over the next few years.

Here are my top 3's for the event:

Money no object best champagnes:

1) Bollinger Grand Anne 2002 (available nationwide) - a superstar champagne from a great Pinot Noir vintage.

2) Bruno Paillard Blanc de Blanc 1999 - an expressive champagne which is entering its drinking window, but will age beautifully for at least 10 years.

3) Delamotte Blanc de Blanc 1999 (Oddbins) - this is a really unique champagne which will really suit lovers of white Burgundies. 

Champagne houses to watch:

1) Bruno Paillard - this is a champagne house with the upmost standards. They only use the first press grapes, age each champagne for a minimum of 3 years and use a low dosage to allow the flavours to really express themselves. (full profile to follow)

2) Delamotte - Delamotte is the sister house of Salon and has a reputation for sourcing top chardonnay grapes from the top Cotes de Blanc communes of Le Mesnil, Oger and Avize. Quality has been on the rise since it was acquired by the Laurant-Perrier group 

3) Philipponnat - This house has already got a great reputation amongst champagne connoisseurs but I think it has the quality to hit the mainstream. 

Best Value Champagnes:

1) Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Vintage 2004 (£19 in Majestic) - there is a lot of quality out of the 2004 vintage. This champagne shows complexity way beyond its price point. It has pure fruit and lovely bread-like characters which a lot of cheaper champagnes cannot achieve.

2) Le Mesnil Blanc de Blanc Grand Cru 2004 £29.44 (Waitrose) -At £30 this isn't particularly cheap but the fruit is sourced from some of the best vineyards in the Cote de Blanc and the 2004 vintage was a great vintage. This champagne has very vivacious bubbles and citrusy fruit with floral high notes. It has a balanced acidity and will continue to get better for the next 5 years.

3) Delemotte Brut NV £25 (available nationwide) - top grapes go into this chardonnay-dominated blend. It even takes grapes from vineyards that go into the fabled Salon champagnes. This champagne has a fruit-forward style with delicate pear and citrus flavours and a fine bead of bubbles.

Deal of the Week - Perrier Jouet Grand Brut NV - £20 at Majestic

This is the cheapest I have seen PJ for years. Its a fantastic grande marque champagne for those of you who prefer a lighter, Chardonnay dominated style. This deal is only on for 2 weeks so it is well worth getting a case in preparation for some summer al fresco drinking

What Majestic say "A well-priced Champagne of considerable charm. Perrier-Jouët is light, certainly, but displays a lovely weight of soft-apple fruit and an easy-drinking, well balanced style that make it extremely popular."

Christmas Sparkle - Champagne

I don't think it's too early to start talking about Christmas and it is definitely not too early to start taking advantage of all the great wine deals currently out. It's one of those times of year that you can splash out a bit and treat yourself to some champagne. There have been some CRAZY deals recently. Morrisons have just finished a special on Taittinger for £16 a bottle which sold out in a couple of days. Here are my favourite current deals:

Moët and Chandon Brut Imperial NV - Buy 2 for £30 in Asda

I don't confess to being the biggest Moët fan in the world, but at £15 a bottle it is a complete bargain. The extremely long winded way in which champagne is made means that it is expensive by nature to make and therefore costs a lot to buy on the shelves. Moët is made out of a high proportion of Premier Cru and Grand Cru grapes (the better ones) and is one of the more approachable styles of the bigger champagne houses. It's worth mentioning that Majestic are also selling this at a very reasonable price of £24 a bottle until 29th November. It isn't too dry and has a refreshing fruit focus, but still has the distinctive yeasty champagne character. It is also incredibly versatile and brings a great sense of occasion to any party or event. This champagne would make an interesting accompaniment to your Turkey dinner on Christmas day.

Taittinger Brut Reserve NV - £16.99 in Tesco until Monday 28th November

This is a lot of champagne for your money. Taittinger is one of my favourite champagne houses and is one of the few famous houses which is still family owned. The Taittinger family own a large share of their own vineyards and as a result of this, can control all aspects of quality, from grape to bottle. The style has always had a high proportion of Chardonnay in the blend, which keeps it light and fragrant, and the longer than average bottle aging gives it subtle, toasty notes. Interestingly, this was James Bond's favourite champagne in the books; his love for Bollinger did not appear until they started making James Bond films.

Mumm Cordon Rouge NV - £14.99 in Tesco until Monday 28th November

Another Tesco deal. They are really going for it this week. Mumm is famous for sponsoring the F1; it seems such a waste to see Jenson spraying this all over the place because its great champagne. This is a bit more full bodied than the previous two champagnes. It has a higher concentration of Pinot Noir which gives it plenty of body and fresh red fruits on the pallet. This would be a great champagne for desserts such as trifle and Fruits of the Forest.