Wine and dine your Valentine

Dry January, thank goodness, is behind us and the first official occasion of the year for making a bit of a splash, wine-wise, is upon us. Valentine’s Day is a perfect time to make a grand romantic gesture to your loved one – and if that gesture is a bottle of something, you get to share it too – win-win I’d say.

What to buy your Valentine?

 The obvious choice is pink and sparkling, so here are some recommendations, from the budget bottle to the (very) grand gesture.

Langlois-Château Brut Rosé NV – from £12, The Champagne Company, winedirect.co.uk, Amazon, Cellar Magneval (Woking)

This is a crémant (made in the same way as Champagne) from the Loire Valley and given a distinctive character from  the Cabernet Franc grapes that go to make it. A delicate salmon pink, with a creamy mousse and real fruitiness with a little strawberry shortbread, it delivers plenty of flavour at the price.

Moët & Chandon Rosé Imperial NV – RRP £43, Sainsbury’s, Majestic, Selfridges, The Finest Bubble

Moët’s supple, fruity style suits those new to the Champagne drinking lark. It has plenty of up-front, lively charm that is fresh and suitable for drinking on its own. A fine way to kick off the evening.

Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé NV - £54.95 in a gift box at The Finest Bubble, £43.99 at Waitrose

Laurent-Perrier’s rosé Champagne is one of the few which gets its pink hue from contact of the skins of the black grapes with the juice – most are made by adding a certain amount of red wine to the blend. Whether one method or the other makes for a better Champagne is a point of debate, but this has undoubted appeal, from its distinctive bottle to the lively redcurrant-tinged fruit and fresh flavour. A magnum would taste even better, with more complexity and elegance.

Bollinger Grande Année 2005 - £94.95 at Finest Bubble (£92.95 each if you buy six – they won’t go off), £85-£88 at Drink Supermarket, The Drink Shop

I have a soft spot for this pink Bollinger vintage, which combines the power of the house style with such indulgent finesse. Slightly decadent, this is very much one for a romantic night in.

Dom Ruinart Rosé 2002 – RRP £200, Harrods, Selfridges, Hedonism Wines, Jeroboams and Finest Bubble (who offer same day or next day delivery in Surrey)

This is an utterly beguiling champagne which would surely win over any fan of fine white Burgundy. It is 80% Chardonnay, plus 20% of Pinot Noir as red wine. The colour is a mellowing coral with orange highlights and the nose is redolent of a maturing white Burgundy, combining rich and expressive fruit with a featherlight delicacy. The Pinot Noir gives spice and breadth on the finish and the wine’s long maturation on lees and under cork makes for exquisite complexity. This is one to savour over lobster or other rich seafood dishes.

Try before you buy

Cellar Wines in Ripley are putting on a free sampling of a range of wines this Saturday 11^th February, including a couple of manager Andy’s favourite pink sparklers: Antech Cuvée Emotion Rosé 2014 from Limoux in southern France and Champagne Goutorbe-Bouillot Brut Rosé NV. And there’s 10% off single bottles on the day – there’s no rule that says you can’t be romantic AND canny.

Best Champagnes for New Year's Eve

If you want to toast the arrival of 2017 in style, but haven’t yet chosen what to drink, then Champagne should be top of the list as the instant shortcut to celebration and luxury. Here’s a selection of my all-time favourites and new discoveries from this year which you should be able to pick up between now and tomorrow evening. These tend towards the luxury end of the scale, so for more affordable bottles see my festive party fizz recommendations here: http://yourliquidassets.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/fizz-for-sparkling-christmas-parties.html

Louis Roederer Brut Premier NV - £31 Cellar Wines Ripley (who also list magnums for £69), £31.99 The Wine Reserve Cobham, on offer until 3 Jan at £29.99 from Waitrose, £29.99 mix six price at Majestic, £34.99 Taurus Wines Bramley

Roederer’s style is all about finesse and elegance, but with a hint of underlying richness. Perfect as an aperitif, or with the bongs of Big Ben.

Mailly Grand Cru Brut NV - £29.99 (as part of a case of 6) The Wine Reserve Cobham

This Pinot Noir based Cuvée is more seriously structured and would be wonderful with food, even relatively hearty chicken or other fowl.

