We drank this wine with our Sunday Dinner with some friends. Santenay based Jean-François Chapelle started biodynamic agriculture in 2002 and this wine reflects some of the philosophy of his vine growing and vine making techniques.
This wine was not fined or filtered so of course there was sediment in the wine. I had to keep it upright for several hours and decant the bottle. It is obvious that the producer takes care in both the vienyard and the winery and is proud of his product and has good reason to be.
Corton Red Burgundy is unapproachable when young and needs ten years in the bottle to become fully developed for drinking. It has its own appellation: Appellation D'Origine Corton Contrôlée.
I always find that Corton is an enigmatic wine and this one is no different. I tasted the wine and wrote a tasting note before my guests arrived. This wine has none of the richness of its grand cru cousins from the Côte de Nuits. It is quite sinuous and to my mind austere on the palate and this vintage did not show any fresh fruit flavours.
The wine does show the typical character of the Corton appellation it has ripe fruit flavours with tones of minerality, spice and cloves. The flavours are intense and complex and are savoury on the tongue. The aromas were intense enough to penetrate my heavy cold and they remained on the palate for a long time. But for me something was missing; the fruit was more like stewed plums rather than fresh tasting like cherries.
Objectively this is very good wine but it did not move my subjective spirit. Our good friends were dining with us; the husband who rarely drinks anything but Bordeaux or Burgundy was bemused by the wine. He could not guess where it was from. I even had to remind him that it was France. Being put on the spot did not help.
His wife,who I interrupted in full conversational flow, guessed it was from Burgundy - good tasting there.
My wife commented on the lack of cabbage like aromas - there was no mercaptan in this wine. My friends reaction to the wine indicates to me that it is better not to think too much when trying to identify where a wine comes from. It is best to be in a completely relaxed state of mind and rely on your unconscious rather than analytical mind.
The Corton hill (388 meters high) is situated near the village of Aloxe-Corton, which is a charming village that has escaped 20th and 21st century modernity. For me, this hill has an almost primeval feeling but of course the evidence of man is everywhere. The hill is covered with vines except for the trees on the the summit.
The Corton hill has a varied geology with some soils being suited to red wine production from the Pinot Noir grape. Other parcels of land are more suited to white wine production from Chardonnay. Chapelle's Corton is blended from different parcels of vineyards (or climats) from the Grand Cru sections of the hill. These vineyards are located on Jurassic marl soils.
The soil on the has a considerable influence on the terroir and the character of the wine. The wines express the terroir and this expression of terroir lends itself to high quality wine production.
Despite the pedigree of the wine I am not convinced that it is outstanding wine which has exceptional value for money. It appeals more to my objective senses than my emotional ones. Perhaps, this is what bemused my friend too and that is why he could not pin it down to where it came from. However, I did enjoy the wine as it appealed to the wine "expert" in me. It is a wine to be savoured with food.
My wife, whose father comes from Burgundy has no difficulty with this wine as its the soil: its the soil that matters. She thought the wine was very good. You may think so too. On another day and without a heavy cold I could have judged this wine differently.
Tasting Note:
Wine: Jean-François Chapelle Corton Grand Cru 2002 AOC Corton red Burgundy
Appearance: Clear Bright with a light burgundy colour. Tears.
Nose: Pronounced aroma of plums and prunes and ripe red fruits. Also some flavours of mineral and spice. It is fully developed and can be drunk now.
Palate: Dry, Medium body, medium alcohol and acidity, medium plus tannin which is now softening. Complex and concentrated flavours of ripe red fruits , plums and prunes,spices, cloves, marzinpan. the wine also has a savoury flavour. The wine is sinuous and slightly rustic. Very long length and the savoury taste remains on the palate for a long time.
Observations: Objectively I have to say that this is a very good, high quality wine but for me it is not exceptional. It has all the hallmarks of a very well structured and integrated wine but it did not move my spirit. At the elevated prices for Burgundy, it is not good value for money.
http://www.domainechapelle.com/fr/vins/rouges/corton-grand-cru-13.htm
Tuesday, 19 February 2013
Thursday, 14 February 2013
Taberna Etrusca and Sicilian red: Nerello Cappuccio, Frappato 2011
Last week I went to lunch with a colleague to the Taberna Etrusca in Bow Churchyard for a superb meal. Even though I have worked in the City of London off and on since the 1970's I have never been here before. How times of changed. I was dressed casually but there is no way I would have gone to this restaurant in 1977 without a suit and tie.
