Champagne – how I love you! Let me count the ways: Brut, Non-Vintage, Ultra Brut, Vintage or Millésimé Brut, Blanc de Blancs, Blanc de Noirs, Prestige Cuvée, Rosé, single vineyard, single varietal, grower-producer, Grande Maisons de Champagne; from Montagne de Reims, Cȏte des Blancs, Vallée de la Marne, Cȏte des Bar or The Aube, Cȏte des Sézanne. I love them all……………….and apparently so did the folks at Wine Enthusiast Magazine.
The Champagne wine region in France was honored as the 2018 “Wine Region of the Year” at the January 28, 2019 Wine Enthusiast Magazine “Wine Star Awards” black- tie gala event in Miami, Florida. Just a few days later my husband and I, along with a few winelover foodie friends, honored Champagne on a much smaller – but no less gala – Champagne dinner at our home. This is the story of our love and appreciation for Champagne paired course by course with delectable foods– all 8 courses and 10 different examples of those fabulous tiny bubbles!
For the past year and a half, I have been intrigued with learning about “exotic” wine regions that were completely unfamiliar to me both in wine and food. From the Eastern Mediterranean to Croatia to Slovenia, Macedonia and Turkey, I did the research – studied about the country, the wine and the food – all resulting in a forkandcorkdivine.com article and an at-home wine dinner to drink the wine and pair it with foods from that country.
When deciding on the topic of “Champagne”, I truly thought it would be a simple task. After all, I knew a thing or two about Champagne! Or so I thought. The past few months of reading several books and internet research on everything I could find about the region, the history, and the details about this wine called “champagne” quickly humbled me resulting in a new appreciation for Champagne bubble by millions of tiny bubbles that will probably last a lifetime. The next few pages are devoted to the wines that were shared by our group, and the foods that we lovingly prepared and served with them.
Félicitations Champagne
“Wine Star Award” Dinner
Saturday, February 2, 2019
Welcome Hors D’Oeuvres
Ham and Comté Cheese Tartlets
Scallop Rillettes
Truffle Parmesan Popcorn
Potato Chips with Creme Fraiche and Caviar
Green Olives a la Provençale Almonds
Gosset Grande Reserve NV Brut, Vallée de la Marne
We welcomed our guests in typical French style with Champagne and hors d’oeuvres served casually in the living room. Upon reading about food pairings with different styles of Champagne, the basic little nibbles included nuts (almonds preferred) and olives (a la Provençale the best!) along with some items most people don’t think of but really should try – popcorn with Parmesan cheese and truffle oil and potato chips. I gave the potato chips an upgrade which was well worth the effort – put a dollop of crème fraiche on top of a chip, sprinkle on a little caviar, and some fresh chopped chives – and voila! It is super tasty!!! Anita, my foodie friend with a flair for preparing all foods French, gave the upscale touch to our hors d’oeuvres. She prepared delicious little tartlets of ham and Comté cheese hot out of the oven. That pastry almost melted in your mouth. And not wanting us to go hungry before dinner, she also brought along some rich and creamy scallop rillettes for spreading on crackers. If you have never had rillettes, they are a decadent artisanal spread similar to pȃté made of a protein in lots of butter and cream. Unfortunately I did not get any separate pictures of either of these delicious morsels!
On to the Champagne……….. The first bottle of the night was made by Gosset, the oldest wine house in Champagne. The house of Gosset traces roots back to 1584 when they made still wine in Aÿ. Their grapes are sourced almost entirely from Premier and Grand Cru vineyards in the Vallée de la Marne. The Grande Reserve Brut NV Gosset is a blend of 45% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir and 10% Pinot Meunier from 3 different vintages with a 9 g/l dosage. It was a bright golden color with ripe red blackcurrants, wheat and dried fruits on the nose and mineral notes with ripe and dried fruit on the palate. The Gosset scored 92 points from WE, WS and W & S. It was a perfect way to begin our journey!
The Glass Debate
An experiment of taste testing with
flutes, white wine glasses and coupes
Champagne Aubry Brut Premier Cru, Montagne de Reims
Bernard Brémont Millésimé Grand Cru 2011, Grand Montagne de Reims
Upon reading about the great debate over the best type of glass to use for drinking Champagne, we decided to do our own experiment. We tasted a Brut NV and a Vintage Champagne in crystal flutes, Riedel universal or white wine glasses and coupes. We evaluated them based upon aroma, fruit and acidity, finish and integration of alcohol. While we didn’t do formal scoring, the differences were noticeable particularly when tasting the Vintage Champagne. Everyone had their own opinion – some still preferred their flute – but several of us opted for the white wine glass for the rest of our tastings. Why not try this experiment yourself?
