Tongham Tasters' First Get-Together Coming Soon !!!

Tongham Tasters first get-together is scheduled for Thursday 14^th October at 8.pm.   We have had a lot of interest, so do be sure to email us (tonghamtaster@gmail.com) between now and 7^th October letting us know if you are definitely going to come and who if anyone is coming with you.   Look forward to seeing you on the 14^th.  Cheers!

Foires Aux Vins

The foires aux vins season is with us again.  For the uninitiated, this is a twice a year event where French supermarkets stock a much larger range of wines than usual and have some special offers.   They happen in late March / early April and late September / early October.  Each supermarket has its own dates and each branch may have varying dates as well – check on the internet for these.   The web site Vinogusto.com is a good starting point.   Here are a few of my tips.

1.  Know in advance what you want to buy, otherwise the selection is so bewildering that it won’t be an enjoyable or fruitful experience.    There are a number of strategies here. (a)  A few years ago I used these Foires to really learn about French wine – I used to buy a bottle or two of any appellation controlee that I had not tasted before. (b) Decide to buy mainly from good vintages, thus today you might look for any 2005 wines (especially Bordeaux and Burgundy) still on offer, any 2007 Rhone wines and any 2009 Beaujolais.  (c) Pick wines from your favourite producers – for me that will mean looking for say Chateau Villa Bel Air Graves which is a great value superb Bordeaux at just over €10 a bottle. (d) Look for wines from good value appellations eg Quincy, Macon, Muscadet for Whites, 1er Cotes de Bordeaux/Blaye/Bourg, Languedoc for Reds. (e) Look for wines that have gold or silver awards or are recommended in Hachette or other guides. (f) If you are a burgundy fan but can’t afford the very best then look out for the Premier Crus in the €10 to €20 range.  Don’t expect to buy a drinkable burgundy for much under €10 unless you are very lucky and it is a good year. (g) do experiment and try something you wouldn’t normally buy,  Variety is certainly the spice of wine if not life.   Try and avoid the big brands such as J.P.Chenet and Piat D'or, for a bit more you will get something much less bland.

2.  Take some wine boxes/carriers  with you as they are not always available in the store.

3. If you want to buy more than 12 bottles of any wine that you don’t know, you should consider buying just one bottle and trying it in the car park before going in to buy more (don’t forget a corkscrew and glass if trying this).

4.  Know your UK prices as not all wines are cheaper in France.  However, in the €3.50 to €10 category there is some good value to be had.

5.  Auchan is one of the best hypermarkets for wine but Leclerc is good too and I have also rated Carrefour on occasion.

Champagne Dinner at Tongham Village Hall

We can report back a great success on many levels for our champagne tasting dinner in the Village Hall.  Best of all we raised over £1,200 to help the ongoing renovation work.   Important also, everyone seemed to enjoy the evening.   For those who missed it –these are the wines you missed -

WINES SERVED AT OUR CHAMPAGNE TASTING DINNER

1.    BLANC DE BLANCS

Voirin-Jumel Premier Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut NV

Since 1945 the Voirin-Jumels are proud to be a Champagne family rather than a brand.  If you look at the label it says RM which means Récoltant Manipulant; i.e. they both grow the grapes and make the Champagne. They are based in Cramant, one of the top Grand Cru villages of the Côte des Blancs, the hilly chalky stretch of land between Epernay and Vertus where most of the Champagne region’s Chardonnay grapes are grown.  They have grapes growing in ten other villages as well.   This champagne is from their Premier Cru vineyards and is made using only Chardonnay grapes.   This is a good example of a Blanc de Blancs Champagne; it is elegant and delicate with a lovely typical chardonnay flavour.   Do visit them in Cramant, they are on the main road and you can’t miss the village as it has an 8 metre high Champagne Bottle at the entrance to the village!  Otherwise their wine is available in a number of French supermarkets including Auchan.  This wine is a mix of more than one year’s grapes and thus is NV or non-vintage.  Brut indicates that it is dry (less than 12 grams of sugar per litre).  I have been drinking their wines for 8 years and highly recommend them for taste and value.   We served this with scallops, pea puree and pancetta.

2.    VINTAGE SPECIAL CUVEE

Nicolas Feuillatte Millésime 2004 Cuvée Spécial Brut

Nicolas Feuillatte is the brand name used by the oldest and largest union of cooperatives in the region.  They have used the brand name since 1986 and it is now well known as they sell 8 to 9 million bottles of Champagne a year including much in the UK.  As they represent 82 cooperatives and 5,000 vineyards they have some good grapes to choose from.  They are based in Chouilly near Epernay.   You call tell this is a bottle from a cooperative as it has CM on the label which means Coopérative Manipulant. The fact that it has a year and Millésime on the bottle indicates that it is made from grapes from just one year.  In the UK we call this a Vintage Champagne.  In theory Vintage champagnes are made only in good years from the best grapes.  Special Cuvées are meant to be special blends made with excellent grapes and often have fancy shaped bottles as we can see with this wine. 2004 was the best vintage between 2003 and 2006.  This one certainly has a nice creamy mousse.  We served this Gaspacho, crab & prawns.