Most clients would have happily downed a bottle of wine each with their meal in those days but today lunch time dining is a much more sober affair. Even so we managed a bottle of Sicilian red. I am my own boss and I am semi-retired now but,even so, I rarely drink at lunch time.
We dined on the set menu and both of us chose Mushroom soup and Taglietelle Bolognese. The Soup was well seasoned with truffles which I could still taste on the palate after the main course.
We drank a bottle of a bottle of Sicilian red: Nerello Cappuccio, Frappato 2011 from Caruso & Menini. This full bodied wine had concentrated red fruit flavours with a solid structure of acidity and well balanced tannin. It was just right for a tomato based meat dish. It was excellent wine at a reasonable price.
The young staff here were everything that could be asked for at a good restaurant. They were polite and helpful and were not intrusive. They showed an obvious enthusiasm for their trade and the word "guys" did not pass their lips. Well done Taberna Etrusca. I cannot understand how it took me more than thirty years to find you. Now that I have, I shall be going back.
Maris Minervois Organic Syrah 2011
I drank this wine with my lunch at the Brasserie Blanc in Berkhamsted last week. It is from Robert Eden an Australian wine maker who has started to use bio-dynamic techniques in the vineyard and "natural techniques" in the winery. This wine is unfiltered and unacidified and it is not chaptalised ever. He also uses "natural" yeasts.
The wine is accessible to the palate now but it will keep. It has all the concentration and complexity of a very good wine with a long length on the palate. We drank the wine with a Boeuf Bourguignon. You may well be asking why I did not try a red Burgundy; well I could not see one on the card. The waitress recommended this wine and at about £20 a bottle, at a restaurant price, it was well worth it despite the varietal labelling.
I have written about organic wines before and bio-dynamic vineyard techniques. I am sceptical about all the mysticism surrounding Rudolph Steiner and Maria Thun and their agricultural "theories".
Domaine Maris is a well made and structured wine but it does not taste any better than lots of other wines from the region which do not follow bio-dynamic techniques. I certainly could not tell the difference until I read the back label.
There is no scientific proof that planting according to lunar cycles and flower or fruit days works. Surely, it is far better to farm and harvest crops according to the weather. As far as wine is concerned matching the grape variety to the climate and soil is of prime importance. It is also far better that wine making is an artisan rather than an industrial process. Science must play its part to improve the quality of the wine rather than engineer it to maximise profits and convenience.
I have a feeling that the real improvements to wine production are obtained from the de-industrialisation of both vine growing and wine making rather than superstition.
Three cheers, however and therefore, to Robert Eden and Raymond Blanc who have brought such good wine to our tables for a reasonable price. You can buy this wine in France for less than 10 Euros a bottle but not in a restaurant of course.
http://www.languedocwineshop.com/chateau-maris-maris-organic-2010.html
http://www.naturalselectionwines.com/chateau-maris/
Some of the producers in the Languedoc are starting to use Cru Classé de Languedoc on the label including Domaine Maris themselves. Some wine writers are not happy about this. They see it as just another marketing ploy. Is it time for another rant about varietal labelling and other marketing techniques? It won't make any difference but as long as we can get good wine I am prepared to suffer marketing blurb.
http://www.labivin.net/article-grand-cru-et-grand-vin-du-languedoc-65396898.html
http://www.mariswine.com/en/
The wine is accessible to the palate now but it will keep. It has all the concentration and complexity of a very good wine with a long length on the palate. We drank the wine with a Boeuf Bourguignon. You may well be asking why I did not try a red Burgundy; well I could not see one on the card. The waitress recommended this wine and at about £20 a bottle, at a restaurant price, it was well worth it despite the varietal labelling.
I have written about organic wines before and bio-dynamic vineyard techniques. I am sceptical about all the mysticism surrounding Rudolph Steiner and Maria Thun and their agricultural "theories".
Domaine Maris is a well made and structured wine but it does not taste any better than lots of other wines from the region which do not follow bio-dynamic techniques. I certainly could not tell the difference until I read the back label.
There is no scientific proof that planting according to lunar cycles and flower or fruit days works. Surely, it is far better to farm and harvest crops according to the weather. As far as wine is concerned matching the grape variety to the climate and soil is of prime importance. It is also far better that wine making is an artisan rather than an industrial process. Science must play its part to improve the quality of the wine rather than engineer it to maximise profits and convenience.
