New bubbly on the block
More than most wines, champagne is a drink of general appeal rather than particular excellence
The New France is a remarkable book by Andrew Jefford. The following extract is from the introduction of a chapter on Champagne; which, in a way, sums up my own thoughts on the subject while tasting a new champagne house in Cyprus.
“It was midwinter, in leafless Sussex. I was with an old friend who had suffered. His life had, over the previous four months, undergone dislocating reverses that eroded everything for which he had worked with ceaseless energy over the previous twenty-five years. His circumstances, never more than modest, had begun to flirt with squalor. In his mid-fifties now, this usually good-humoured stoic seemed defeated. We talked amid the metaphorical ruins for an hour or two. He barely smiled.
“I think,” I said, as midday passed, “we should drink some champagne.” He looked at me, pulling on his hand-rolled cig ar?te. He loved good wine, but he had particular reasons for loving good champagne above all good wines. I had, in my car, a bottle of Mum de Cramant. It was a cold day; the champagne had acquired a little chill. We lodged the bottle in his fridge’s freezer compartment for a few final chilling minutes while I cleaned the glasses, breaking one in the process.
I poured. The wine gleamed greenly, topped with enticing snow. It was our first drink of the day. The Cramant smelled fresh: sweet apples. It tasted green – yet round, vivid, surging. We carried on talking; we ate some saucisson, chorizo, bread, and avocado. The champagne grew finer and finer. We were hypnotised by its seeming contradictions: its edginess, its sappiness… and yes its roundness and fullness, too. Would any other have served as so well? Perhaps; yet this champagne memory will abide while all the others – the dull receptions, the tedious parties the routine markers for the stations of the year – have long faded. My friend’s spirits were raised; we laughed and smiled; his eyes gleamed again. As we stepped outside later to confront his mud-slide of difficulties, I remembered that quotation attributed to Lilly Bollinger “…I drink it when I am sad …” came tumbling, as if new-minted, from the twig-covered place in the mind where it was lying hidden.
I detain you with this story only because it illustrates an essential truth of champagne: that this is, more than most, a wine of general appeal rather than particular excellence. My friend and I drank Mumm de Cramant but it could have been any other good champagne. No other wine carries the same weight of symbolical significance; no other wine was in quite the same position to lift the spirits, almost outrageously, at such a moment. Its taste, of course, makes it suitable for drinking at any time; meals are never obligatory, as they would be for a fine bottle of Hermitage or Madiran.
Wines of the week
The story of this champagne house begins with the wedding of Nicholas Fran?ois Billecart to Elizabeth Salmon. From this marriage was born the champagne Billecart-Salmon, founded in 1818 in Mareuil-sur-A?. Some 200 years later, the seventh generation of the descendants manages the champagne house, maintaining the legend of this “spirit of champagne”, the passion of the grape, cultivated as a philosophy around three principal values: “finesse, balance and elegance”.
Billecart-Salmon Brut R?serve Non Vintage, Alcohol Volume 12%
This is one of the finest non-vintage champagnes on the market. Round, harmonious and balanced, its blend has remained unchanged since 1945, using Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier grapes. As a result of the ageing process, this cuvee has reflections of straw yellow in its colour, mature aromas touched by floral freshness and breaths of ripe pears. Powerful palate with substance and vivacity, well balanced acidity, a combination of fleshiness and freshness in the mouth. A partner throughout the day served at 8? C with seafood, strawberries and peachs, creamy sauces on fish and white meat.
Billecart-Salmon Brut, Blanc de Blanc, Non Vintage, Alcohol Volume 12%
This Chardonnay-based champagne has been elaborated from five grand crus and it is a blend of two different years. The fine mousse of delicate bubbles accompanies the glints of its gold colour. A very seductive Blanc de Blancs with almond aromas mixed with white flesh fruit, full-bodied; the texture is refined and almost silky, lending a certain overall elegance with fresh feel particularly at its elegant finish. Served at 8?C, a perfect marriage with seafood, particularly oysters or caviar.
Billecart-Salmon, Brut, Ros?, Non Vintage, Alcohol Volume 12%
Romantic champagne first loved by women – balanced and delicate. The production secrets and the vinification method of this cuvee go back to the origins of the house. The Brut Ros? is a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir vinified as white wine with a small percentage of Pinot Noir vinified as red wine. Pale pink colour adorned with warm glints of gold along with persistent mousse from delicate rising bubbles. Subtle aroma with fine notes of red fruits – especially red berries on the nose and on the finish, a marriage of elegance and vinosity on the palate supported by mellow texture. Can’t think of anything better to drink this ros?, served at 9? C, with salmon and sushi.
Billecart Salmon is imported and distributed by Oenoforos. Tel: 25 760608