The Champagne Aubry Brut Premier Cru NV is a white blend of 55% Pinot Meunier, 25% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Noir and 5% of the heirloom grapes Arbanne, Petit Meslier and Fromenteau. The Aubry twin brothers Pierre and Philippe are some of the very few winemakers who utilize these indigenous grapes. Half of this particular wine is made from reserve wine more than half of which came from a solera going back to 1998. We enjoyed lemon citrus flavors with notes of flowers, mint and crushed rocks. Aubrey Fils has just 30 acres primarily Premier Cru in the village of Jouy-lès-Reims in the Montagne de Reims and produces just 10,000 cases a year.
Bernard Brémont is a Récoltant Manipulant which means they make the Champagne entirely on their property in the Grand Montagne de Reims. The Bernard Brémont Brut Grand Cru Millésimé Ambonnay 2011 is a medium bodied white made from 55% Pinot Noir and 45% Chardonnay and it was excellent. There were aromas of fresh stone fruits with citrus notes, stone fruits and biscuit on the palate with a citrus and mineral finish. Vivino users rated it 4.1. This Champagne really deserves a white wine glass to fully enjoy all of the aromas. Bubbles are great, but I want to get the full effect!
First Course
Crab Salad in a Citrus Vinaigrette with Fresh Citrus Sections
Laurent-Perrier Brut Nature Ultra Brut NV, Vallée de la Marne
Laurent-Perrier Brut Nature Ultra Brut NV was paired with our first course. This Champagne is a white blend of 55% Chardonnay and 45% Pinot Noir from 17 Grand Crus with an average rating of 97%. There is 0 dosage, and it was aged for 4 years. The spec sheet says “it appears without make-up in its natural form” and that it did! The color was very pale and crystal bright; citrus, white fruit and flowers on the nose; a long delicate taste of floral, fruit and mineral notes with a long clean finish. Wine Ethusiast rated it at 93 points. Laurent-Perrier is located in the Vallée de la Marne and is part of a family of 4 champagne brands, one of which is the world famous Salon. Laurent-Perrier was one of the first Champagnes I ever tasted and remains one of my favorites to this day!
After reading all of the tasting notes about the L-P Brut Nature Ultra Brut, I decided that the crab salad in citrus vinaigrette made with fresh citrus sections would be the perfect match for the clean bright citrus flavors of the Champagne. Indeed it was! The lump crab meat was mixed with fresh avocado and a vinaigrette made from the juices of lime, orange and grapefruit. It was all layered using my Ateco 4 piece round food molding set which is one of the best little culinary tools I have purchased, and sat perfectly on a lettuce leaf. It is easy to do and makes an impressive food item.
Second Course
Oyster and Brie Champagne Soup
2013 Marie-Courtin “Resonance” Extra Brut Champagne, Cȏtes de Bars
Oysters are almost mandatory to serve with Champagne, but freshly shucked raw oysters were not to be! So I did the next best thing and made this rich and creamy Brie Champagne soup. It was simple to make and I added some shucked fresh packaged Willapoint farm raised oysters from our local Publix seafood department. They were perfect for this recipe and the soup received rave reviews from our guests.
Dominque Moreau is a grower-producer on a 6 acre estate in the Cȏtes de Bars. She makes just 1000 cases of Marie-Courtin Champagne, named after her grandmother who worked this land during World War I. The 2013 Marie-Courtin “Resonance” Extra Brut is a white Champagne made from Pinot Noir grapes making it a wonderful example of a “grower producer, single vineyard, single vintage, single varietal and zero dosage” Champagne. We expected to get hints of smoke, slate, dried pears and red stone fruits in a creamy expressive well balanced Champagne and that is what we got! If you have the opportunity to drink any Marie-Courtin, do not pass it by! Antonio Galloni gave it 94 points. And please drink it in a white wine glass.