I have a feeling that the real improvements to wine production are obtained from the de-industrialisation of both vine growing and wine making rather than superstition.
Three cheers, however and therefore, to Robert Eden and Raymond Blanc who have brought such good wine to our tables for a reasonable price. You can buy this wine in France for less than 10 Euros a bottle but not in a restaurant of course.
http://www.languedocwineshop.com/chateau-maris-maris-organic-2010.html
http://www.naturalselectionwines.com/chateau-maris/
Some of the producers in the Languedoc are starting to use Cru Classé de Languedoc on the label including Domaine Maris themselves. Some wine writers are not happy about this. They see it as just another marketing ploy. Is it time for another rant about varietal labelling and other marketing techniques? It won't make any difference but as long as we can get good wine I am prepared to suffer marketing blurb.
http://www.labivin.net/article-grand-cru-et-grand-vin-du-languedoc-65396898.html
http://www.mariswine.com/en/
Thursday, 31 January 2013
The Bucks Head Godden Green Kent
This is one of my favourite pubs. It is situated next to the National Trust property of Knole Park in Sevenoaks. My wife I often walk here across the Park on a Saturday for lunch when the pub is not so crowded. You have to book on a Sunday.
The pub has a number of qualities which we both like. It has welcoming hosts and bar staff who treat you as friends rather than customers. The drinkers are a convivial mixture of local people and visitors of all ages. We have never met anyone who has been drunk, boring or aggressive. The food, drink and service are excellent.There is no intrusive music or the clanging of one armed bandits. There is also a garden at the rear and a patio at the front.
It is a good place for family and friends to meet and just talk to one another.
I am a lover of Shepherd Neame cask conditioned beers. Last weekend I tried Kent's Best Bitter Invicta.
The beer, like all the others here, was in perfect condition. The Landlord certainly knows how to look after it and it was served at the perfect temperature.
The ale was a crystal clear amber colour. It smelt fresh and clean. The taste was very similar to the nose: hops, nuts, fruit and the savoury taste of yeast and malt. Any sweetness was well balanced by the bitterness typical of this type of beer. The beer is perfectly described by a beer expert on the website below.
We dined on wild rabbit casserole sourced from the Weald of Kent. I have not eaten wild rabbit for a very long time. It was delicious and well flavoured and spiced with bacon, wine , tomatoes and cloves. It tasted as if my wife or her sister had cooked it at home. We had eaten farmed rabbit in France the previous weekend. A wild rabbit, of course, tastes stronger and a little bit more of game.
The food did not have Michelin Star presentation but what does that matter, it deserved many a star for taste.
You may be asking why didn't I drink wine with it? Well, I do not get the opportunity to drink such well kept beer so often. The beer went really well with the rabbit. It is the beer equivalent of a Grand Cru Bourgogne wine but at a price which is in the lower atmosphere. What more could I ask for? So it's three cheers for the Bucks Head.
http://www.shepherdneame.co.uk/pubs/sevenoaks/bucks-head
The pub has a number of qualities which we both like. It has welcoming hosts and bar staff who treat you as friends rather than customers. The drinkers are a convivial mixture of local people and visitors of all ages. We have never met anyone who has been drunk, boring or aggressive. The food, drink and service are excellent.There is no intrusive music or the clanging of one armed bandits. There is also a garden at the rear and a patio at the front.
It is a good place for family and friends to meet and just talk to one another.
I am a lover of Shepherd Neame cask conditioned beers. Last weekend I tried Kent's Best Bitter Invicta.
The beer, like all the others here, was in perfect condition. The Landlord certainly knows how to look after it and it was served at the perfect temperature.
The ale was a crystal clear amber colour. It smelt fresh and clean. The taste was very similar to the nose: hops, nuts, fruit and the savoury taste of yeast and malt. Any sweetness was well balanced by the bitterness typical of this type of beer. The beer is perfectly described by a beer expert on the website below.
We dined on wild rabbit casserole sourced from the Weald of Kent. I have not eaten wild rabbit for a very long time. It was delicious and well flavoured and spiced with bacon, wine , tomatoes and cloves. It tasted as if my wife or her sister had cooked it at home. We had eaten farmed rabbit in France the previous weekend. A wild rabbit, of course, tastes stronger and a little bit more of game.
The food did not have Michelin Star presentation but what does that matter, it deserved many a star for taste.
