PIZZA EXCESS

Jane making the pizza

Jane was the sommelier, chef and host for our April 2013 wine tasting evening.  She chose the theme of
“Wine and Pizza” and had obviously done quite a bit of research into unusual pizza recipes and the best pairings to go with them.  Thus she served us six different pizzas and six different “good value” wines for our nine-person judging panel to rank.  Read on below to see how she did:

As usual we tasted all six wines blind to prevent any prejudice entering the results.  All scores quoted are out of twenty and the wines are presented in descending order of preference.  Scores are presented in the order John E, Ian, Sarah, Kathryn, Clive, Steve S, Chris and Andy.  Prices are the aproximate prices that Jane paid and included some special offers.

Jane brings in one of her pizzas

1. Edmond Bourdelat Rose Brut Champagne NV, French Sparkling Rose 12%, from the producer €18.20.

This was our first wine of the night and as well as accompanying the pizza was to celebrate my birthday.  It was a copper coloured rose and with some orange and peaches on the palate was excellent champagne.  Jane paired it extremely well with a Salmon and Crème Fraiche pizza that she used to eat in a kosher restaurant in Las Halles Paris.  Six of our nine-person panel voted this their wine of the night and it was about twice as expensive as any other wine.  Scores were 15.5, 15, 19, 19, 18, 13.5, 15 and 11.25.  It was definitely a hit with Kathryn who finished the bottle.  It is made from 20% Chardonnay and 80% Pinot Meunier with a 14% dose of Pinot Meunier red wine to give it the colour.  Definitely one of the top small producers, shame they only sell in France.  Here is a link to their excellent website should you be in the area.

2.Tesco Finest Chianti Riserva 2009 Antonella Conti, Tuscan Red 13%, Tesco £6.00.

Easily the best red of the evening for most of us was this value Chianti that paired very well with a Pepperoni and mozzarella pizza.  This wine was big on flavour and proved a great finish to the pizza selection.  Six of us had this wine in their top two wines of the evening. Scores were 14, 14, 17, 11, 18, 16.5, 13 and 11.   A real hit and a great priced pizza wine.  Normal price is around £8 and can be bought on-line by clicking here.

3. Old Vine Selection Tempranillo Extemadura 2011,  Spanish Red 14.5%, Tesco £6.49

Most of us thought this was an Australian red and it certainly had a warm climate flavour.  Jane paired this with a Chard, cherry tomato, wild garlic pesto, aged gouda and parmesan pizza.  The big flavours were of both food and wine were able to stand up to one another.  One of our team liked this the wine the best and most had it in their top four wines.  Scores were 13, 13.5, 11.25, 10, 14, 14.25, 10 and 12.  Andy’s favourite, he liked the good full taste.

Cutting the pizza

4.  Chianti 2011 Wine Selection at Asda 2011, Italian Red 12.5%,

  Asda £5.00.

This was a very soft tasting wine with a good fruity bouquet.  Jane paired this with an excellent Pancetta lardons, mushroom and tomato pizza. All of our team had this in their top four wines and Clive had it as his favourite.   Scores were 12, 12, 11, 11, 18, 13.75, 10.5 and eleven.  Most of us thought it was Spanish but this is still a good  £5 pizza wine.

5. La Piazza Nero D’Avola – Sangiovese Mineo Family 2011, Sicilian Red 13%, £5.

Some described this wine as smoky and cheeky.  I felt t had that cheap red wine taste and it was definitely helped by pairing it with the three cheese and caremelized onion pizza.   One of the team had it in their top two wines but the rest had it in their bottom two.  Scores were 9.75, 9, 7, 10, 14, 8, 8 and 11.5.  Appreciated by Andy but the rest of us would give this one a miss.

6. Rawnsley Estate Chardonnay New South Wales 2011, Australian Dry
White 12%, Tesco £5.00.

Our tasting team rarely appreciates chardonnays apart from Chablis and thus no surprise that this finished last.  Jane had paired this with a white three-cheese and Marsala pizza topped with rocket.  Most though the wine was a rather disappointing and it may not have been helped by the pizza being rather sweet.  Scores were 11.5, 9, 9, 11, 14, 7.5, 9.5 and 9.  Too bland for most but white wine lover Kathryn had it her top three.

For dessert, Jane served us with some Mango sorbet paired with a 2005 Montlouis dessert wine.  Then we had coffee and chocolates to round off an excellent evening.  Jane's smoked salmon, Pepperoni, and Mushroom pizzas were particularly appreciated. As usual she spent a lot of time cooking, ably helped by her trusty Thermomix.  You can view many recipes on her blog which can be found by clicking on Why Is There Air.

All smiles as everyone anticipates the pizza

Coming up next month on Friday 10^th May is Chris’s Rhone Rangers evening in Farnborough.  Then we remain in Farnborough in June on Saturday 22nd  for Ian and Kathryn’s Portuguese night.  We are back to Tongham for Steve S and his Cracking the Languedoc evening on Friday 5^th July.  On Friday 9^th August, I will be presenting another Fine Wine evening featuring some mature Riojas.  As usual, everyone is welcome to join us as long as they enjoy good company, wine and food.  Full details in Wine Circle above.