Pol Roger Brut Réserve NV - £31.99 (as part of a case of 6) The Wine Reserve Cobham, on offer until 3 Jan at £31.99 at Waitrose, £34.99 mix six price at Majestic. M&S have magnums for £79.99

Pol Roger was Winston Churchill’s favourite Champagne, and I have always found it a beguiling mix of elegance and freshness, but with perfectly judged depth. Any time is a good time for a glass of Pol, and I love to savour it on its own. Or you could trade up to Pol Roger Vintage 2006 - £56.99 Waitrose, £54.99 (as part of a case of 6) The Wine Reserve Cobham. There are many layers of flavour with hints of maturity but still so lively.

Charles Heidsieck Brut Réserve NV - £39.99 (as part of a case of 6) The Wine Reserve Cobham, £39.99 Taurus Wines Bramley

Charles Heidsieck may not be as well-known as the more celebrated grande marque houses, but it makes Champagnes of such quality and deliciousness that no Champagne fan should ignore them. The high proportion of reserve wines (from previous vintages, used to add depth and character) make this a sophisticated Champagne that is also incredibly food friendly and so much more than just bubbles. For a real treat I would heartily recommend Charles Heidsieck Blanc des Millenaires 1995 - £139.99 (as part of a case of 6) The Wine Reserve Cobham. This mature vintage, 100% Chardonnay wine is a hedonist’s dream. Pure heaven.

Lanson Extra Age NV - £45 from M&S

I find the regular Lanson Black Label rather hard work, but this longer aged prestige cuvée, based on wines from the 2002, 2004 and 2005 vintages, is a treat. There are hints of almond and marzipan on the nose and it is rich, yet with no heaviness, thanks to Lanson’s hallmark high acidity. This would wow with seafood.

Bollinger Grande Année 2005 - £68 at Cellar Wines Ripley, £69.99 mix six price at Majestic, £64.99 (as part of a case of 6) The Wine Reserve Cobham

If you’re a fan of Bollinger’s non vintage Special Cuvée, then treat yourself to their vintage to find all the verve and intensity that you love, with added refinement.

Taittinger Comtes de Champagne 2006 - £120 from M&S, £99.95 from Finest Bubble (next day delivery available). Taurus Wines have the 2005 for £139.99

This prestige cuvée from the famous house of Taittinger is a pinnacle of the Blanc de Blancs style of Champagne. 100% Chardonnay and 100% class - lovely, fine, refined and full of flavour.

Krug Grande Cuvée Brut - £126 Majestic, £129 Taurus Wines Bramley, £114.95 from Finest Bubble (who offer next day delivery outside London)

I have never not completely enjoyed a glass of Krug. If you are willing to give it your full attention it rewards you with a stimulating and beguiling feast for the senses. If, however, you just want to enjoy it, it is simply incredibly delicious.

Do magnums matter?

A magnum is exactly double the size of a regular bottle – 1.5l compared with 750ml. As you can see from the list above, there is usually a price premium for the magnum, which costs more than simply buying two bottles. Why should that be? And should you pay the premium?

Partly it is a matter of scarcity and prestige – magnums say celebration, with knobs on - but there are also genuine reasons why you might prefer a Champagne from magnum to a bottle.

Champagnes in magnum age more slowly and gracefully than those in bottle, partly because there is a greater volume of wine in magnum, yet the same amount of oxygen between the surface of the wine and the bottom of the cork as in a bottle. I can tell you from experience, that exactly the same Champagne aged in bottle and in magnum can and do taste different.

The champagne in the magnum combines the liveliness and freshness of youth, but with the depth and complexity that come with maturity. This effect becomes more pronounced over time, so it is especially important with longer aged vintage and prestige cuvées. 

Valentine's Day - your questions answered

Where did it all start?

Rather grimly, with the martyrdom of a man named Valentinius in around 270AD, just outside Rome. It seems he was beheaded on the orders of Claudius II for helping Christian couples to marry.

How did we get from martyrdom to hearts and flowers?

It’s possible that Chaucer, he of the Canterbury Tales, may have begun the tradition of celebrating love and lovers on St Valentine’s day. Certainly one of his poems, The Parliament of Fowls, includes these lines:

“For this was on seynt Valentynes day,
Whan every foul cometh ther to chese his make.”

Chaucer was obviously a lousy speller and his words can be “translated” thus:

“For this was Saint Valentine’s Day,

When all the birds of every kind that men can imagine come to choose their mates.”

How best to show your love?

You have options here.

The grand gesture. The grandest of the grand is probably the Taj Mahal. This fairytale palace is in fact a mausoleum built by Shah Jahan as a memorial to his favourite wife – a double-edged compliment if ever there was one. Not least because, by definition, the wife in question didn’t get to see the gesture. And the other wives must have been livid.