You may be asking why didn't I drink wine with it? Well, I do not get the opportunity to drink such well kept beer so often. The beer went really well with the rabbit. It is the beer equivalent of a Grand Cru Bourgogne wine but at a price which is in the lower atmosphere. What more could I ask for? So it's three cheers for the Bucks Head.
http://www.shepherdneame.co.uk/pubs/sevenoaks/bucks-head
Sylvain Bois 2006 Bugey Rouge
At a party in France recently my brother-in -law introduced me to a wine I had never heard of before: Bugey Rouge. Sylvain Bois produces this wine from his small estate near the village of Béon in the Savoie region of France. Savoie borders Switzerland and you can feel the resemblance between the local wines and Swiss wines here. The vines are grown in a cool mountain climate reminiscent of Switzerland.
Sylvain's Bugey Rouge is made from the Mondeuse black grape from the locality. The 2006 is a particularly fine example: it is mature and ready to be drunk now. The wine has its own particular style represented by the grape variety and the wine making tradition. Mondeuse noir is not grown it the rest of France as far as I know.
It is a wine for drinking with food rather than slugging back. We drank it with venison. The wine is rich in red fruit tastes, with a hint of spice and the tannin has now softened. It had long length on the palate and also had all the complexity and concentration which makes a good wine.
The Mondeuse grapes are grown on calcareous clay soils which I am certain add to the complexity of tastes.
The tannin and acidity will help these wines to keep and mature for a number of years.
Not only is this very good wine, it is also excellent value for money. You can buy it for about 5 Eur a bottle direct from the cave. It is well worth paying the postage for delivery if you are unable to visit. This wine has individual character. You can tell that the producer has respect for the soil, his vines, the climate and of course his wine.
Once again my brother-in-law has come up "trumps". I am hoping for another surprise the next time I visit.
http://www.ocavo.com/accueil.php?viti=86
http://www.wine-searcher.com/regions-savoie
http://fringewine.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/mondeuse-noire-bugey-france.html
Sylvain's Bugey Rouge is made from the Mondeuse black grape from the locality. The 2006 is a particularly fine example: it is mature and ready to be drunk now. The wine has its own particular style represented by the grape variety and the wine making tradition. Mondeuse noir is not grown it the rest of France as far as I know.
It is a wine for drinking with food rather than slugging back. We drank it with venison. The wine is rich in red fruit tastes, with a hint of spice and the tannin has now softened. It had long length on the palate and also had all the complexity and concentration which makes a good wine.
The Mondeuse grapes are grown on calcareous clay soils which I am certain add to the complexity of tastes.
The tannin and acidity will help these wines to keep and mature for a number of years.
Not only is this very good wine, it is also excellent value for money. You can buy it for about 5 Eur a bottle direct from the cave. It is well worth paying the postage for delivery if you are unable to visit. This wine has individual character. You can tell that the producer has respect for the soil, his vines, the climate and of course his wine.
Once again my brother-in-law has come up "trumps". I am hoping for another surprise the next time I visit.
http://www.ocavo.com/accueil.php?viti=86
http://www.wine-searcher.com/regions-savoie
http://fringewine.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/mondeuse-noire-bugey-france.html
Thursday, 24 January 2013
Mercaptans
In the early part of this week a French chemical factory in Rouen accidentally released a cloud of methyl mercaptan gas into the atmosphere. Mercaptans are some of the smelliest substances known to man. Humans can literally smell them at a few parts per billion concentration. This is why mercaptans are injected into natural gas which is normally odourless so that we can smell gas leaks. Mercaptans are harmless.
On Tuesday evening the gas had spread to the UK and my wife and I could smell it in the atmosphere when we went for a walk. My wife smelt it first. It felt like we were walking through a large gas leak.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/22/french-bad-smell-mercaptan-rouen-france-foul-odor_n_2525587.html
What has this got to do with wine you may ask. Well methyl mercaptan and ethyl mercaptan can sometimes be smelt in wine as they are both by-products of the "reduction" of sulphur compounds. These sulphur compounds are present both naturally and artificially in the wine.
Burgundy Red wines are particularly prone; there is often a slight aroma of rotten cabbage, or even shit - if you pardon the expression. Methyl Mercaptan is produced in the human digestive system. Some wine commentators regard the presence of methyl and ethyl mercaptan as being a wine fault which should be eliminated. Others regard it as being part of the character of a wine. My wife and I are of the latter view.