As usual, many thanks to Clive who took most of the photos.  Well done to Jane for another excellent evening.

Jane bringing in the blind tasting bottles

One of our favourites - Pepperoni Pizza

Smoked Salmon was also popular

Who says they don't want more pizza!

BUBBLY BARGAINS

Jane revealing one of our blind tasted bubblies

Now that most of our monthly wine tasting evenings have a theme, we decided that it would brighten up the dreary month of February by having Sheila organise an evening of sparkling wines.  What a good choice we made!  Being a natural bargain hunter she organised her shopping to coincide with the Christmas and Valentines Day 25% off and other special offers.  Thus for just £85 she was able to serve us 4 interesting (not supermarket bargain basement) champagnes and two other interesting sparkling wines.  I added an extra bottle of something a little different and voila with some nice nibbles and food bites that Sheila had prepared we were set for a great Friday evening for ten of us in Sheila’s cosy conservatory.  I particularly enjoyed the excellent Parmesan biscuits that Sheila had baked and the cheeses including a Shropshire Blue, a Lake District Cheddar and an Austrian smoked. Jane has a recipe for similar parmesan biscuits on her blog - very tasty!

So which bubbly bargains, that Sheila selected, can we recommend for you?  They are presented below in descending order of preference with scores out of 20 in the order of John E, Clive, Chris, Jill, Kathryn, Sarah, John S, Sheila, Jane and Andy.  All were blind tasted.

1. Waitrose Blanc de Noirs Champagne Brut NV, French Sparkling White 12%, Sheila paid £20.99, the normal price at Waitrose.

Supermarket Blanc de Noirs Champagnes are always the ones to go for as they represent great value and have a fuller flavour that many of us appreciate.  This was a real cracker and five of us voted it the best wine of he evening and nobody had it in their bottom three.  Very, very nice with a beautifully powerful taste.  Scores were 16, 17+,14.5, 15.5, 14, 18.5, 12.5, 14.5,11 and 11.  If you can afford bubbly around 20 then go for this one.  This wine is made by the excellent Alexandre Bonnet in Les Riceys.  Click here to read about les Riceys.

2. Lanson Rose Label Champagne Rosé Brut NV, French Sparkling Rosé 12.5%, Sheila paid £23.75 rather than the normal £35.99.  Available widely.

A ladies’ wine with its pretty pink label, it did not disappoint in the taste department.  It has a really beautiful salmon colour with some almond complexity on the palate and a good astringency to make it a food wine.  A few didn’t appreciate the aftertaste and although five had it in their top three wines, another five had it in their bottom three.  Scores were 15.25, 16, 9, 12, 6, 15, 10, 15, 18 and 10.  A pleasant rosé if you can get it on special offer.

3. Philippe Michel Crémant Du Jura Chardonnay 2010, French Sparkling White 12%, Sheila paid £6.99 in Aldi.

What a cracking bargain this Crémant from Aldi was!   Four of our team rated it in their top two wines of the evening.  I thought it tasted good and slightly different from the Champagnes even though it was made of Chardonnay one of the three main Champagne grapes.  It was not complex and had a pleasant if slightly rough edge to it.  However, at this price in the UK it was totally amazing.

Scores were 12.25, 17, 13.5, 14, 13, 14, 11, 11, 13 and 11.5.  I expect this has totally sold out as the press quite rightly recommend it.

4. Tesco Finest Premier Cru Champagne Brut NV, French Sparkling White 12.5%, Sheila paid just £11.25 rather than the normal £19.99 in Tesco.

This was the first wine we tasted and I said at the time that it was a great way to start and if the wines improve as the evening goes on then we are in for a great tasting – prophetic words as three of the next wines were better!  This is very pleasant Champagne made by the Union cooperative from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes from Premier Cru villages in the Champagne region.  It won an IWSC gold in 2012 but we thought it very pleasant but not that special.  Scores were 14, 15, 12.5, 11, 15, 10, 12, 14.5, 10 and 11.5.  Amazing value when on special offer.

5. Tsarine Cuveé Premium Champagne Brut, French Sparkling White, Sheila paid just £14.99 rather than the normal £25.99.  Available widely.

This wine is worth buying just for its interesting bottle shape.  A classic branded champagne, which tastes great but not that special compared to some others we tasted.  Our team rated it everything from No.1 to No.6 so it just shows how tastes vary.  Certainly a great bargain at the price Sheila paid.  Scores were 12.5, 15, 13, 14.5, 7, 18, 13, 10, 10 and 10.  This is very reliable brand in a very pretty bottle.

6. Carod Freres Clairette de Die, Methode Diose Ancestrale, Cuveé Symbiose Tradition, French medium sweet Sparkling White.  I paid €7.48 in Auchan Boulogne.

