Last Sunday we spent a couple of hours in the Brindisa Tapas bar in London's Borough Market. We enjoyed the company of good friends and Tapas consumed with a bottle Rioja Vega Saja Crianza 2009 red wine.
Rioja is made primarily from the Tempranillo grape. Crianza red wines are matured for at least two years before they are bottled with at least 6 months in oak. Rioja Crianza whites are matured for at least one year with at least 6 months in oak.
Vega Saja 2009 was a very good quality red wine which is between medium and full body. It was very fruity and the tannin had softened to remove any bitter aftertaste. The wine went perfectly with tapas and was ready for drinking. Crianza wines are lighter than their Reserva and Gran Reserva cousins and have less of a flavour of oak.
The wine was perfect for a Sunday afternoon and helped to remind us of Spain even though we were stuck in the middle of London. It also helped us to remember all the lovely food and wine that we have consumed on numerous visits to Spain.
This wine and Brindisa is well recommended. You cannot reserve a table at the restaurant so expect to wait to be seated.
http://www.brindisatapaskitchens.com/assets/tapas-brindisa-london-bridge-drinks-menu.pdf
Tuesday 29 April 2014
Tuesday 15 April 2014
Intermarché Champagne out does Aldi
On a recent trip to Troyes we found a good bottle of Champagne - Marine Clément Cuvée Emotion NV - for 12.50 Eur at an Intermarché supermarket in the town. We grabbed a few bottles. We still have not been able to find the £10 Aldi Champagne, in England, as we don't have a store nearby: Lidl seem to have pushed them out in our area.
Champagne - Marine Clément Cuvée Emotion is made by a a wine broker or négociant in Neuville-Sur Seine which is in the Aube district of Champagne about 50 kms south east of Troyes. The négociant in question is Stéphane Février.
The Champagne tasted very good for the price; it was a light gold colour with fine bubbles. The Champagne tasted much stronger and richer than Champagne from further north . This is more to the taste of local people than the international tastes of Laurent Perrier and the like.
The soil in the Aube district to the south of Troyes is more limestone based than chalk and this affects the taste of the wine.
We opened a couple of bottles with family and friends for the London marathon celebrations and my niece who was running the next day had half a glass. She finished in a good time, so the moderate tipple did not spoil her chances even if it didn't improve them. It just goes to show that you can break the dietary rules and still get away with it.
All our friends and family though the Champagne was very good and though that it was of similar quality to most of the other Champagne's that they had drunk. My wife concluded that it was not the best Champagne, and she should know as she was born in Troyes. However, she said that it was great value for money. Who am I to disagree? I thought that the Champagne left a little bit of a bitter after taste on the palate but I had swirled the wine around my mouth.
Our other guests just drank the Champagne and did not notice the bitterness. Perhaps, it pays not to try to be too professional.
Somebody guessed the retail price of the Champagne to be about 18 Eur a bottle which is the price on their web site. Intermarché had negotiated a good deal but I do not think that it is a loss leader for them.
My brother in law knows lots of the producers in the area but he can never get a figure on how much it really costs to produce a bottle of Champagne from the Aube. He surmises that it is less than 6 Eur a bottle so the profit margins are good.
Three cheers and bon chance for Intermarché.
http://www.marineclement.com/champagne_brut.php
Champagne - Marine Clément Cuvée Emotion is made by a a wine broker or négociant in Neuville-Sur Seine which is in the Aube district of Champagne about 50 kms south east of Troyes. The négociant in question is Stéphane Février.
The Champagne tasted very good for the price; it was a light gold colour with fine bubbles. The Champagne tasted much stronger and richer than Champagne from further north . This is more to the taste of local people than the international tastes of Laurent Perrier and the like.
The soil in the Aube district to the south of Troyes is more limestone based than chalk and this affects the taste of the wine.
We opened a couple of bottles with family and friends for the London marathon celebrations and my niece who was running the next day had half a glass. She finished in a good time, so the moderate tipple did not spoil her chances even if it didn't improve them. It just goes to show that you can break the dietary rules and still get away with it.
All our friends and family though the Champagne was very good and though that it was of similar quality to most of the other Champagne's that they had drunk. My wife concluded that it was not the best Champagne, and she should know as she was born in Troyes. However, she said that it was great value for money. Who am I to disagree? I thought that the Champagne left a little bit of a bitter after taste on the palate but I had swirled the wine around my mouth.
Our other guests just drank the Champagne and did not notice the bitterness. Perhaps, it pays not to try to be too professional.
Somebody guessed the retail price of the Champagne to be about 18 Eur a bottle which is the price on their web site. Intermarché had negotiated a good deal but I do not think that it is a loss leader for them.
My brother in law knows lots of the producers in the area but he can never get a figure on how much it really costs to produce a bottle of Champagne from the Aube. He surmises that it is less than 6 Eur a bottle so the profit margins are good.
Three cheers and bon chance for Intermarché.
http://www.marineclement.com/champagne_brut.php
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