3.    GREAT BLEND FROM A NEGOCIANT

Albert de Milly Selection Brut NV

Created in 1994 by the son of a small wine producer, Albert de Milly have their own vineyards but are classified as an NM, Negociant Manipulant, as they use more than 5% of grapes from other producers.   Most of the big well known Champagne Houses are negociant.  This house is based in Bisseuil on the crossroads of the Marne Valley, Cote des Blancs and Montagne de Reims.  These are respectively the best areas for growing Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes – the classic varieties used in 99% of all Champagnes.  For me this is a really great blend (Guide Hachette seem to agree with me) – I suspect it is about 50% Pinot Noir, 30% Pinot Meunier and 20% Chardonnay.  It has been laid down for 3 years before release (15 months is the minimum for a NV).   We served this with a fish terrine.

4.    SUPERMARKET OWN BRAND BLANC DE NOIRS

Sainsbury (or Tesco) Blanc de Noir Brut NV

This has MA on the label or Marque d’Achetuer – ie it is an own label brand.  These tend to be made for the supermarkets by the big cooperatives and are often much better then the well known Champagne brands.   I am never afraid to serve supermarket brand champagnes at a dinner or tasting and Gordon Brown served Sainsbury’s Blanc de Noirs at his wedding.  A Blanc de Noirs is a wine made from just black grapes and the Sainsbury one has 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Pinot Meunier.   They have a bigger taste than other champagnes.   We served this with mushrooms en croute.

5.    PREMIER CRU ROSE

Allouchery Perceval Premier Cru Rose Brut NV

This Champagne comes from Ecueil in the Montagne de Reims area.  This is a Premier Cru village (villages get this designation rather than individual vineyards as in Burgundy) which is the 2^nd best after Grand Cru.  Allouchery Perceval are RC or Recoltant Cooperative, which means they grow their own grapes but get it made at the local cooperative with their own label.  They are a small family concern, Lucie, Daniel and Emilien who welcome you into their small home to taste and buy their wine.  We have enjoyed their wines for 8 years and served it at our wedding – at this time they were an RM.  This Champagne is made from 90% Blanc de Noirs champagne with 10% of red Pinot Noir red wine added for the colour.  There grapes come from 25 to 30 year old vines on mid-slope sites and are well elaborated and cellared.   We served this with a chicken, yellow pepper and sausage meat roulade.

6.    COTEAUX DE CHAMPENOIS

Paul Bara Bouzy Rouge Coteaux Champenois 2002 Grand Cru

Champagne doesn’t make just sparkling wines – it makes a few still red, whites and roses but they are little known outside the region.   This is one of the very best examples from an excellent vintage.  This is an RM growers champenois and is 100% Pinot Noir from one of their 30 holdings in the village. It comes from the excellently named village of Bouzy, which is one of the best Pinot Noire villages, hence the Grand Cru designation.  Established in 1833 the house of Bara has been handed down through the family over generations.  It is now managed by Chantale the eldest daughter of the much respected Paul Bara who died a few years ago.   Bouzy rouge is a speciality but they also make excellent champagne.  Their total output is 110,000 bottles a year.    This was served with a special regional version of a pot au feu.

7.    PINOT MEUNIER BLEND

Edmond Bourdelat Reserve Brut NV

This Champagne is from Brugny in the Marne Valley which is the heart of Pinot Meunier country.  This is a blend of 70% Pinot Meunier and 30% Chardonnay and is recommended by the Guide Hachette as well as myself.  We were introduced to this RM by some French friends a few years ago and made a visit to the property earlier this year for an excellent tasting of their wines.  They have a house at the top of the hill overlooking Brugny with Epernay in the distance and make their champagne under their house and grow their vines in the surrounding countryside – well worth a visit and tasting; Sandrine hosted the best tasting we have had and husband Bruno, Edmond’s son, makes great Champagne.   We served this with our cheese course of Chaource, Brie and Mature Gouda.

8.    DELICATE ROSE FROM A LARGE CHAMPAGNE HOUSE

De Castellane Rose Brut NV

This is a wine from one of the large Epernay NM negociants (they actually own no vineyards at all).  Their wine is made in a marvelous Belle Epoque building with an iconic 66 metre tower. They are very well known on the continent where they are a well known brand but have been sold in the UK by Bibendum and Nicolas only in the last year.  Established in 1895 they are now owned by Laurent Perrier – one of the Grande Marques champagne houses – and now share their winemaker who is famed for his Roses.  De Castellane champagnes are easily recognised by their red cross of St Andrew.  This wine is a delicate salmon pink colour and is made from 40% Chardonnay and 60% Pinot Noir with a dosage of liquor made with chardonnay and pinot noir for the colour.   This wine has won a number of awards and medals.    It was served with a beautiful Strawberry Charlotte.

Thanks again to everyone who helped out in one way or another at this event to make it a success – too many to name here but hopefully you know it was well appreciated.   We also appreciated the support in terms of discounts and raffle prizes from both Secretts Farm Shop in Milford and Hunts Hill Farm in Normandy – it is good to have local businesses like this nearby.