We have both enjoyed aged Burgundies which have a very slight scent of rotten cabbage amongst the complexity of other tastes and aromas. If it is a fault then it is very difficult to get rid of it without letting some oxygen into the wine "to reverse the 'reduction'". Oxidation creates its own problems so there is a fine balance here.
Even though mercaptans can be detected on the nose at extremely low concentrations some people are not sensitive at all. They must be the lucky ones unless they have a gas leak or are partial to some older types of Burgundy
http://www.wineanorak.com/mercaptansinwine.htm
http://napavalleyregister.com/lifestyles/food-and-cooking/wine/columnists/dan-berger/identifying-wine/article_19a639b2-508e-11e2-8c96-0019bb2963f4.html
On Tuesday evening the gas had spread to the UK and my wife and I could smell it in the atmosphere when we went for a walk. My wife smelt it first. It felt like we were walking through a large gas leak.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/22/french-bad-smell-mercaptan-rouen-france-foul-odor_n_2525587.html
What has this got to do with wine you may ask. Well methyl mercaptan and ethyl mercaptan can sometimes be smelt in wine as they are both by-products of the "reduction" of sulphur compounds. These sulphur compounds are present both naturally and artificially in the wine.
Burgundy Red wines are particularly prone; there is often a slight aroma of rotten cabbage, or even shit - if you pardon the expression. Methyl Mercaptan is produced in the human digestive system. Some wine commentators regard the presence of methyl and ethyl mercaptan as being a wine fault which should be eliminated. Others regard it as being part of the character of a wine. My wife and I are of the latter view.
We have both enjoyed aged Burgundies which have a very slight scent of rotten cabbage amongst the complexity of other tastes and aromas. If it is a fault then it is very difficult to get rid of it without letting some oxygen into the wine "to reverse the 'reduction'". Oxidation creates its own problems so there is a fine balance here.
Even though mercaptans can be detected on the nose at extremely low concentrations some people are not sensitive at all. They must be the lucky ones unless they have a gas leak or are partial to some older types of Burgundy
http://www.wineanorak.com/mercaptansinwine.htm
http://napavalleyregister.com/lifestyles/food-and-cooking/wine/columnists/dan-berger/identifying-wine/article_19a639b2-508e-11e2-8c96-0019bb2963f4.html
Thursday, 10 January 2013
The Christmas Wine Festive Season
We drank these wines over the Christmas period and some of them were exceptional value for money, especially the Champagne.
Louis Jadot, Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru (2008)
I have seen it priced at around £30 a bottle. I cannot remember what we paid for it in France but the price would have been much lower. I am not prepared £30 for wine of this quality. It is good wine but it is not outstanding. For this price I expect something better, even from Louis Jadot who is one of my favourite négociants.
http://www.thewinereserve.co.uk/store/white-wine/louis-jadot-chassagne-montrachet-1er-cru/
Louis Jadot, Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru (2008)
On Christmas Eve my wife cooked some hake which was gently spiced and it was jolly good too. She thought that a good bottle of white Burgundy would go down well with it and she was right of course. The wine tasted of nuts, apples and citrus fruits with vanilla spice and oak. It was concentrated and complex and had a long length on the palate.
It had all the qualities of a good wine. I do not like wines with a heavy taste of oak but this one was subtle enough for my palate. The smokey taste went well with the fish.
I have seen it priced at around £30 a bottle. I cannot remember what we paid for it in France but the price would have been much lower. I am not prepared £30 for wine of this quality. It is good wine but it is not outstanding. For this price I expect something better, even from Louis Jadot who is one of my favourite négociants.
http://www.thewinereserve.co.uk/store/white-wine/louis-jadot-chassagne-montrachet-1er-cru/
Château Chevrol Bel Air Lalande de Pomerol 2001
We drank this wine on Christmas day 2012 with some rib of beef from the English border with Scotland . The beef was cooked to perfection. I was not disappointed , in fact I was very pleased. The wine was fully mature and ready to drink. It displayed all of the qualities of a good Bordeaux from the Libornais area.. This wine, is from Lalande de Pomerol not far from its more illustrious neighbours in Pomerol and Saint-Émilion
It was still full of concentrated fruit but with tannin which had now softened. It had retained its complexity and had long length on the palate. I do not know where I bought the wine but it was possibly in France. If you can still find a bottle then I recommend that you snap it up and drink it now with some good food. It is not outstanding wine but it is very good.