Third Course
Seared Scallop on a Potato Pancake with Caviar Champagne Sauce
Bernard Brémont Brut Grand Cru NV, Grand Montagne Reims
Anita, with her French foodie flair, prepared this absolutely beautiful and delicious dish for our next course. She seared U-15 scallops, placed each one on a delicate potato pancake and ladled on some amazing sauce made from butter, crème fraiche, Champagne and caviar. Very decadent and I wanted to lick the plate clean!
We were lucky enough to enjoy a second wine from the Bernard Brémont family – a Bernard Brémont Brut Grand Cru NV. This one was a medium bodied white made from a blend of 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay with a dosage of 7-8 g/l. It had a spicy nose, bright citrus, pear and mineral scents with clean, lemon, orchard fruit and peppery spice flavors on the palate. This bottle rates 91 points from IWC. The pairing was beautiful and we all agreed that the Brémont family makes very good Champagne.
Fourth Course
Corn and Dried Tomato Soufflé with Shrimp Onion Relish
Doyard “Cuvée Vendémiaire” Premier Cru, NV Brut Blanc de Blancs
(disgorged 2018), Cȏtes des Blancs
Next up was a Blanc de Blancs Champagne, so I opted to go in a slightly different food direction and made mini soufflés of corn, sun-dried tomato and Parmesan cheese. I put them in the oven just before service and then topped them off with a sautéed shrimp, mustard seed and scallion relish. They came out of the oven looking good but not quite as high as I anticipated. Guess that foil wrap around the dish to hold up the top of the soufflé was not as necessary as I had hoped!
My soufflé pairing was with another grower producer with viticulture roots back to 1677. Doyard has 10 hectares in Cȏtes des Blancs, and they intervene as little as possible, practice biodynamics and preservation of old vines. They bottle their wines with 4.5-5 atmospheres pressure instead of the usual 6 and use 10-21 grams sugar for tirage instead of 24. Our bottle of Doyard Cuvee Vendémiaire Premier Cru NV was disgorged in 2018 and was a 100% Chardonnay white blend of 50% from 3 vintages and 50% reserve wines with 5 g/l aged on the lees for 4 years. It was intensely citrus colored, very mineral, flavors of apples, apricots, ginger, lemon curd and clean spiced finish. Robert Parker rated it at 94 points. We don’t argue with Bob!
Fifth Course
Fried Mushrooms with Peppery Creamy Dipping Sauce
2016 Cédric Bouchard Roses de Jeanne, Val Vilaine Vineyard,
Blanc de Noirs, Cȏtes de Bars
Fried foods are supposed to make an excellent pairing with Champagne, so in order to test that theory I opted for making some whole mushrooms battered and Panko breaded then fried in the Waring deep fryer till golden brown. They were seasoned with black pepper and thyme and served with a mayonnaise based dipping sauce seasoned with Dijon mustard, garlic, lemon, thyme and lots of fresh ground black pepper. The fried foods theory is correct, believe me. Those mushrooms and peppery sauce could not have been better with our wine………….
………2016 Cédric Bouchard Roses de Jeanne, Val Vilaine Vineyard Blanc de Noirs Champagne is from another young up and coming grower producer in the Cȏtes de Bars who is getting rave reviews for his wines. Bouchard makes single-variety, single-vintage, single-vineyard Champagnes completely unlike anyone else in this region. He farms organically, hand harvests at low yields, and bottles at 4.5 instead of 6 with zero dosage. Some of his wines are from just 3 rows of Pinot Noir which he crushes by foot. He makes just 300-500 cases a year of this 100% Pinot Noir Blanc de Noir. After all, the vineyard is only 1.5 hectares! We were told to expect red fruit richness on the palate similar to a red Burgundy, followed by floral and herbal notes of chamomile, white tea and chrysanthemums. Bouchard recommended that we decant his Champagne then drink at 55 degrees from a Pinot Noir glass. Most of my guests were leery of decanting a Champagne, so I’ll save that for another time, but as I was sipping this wonderful Champagne from my Burgundy glass, I could indeed imagine all of those aromas and flavors. Bouchard is another producers that if you have the opportunity to try, do not pass it by!!!!