The slightly saucy. If you’re thinking underwear, I’d steer clear of anything too raunchy (or red), but remember the wise words of Dorothy Parker, “Brevity is the soul of lingerie.”

The failsafe – something sparkling!

Pink Prosecco is an aberration in my book and most Cava Rosado is very basic – so rosé Champagne it is. It’s the classiest option and food and wine matching is simple: pink wine, pink food. Think salmon, lobster, prawns etc.

Veuve Monsigny Champagne Rosé - £15.99 from Aldi

A winning combination of strawberry fruit and digestive biscuit-y-ness at a bargain price.

Morisson’s M Signature Champagne Rosé NV - £20

This is quite deeply coloured and full flavoured thanks to the high proportion of Pinot Noir – more for food than aperitif.

Champagne Oudinot Brut Rosé NV - £28 from M&S

Ever reliable M&S stalwart at a very reasonable price.

Charles Mignon Premier Cru Brut Rosé NV - £35 from M&S

A step up in quality, this is a beguiling combination of purity of fruit with grown up elegance.

Bollinger Special Cuvée Rosé Brut NV – best price currently £43.99 from Waitrose and Amazon, but widely available

Pale, elegant pink in colour, with refinement and enjoyment in perfect balance.

Finally – the leftfield option.

Bouvet Rubis Demi-Sec - £11.99, or £9.99 as part of a mixed six bottles, Majestic

A proper red wine, but off-dry and with bubbles – it sounds so wrong, but I have to say I loved it. 

It has lovely sappy and fresh red cherryish fruit with a hint of pencil shaving and is very moreish. This would be great with a meaty main course.

Champagne - what's your style?

For many drinkers, a glass of fizz is just that. Something sparkling to sip while you’re busy concentrating on something else: chit chatting, maximising your canapé intake, that sort of thing.

However, I feel that, once one reaches a certain age, it really is time to give the matter more thought and to have a favourite Champagne. If it’s good enough for James Bond (we all know he’s a Bolly fan), then it’s good enough for the rest of us.

But how to know which Champagne is for you? Well the bad news is, you might have to try a few different bottles in order to be really sure – I know, you’re just going to have to put on a brave face and get on with it.

You could do what I did and buy a few different big name Champagnes and get some people round to help you drink them. If you are also as cruel as I am, you could make it a blind tasting, so that they (and you) can taste without knowing which is which, thereby avoiding any innate bias. Don’t say I don’t know how to have fun.

Tea time!

Tackling the vast subject of how Champagne house styles differ from each other is not really within the remit of this short article. But to help you in your endeavours here are some pointers to get you started.

Piper Heidsieck

Piper is a good “beginner’s Champagne” with masses of crunchy fruit and sherbetty acidity. It’s a perfect aperitif Champagne, which is easy to drink.

Moët & Chandon

The first thing to know is, you do pronounce the “t” – it’s Mo-ett rather than Mo-ay. And Moët can claim to be amongst the most improved NV cuvées in recent years. This is a good all-rounder, with creamy mousse (that’s bubbles), citrusy fruit and a slightly savoury finish.

Veuve Clicquot

This and Moët are the two biggest selling Champagnes in the world. Veuve (or “the widow” to its fans) appeals to those who enjoy a bit more substance to their fizz, thanks to its higher proportion of the red grape Pinot Noir.

Louis Roederer

A favourite at my own blind “tasting” (OK drinking), this combines depth of flavour, fruitiness, elegance and creaminess in one very accomplished package. Classic and classy.

Bollinger

Although undoubtedly an iconic Champagne, it will not be to everyone’s taste, so if you don’t like it, please don’t give up on Champagne altogether. Bollinger stands out for its use of oak ageing and its rich, spicy, savoury style, which can stand up to a surprising range of food.

And finally – to help you find the best price for your chosen bottles bookmark this site: https://www.bringabottle.co.uk/. It’s a handy reference for tracking prices for all these Champagnes and more, so that you can make sure you’re not paying over the odds.

If you’d like to share your Champagne experiences with me, I’d love to hear from you: heather@redwhiteandrose.co.uk.

Sweep them off their feet - but do your homework first

I claim there ain’t

Another Saint

As great as Valentine. 

-          Ogden Nash

Here we are on that day of the year about which I have mixed feelings:  Valentine’s Day, when we are all supposed to toe the love line and demonstrate our devotion to our loved one. Now who am I to pooh-pooh the notion of a day given over to romance? But the idea that millions, nay billions, of us should all feel the lurve, to order, on 14^th February every year induces a certain sullen bolshiness in me.