http://www.chevrolbelair.fr/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bordeaux_wine_regions#The_Libournais
We drank this wine on Christmas day 2012 with some rib of beef from the English border with Scotland . The beef was cooked to perfection. I was not disappointed , in fact I was very pleased. The wine was fully mature and ready to drink. It displayed all of the qualities of a good Bordeaux from the Libornais area.. This wine, is from Lalande de Pomerol not far from its more illustrious neighbours in Pomerol and Saint-Émilion
It was still full of concentrated fruit but with tannin which had now softened. It had retained its complexity and had long length on the palate. I do not know where I bought the wine but it was possibly in France. If you can still find a bottle then I recommend that you snap it up and drink it now with some good food. It is not outstanding wine but it is very good.
http://www.chevrolbelair.fr/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bordeaux_wine_regions#The_Libournais
Côtes du Rhône red Vidal-Fleury 2010
I bought this wine from Majestic near Sevenoaks Kent upon the recommendation of the Sales Assistant. It was well recommended. It had all the qualities of a good Côtes du Rhône red at £8.74 a bottle. We had a small party just after Christmas and everyone enjoyed the wine with a roasted ham.
I looked at some of the reviews on Majestic's website to see that one reviewer said that he would not advise buying this wine. He must have had a bottle which was faulty perhaps it was corked or oxidised. This wine was of very good quality and represents very good value for money. If you get a bad bottle then I am sure that Majestic will give you a refund if you return it in good time. It merits four stars in my estimation. The press review is spot on.
http://www.majestic.co.uk/find/product-is-06275
I looked at some of the reviews on Majestic's website to see that one reviewer said that he would not advise buying this wine. He must have had a bottle which was faulty perhaps it was corked or oxidised. This wine was of very good quality and represents very good value for money. If you get a bad bottle then I am sure that Majestic will give you a refund if you return it in good time. It merits four stars in my estimation. The press review is spot on.
http://www.majestic.co.uk/find/product-is-06275
Mâcon Villages Blanc 'Les Roches Blanches' 2011 Louis Jadot
We also drank this wine at our party. I bought it from Majestic at the same time as the Côtes du Rhône red -as I said I always like to drink Louis Jadot wines and could decide for myself. I bought half a dozen bottles at a discount for £47.94. This represents excellent value for money even in England. I preferred this wine to the Premier Cru above; it had the taste of the nuts, apples and citrus fruit without the oak.
The wine is more versatile as it went down well on its own and with the roasted ham and dessert. I also preferred the price. This is good quality wine that shows no pretension. I recommend it. On the Majestic scale I give it 4 stars too. The press review is interesting but perhaps a little over the top.
http://www.majestic.co.uk/find/product-is-04117
Daniel Le Clerc Cuvée Gabin Non Vintage Champagne.
My brother- in- law found this champagne for us. It is a prize winner from the Aube region of Champagne. It is matured in oak. The oak, however, is very subtle and just lends a slight flavour of spice. It is exceptionally good value for money and great for a Christmas party. If you are ever in the Aube why not pay them a visit and buy a case or two ; you will not be disappointed.
They also produce an excellent and cheaper NV Cuvée Brut Tradition. On the Majestic scale both of these wines would be 5 star in terms of value for money.
http://www.champagne-daniel-leclerc.fr/fiche-2-1-Cuvee_Gabin.html
http://www.champagne-daniel-leclerc.fr/fiche-3-1-Cuvee_Brut_Tradition_.html
The wine is more versatile as it went down well on its own and with the roasted ham and dessert. I also preferred the price. This is good quality wine that shows no pretension. I recommend it. On the Majestic scale I give it 4 stars too. The press review is interesting but perhaps a little over the top.
http://www.majestic.co.uk/find/product-is-04117
Daniel Le Clerc Cuvée Gabin Non Vintage Champagne.
My brother- in- law found this champagne for us. It is a prize winner from the Aube region of Champagne. It is matured in oak. The oak, however, is very subtle and just lends a slight flavour of spice. It is exceptionally good value for money and great for a Christmas party. If you are ever in the Aube why not pay them a visit and buy a case or two ; you will not be disappointed.
They also produce an excellent and cheaper NV Cuvée Brut Tradition. On the Majestic scale both of these wines would be 5 star in terms of value for money.
http://www.champagne-daniel-leclerc.fr/fiche-2-1-Cuvee_Gabin.html
http://www.champagne-daniel-leclerc.fr/fiche-3-1-Cuvee_Brut_Tradition_.html
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