Sixth Course
Roasted Salmon on a puree of French Green Lentils
2007 Bollinger “La Grande Année” Rosé,
Vallée de la Marne
I was so anxious to taste all of these Champagnes, but the 2007 Bollinger “La Grande Annee” Rose was one that I just “had to have” when I was browsing online as I usually do for our wine dinner events. I called it my splurge for the night. As far as I was concerned, it did not disappoint. It is a blend of 72% Pinot Noir and 28% Chardonnay from 14 Crus: – 92% are Grand Cru and 8% are Premier. Also 6% of the red wine comes from the famous red wine of Cȏte aux Enfants. Bollinger has been in existence since 1829, is one of the most prominent producers in Aÿ and one of the most renowned in all Champagne. They are one of the few Champagne houses to produce most of their own grapes to make their base blends. This 2007 was a delicate coral tint with aromas of redcurrant, dried fig, mint, blond tobacco and dried flowers followed by delicate flavors on the palate of plum, kirsch, fresh cut grass and a lasting chalky finish. WS gave it 94 points and I am so glad that I splurged. And for a quick moment, we thought we saw James Bond joining us!
My “splurge wine” needed a special pairing and this Dorie Greenspan recipe for roasted salmon on French green lentils sounded delicious to me. I have never prepared a recipe by Dorie that I did not like! Always trying to keep it authentic, I got green lentils from France and cooked them with a clove studded onion, carrots and celery in chicken broth just like Dorie said to do. Some of the cooked lentils got pureed and added back into the pot while the cooked vegetables came out, got diced and added back. While our guests were enjoying their fried mushrooms, our salmon fillet was seasoned with EVOO, salt and pepper and roasted for just about 10 minutes at 475 degrees. The timing was perfect as I plated it on a bed of those tasty lentils and garnished with chopped parsley. And yes, it was so delicious with that beautiful coral tinted Bollinger rosé!
Cheese Course
Langres AOP Cheese Champagne Volcano
What French inspired dinner can go without a cheese course? Not this one! Still keeping it authentic, I was able to source some Langres AOP cheese from igourmet.com. It is a cow’s milk cheese with a soft orange color rind made only in Champagne. The most important reason for wanting this cheese was the online videos I watched of this cheese being served by poking holes in the top of it, then pouring Champagne over it. Watching this cheese on a platter with Champagne bubbling out of the top of it volcano-style was something that I had to see in person! So that is just what we did – some remaining Laurent-Perrier poured and bubbled over that cheese as everyone watched and waited to try it. A volcano it was not, but it was delicious!
Sweet Endings
Fresh Berry Galette
Fossiers Mini Rose Biscuits Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds
de Venoge “Cordon Bleu” Demi-Sec, Cȏtes des Blancs
Every dinner has to have a “sweet ending” no matter how full we all are. Mariann prepared a typical French dessert for us – a beautiful fresh berry galette with whipped cream. We made room for it and loved it. I am not sure if anyone had room for one of those famous mini rose biscuits by Fossiers, but we had them and all felt very French!
De Venoge made the last bottle of the night – a de Venoge Cordon Bleu Demi-Sec from the Cȏtes des Blancs. De Venoge started out in business in 1825 and was the first Champagne maker to illustrate their wine labels. You can find them in Epernay, and today they are part of the Lanson group. Their Champagne style is vinosity with freshness; they use only the first pressing, age their wines for at least 3 years and use a low dosage of about 7 g/l. The Cordon Bleu Brut Demi-Sec dessert wine is a white blend of 50% Pinot Noir, 25% Pinot Meunier and 25% Chardonnay with 40 g/l dosage, 45 grams cane sugar and was aged 4 years. It had notes of acacia honey and was perfect with dessert. I didn’t find it overly sweet at all.
And just like that……………. 10 bottles and pairings later…………our Champagne Wine Star Award celebration dinner was over. But you can be assured that my personal love affair with Champagne will go on and on forever! I believe our guests all had their personal favorites, but like children – I love them all equally.
Many thanks to our winelover foodie friends for participating, contributing Champagne and their cooking expertise. And many many thanks to my friend Marcello Palazzi from the Winebow Group for providing me with photos from the actual Wine Star Awards that took place in Miami on January 28, 2019 plus that beautiful Champagne bottle specially made by Moet and Chandon just for this celebration. And of course this event could not have taken place without my husband Chuck’s assistance, support, tolerance, love and just plain putting up with me for the months that I spent doing the research, bringing this event together and making it come true! Merci beaucoup! And where will our next event take us? Who knows, but I know that wherever it is, it will be special.
Forkandcorkdivine.com 2.10.19