Romance is dead – it was acquired in a hostile takeover by Hallmark and Disney, homogenized and sold off piece by piece.

-          Lisa Simpson, The Simpsons

And have you seen the Valentine-themed merchandising?

At a local convenience store I spied such treasures as fake sparkly single red roses (sensible, can be re-used), red heart bunting to adorn your love nest (bit OTT and actually a bit scary) and, bafflingly, packs of twenty heart-shaped napkins. Twenty napkins? I didn’t realise Valentine’s Day was a group activity. Have I missed something? Are we supposed to throw Valentine’s parties nowadays, or are they designed for mopping up extravagant food and drink spillages without breaking the romantic spell by having to make a grab for the kitchen roll?

If you have made no particular preparations for your night of romance please do not pick up a card, flowers and a bottle of rosé from the garage on the way home. Nothing says “meh” like forecourt flowers and petrol stations are not renowned for their classy wine choices. Better to go home empty-handed than to bring home gifts that scream zero effort.

Better still is to spend a couple of minutes at your desk researching your options before setting off for home. The best shortcut to celebration is Champagne (I would say that wouldn’t I), though at this late stage you are not in a position to go chasing after a particular grower’s exclusive cuvée. However, there is equally no need to grab a bottle of anything that sports the name Champagne from a gondola end in the nearest supermarket.

May I respectfully point you towards a site called Bring a Bottle (www.bringabottle.co.uk), which provides useful information on where to pick up most of the Champagne grandes marques at the best price from major retailers. My eye was drawn to Bollinger Special Cuvée Rosé NV at £36.99 from Waitrose (hint, hint). One of the things I particularly like about the Bring a Bottle site is that it includes a handy graphic, illustrating price movements over previous weeks for your chosen Champagne – so you can tell whether the best price on offer really is a good deal, or whether you are just getting the going rate. “My” Bollinger Rosé has been pretty consistently available at an average of just under £39, so I’m happy that the Waitrose offer is worth taking up, albeit not a tremendous bargain either.

Other Champagne brands have far more volatile pricing – Veuve Clicquot NV, for example, which frequently varies from between £27 to £35 a bottle. If this is your Champagne of choice, you’d be well advised to wait until the price dips below £30 before buying. The Bring a Bottle site allows you set up an email alert which will advise you when a particular wine drops below its current lowest available price.

If you have more time available to winkle out your chosen bottle then a virtual trip to www.wine-searcher.com  allows you to search across a wider range of suppliers, including many independent merchants who also mostly now offer online ordering. This is often the best way to find the keenest price for any particular wine that you are after.

Pink fizz seems to be de rigueur for Valentine’s Day and it will no doubt not have escaped your notice that you have to shell out more for the rosé version of a house’s Champagne. Viz, Bollinger Special Cuvée is currently £32 at Asda, £32.49 at Sainsbury’s and Waitrose, compared to the lowest price for the rosé of £36.99. It would be a churlish valentine who would turn their nose and Champagne flute up at “merely” the Bollinger Special Cuvée, surely.

If you really want to show that you know your stuff, THE pink fizz of the Champagne cognoscenti is the delicate, understated and food-friendly Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé – though at around £50 a bottle currently it is not a bargain. Another favourite is Laurent-Perrier Brut Rosé (prices range from £44 to a frankly ridiculous £58), which has more overt red fruit and can be happily sipped on its own.

Do chocolates and Champagne mix? In any objective way, of course not. Champagne lacks the body and sweetness (even the sweeter, demi-sec styles) to stand up to the mouth coating sweetness and richness of chocolate. Putting them together is flattering neither to the Champagne nor the chocolates. If you want a wine to match with a box of chocs, then a rich old Oloroso sherry would be a far better choice. But there is undoubtedly something decadent and endearingly batty about showering your loved one in luxury items, whether they should ever be consumed together or not.

And a final piece of advice if you’re thinking of buying something for your female Valentine to wear, remember that, in the words of Dorothy Parker, “Brevity is the soul of lingerie.”

Why you should buy Champagne now

Why on earth am I writing about Champagne in January? The answer is simple – buy your bubbles now, resist the temptation to pop the cork straight away (easy to do at this time of year) and you'll find that, come next Christmas, your Champagnes have improved in the bottle to give more pleasure.

We tend to think of fizz as something that should be drunk as soon as the bottle is properly chilled. After all, most of the bottles we buy are non-vintage, with no year of production on the label – they don't look like candidates for ageing. But, in the words of Jancis Robinson MW, “better-quality young sparkling wines with their high levels of acidity can often improve considerably with an additional year or so in bottle”.

When we think of Champagne, we tend to think of the big names, the Veuves, Taittingers and Moets. And this is one of the quirks of the region – nowhere else is so dominated by brands. In Burgundy, the nearest fine wine region to Champagne, terroir is king and the best bottles will hail from an intricately delineated vineyard parcel. In Champagne, however, we seem happy to part with the best part of 40 quid, knowing nothing more than that the grapes come from somewhere within the growing area of 34,000 hectares (nearly 85,000 acres), as long as the right name is on the label.

The reason for this peculiar state of affairs is that Champagne is structured like no other wine region in the world. 90% of the land is owned by growers, leaving only 10% for the Champagne houses. Many of these houses own no vineyards at all, relying entirely on agreements to buy grapes from the growers to meet their needs.

Around a third of the 15,000 growers, incidentally, produce their own Champagnes from their vineyards. These can be some of the most indiviual and rewarding Champagnes to drink, as you can make a direct link between the terroir and the wine.

Champagnes are, of course, stylistically overwhelmingly similar: sparkling (predominantly) white wines, marked by high acidity, lightness of body and elegance. However, once you've tasted a few, it's hard not to develop favourites and, before you know it, you can get hooked on the nuances of difference between producers and their various cuvées (blends).

Here, then, are some of my current favourites - recognizing that my next favourite may be one that I haven't tried yet.

Mailly Grand Cru Brut Reserve NV - £27.99 as part of a mixed case at The Wine Reserve in Cobham, this is also Berry Brothers' Champagne, £25.95 at bbr.com

This blend of 75% Pinot Noir and 25% Chardonnay is made by the high-quality co-op of Mailly Grand Cru. Mailly is a village in the Pinot Noir heartland of the northern Montagne de Reims south east of the city. All its vineyards are decreed Grand Cru, the top of the quality tree in Champagne, and all the growers in the co-op contribute grapes only from these exalted sites.

The high proportion of Pinot Noir makes this a great winter weight Champers, with the depth of flavour and backbone to stand up to even quite rich foods.

Bruno Paillard Brut Première Cuvée - £30.52 from Bibendum

Whereas most Champagne houses fall over themselves to emphasize their historical roots, Paillard is unashamedly modern. The house was founded in 1981 and its purpose built winery and “cellars” dates from 1990. With no tradition to follow, Bruno is free to create Champagnes in the style that he favours – luckily, this style has also found plenty of fans prepared to buy.

This is an odd recommendation in that I wouldn't advise you to drink this Champagne any time soon. I was lucky enough to taste this “multi vintage” (as opposed to non vintage) blend at differing times since it was disgorged. Disgorgement is when the ageing on the lees finishes and the plug of dead yeast cells is expelled from the neck of the bottle and the final cork is put into the now fully sparkling wine, usually along with a small “dosage” of wine and sugar. Most Champagne houses will release wines within a few months of disgorgement, yet, as you might imagine, the suddenness of this intervention and the addition of foreign elements has a profound effect on the wine's development which can take many months, even years, to play out.

Bruno Paillard recognizes this by printing the disgorgement date on all bottles of his Champagnes – the current available cuvée was disgorged during the first quarter of 2011. I much preferred the same cuvée at six and even fourteen years since disgorgement – you might have to exercise some patience to see if you agree with me!

Bollinger Grande Année 2002 – widely available at around £75, including The Guildford Wine Company in Shalford. The Wine Reserve in Cobham has the 2000 for an unbeatable £59.99 as part of a mixed case.

Bollinger, favourite of Patsy and Edina, James Bond and countless others is a very English Champagne – 40% of its production ends up here. They are are also proud to be part of an exclusive club of independent family-owned houses which also owns 60% of the vines needed to supply its needs. 2002 was a great year for vintage fizz and the best (when you can find them) are drinking beautifully now. Mathieu Kauffman, Bollinger's cellar master, says that 2002 is the best year since 1996 (I'll take his word for it). A blend of 60% Pinot Noir (for power, depth and backbone) and 40% Chardonnay (for elegance and finesse) that has been aged on its lees for 7/8 years (the law stipulates a minimum of 3 years for vintage Champagne). You could sip this on its own, but it would be a shame to pass up its nutty, wild mushroom and hint of Christmas pudding (yes) flavours with food. Long-lasting and lively – try it with fish, lobster, scallops, even guinea fowl and pheasant.