This was the joker I added at the end f the evening to go with Sheila’s chocolaty dessert.  It worked surprisingly well with the chocolate but this proved to be a wine that our team either loved or hated – three of our tea had it in their top three but another three had in in last place.  Well worthy of consideration if you like slightly sweet sparkling wines.  This one was very fruity and reminded us of pineapples.  It was not too sweet for most palates.  Scores were 13.5, 16, 12, 15, 14.5, 9, 8, 11, 18 and 11.  This is an interesting dessert wine or an aperitif for those with sweeter palates.

7. Tesco Finest Prosecco DOC Brut by Bisol, Italian Sparkling White.  Sheila paid just £6.37 rather than the normal £8.49 in Tesco.

This wine was very distinctively Prosecco with its pear like taste.  Dry but a nice full flavour if a little innocuous.  If you like Prosecco this is a good one to go for.  Scores were 9.5, 12, 9.5, 9, 9, 13, 11.5, 13, 10 and 9.5.  It would appear that our panel don’t really like Prosecco!

Thus Sheila has bucked the trend where people are buying less Champagne and more Prosecco because they are seeking value under £10.  Our tasting suggests you might be better off looking for the special offers and Crémants.  Even though we tasted a silver medal and highly rated Prosecco it finished bottom of our pile.  Perhaps that shows how good all of the wines we tasted were!  A big round of applause for Sheila for a fantastic evening.  I don’t think anyone could have presented us such an interesting selection at that price.

Sheila gave us a nice spread of food

Our host - Sheila

Next month we are going to Farnborough in Hampshire for an evening of red wine – three wines chosen by wine experts up against three wines chosen by our very own John Spreadborough; who will come out on top?    This should be another great evening at which you are welcome to join us for great wine, good food and sparkling conversation.   As usual it will be £10 on the door to share the cost and will start at 8pm on Friday March 8^th.   Details about how to join in the fun are to be found by clicking on wine circle above.

As usual, thanks to Clive for most of the photos accompanying this blog.  Especial thanks to Sheila for putting on a great evening.

Counting the bubbles

How many glasses have I had?

How much did that cost?

Clive at work on the photos

Les Riceys – A sea of tranquillity in an ocean of bubbles

A tranquil river scene in Les Riceys

Visit Les Riceys and you are visiting sleepy little villages in the Aube, miles away, both literally and figuratively speaking, from the Champagne centres of Epernay and Reims. They are also the home of one of the Champagne region's few still wines, the Rosé des Riceys. This is a bronzy pink coloured wine made from the Pinot Noir grape using the saignée method as opposed to the blending method, that is used to make most rosé champagne. It is a small appellation and it is rare to find this wine in France, except in the region, let alone England. Its appeal is thus its rarity and although this is a very pleasant dry rosé wine, it is rarely worth the price that the region demands. There are a number of producers including Alexandre Bonnet, Devaux and Bauser. The wines are best drunk young before the colour starts to go browner and less pink. It always surprises me that some restaurants in the area want to serve you old vintages of this and I usually know I am going to refuse them as soon as they pour the glass. In this respect the Rosé des Riceys is very different from vintage champagnes that can improve over many years.

Bauser Museum

The villages itself are worth a pleasant detour if you are in the area and can be reached within a shortish drive of Troyes or Chablis. There are a number of small champagne houses to visit in the area and Bauser is a good one to visit as they have a range of wines and champagnes to taste and an interesting little museum of old wine and champagne making artefacts. They also speak English. It is possible to eat and stay in some of the villages; we had a lovely welcome and a pleasant lunch in Hotel Le Marius in Les Ricey. The villages, comprising the commune of Les Riceys are Ricey-Haut, Ricey Haut-Rive and Ricey-Bas, are sleepy but picturesque; a number of my pictures accompany this blog.

There seems to be a growing interest in making Rosé des Riceys now, as at one time the locals found it less work and more profitable to sell their grapes to the big champagne houses rather than following the complicated appellation rules of Rosé des Riceys. Now with the growth in small producers it is gaining strength, and there are well over a dozen. The cause might also be helped by global warming as this is a wine that needs sum sun to ripen the grapes enough.

Les Riceys is the only commune in Champagne that makes all three Champagne appellations, the sparkling Champagne, Rosé des Riceys and Coteaux Champenois. This latter appellation is also for still wines, red, white or rosé. This area has only been making Champagne since 1911; before this it was regarded as a separate wine region just on the borders of Burgundy. Although the snobs of Reims and Epernay look down on the champagnes of the Cote des Bar and Les Riceys, they actually stand up very well in comparison and are well worth a try.

Rosé des Riceys normally has wild strawberry notes to its bouquet and taste and often has a nice length. I have tasted about five of different producers and vintages and at the moment rather like the 2009 that Bauser are selling now. We had a bottle last night with a dish of herb and sugar crusted salmon and tomato salsa that Jane cooked from a Matthew Smith recipe (pictured to the left). This excellent recipe can be found on the Orient Express British Pullman website and was a good match. Locally they recommend Chaource cheese as a pairing.

Overall, I would recommend both Les Riceys as a place to visit and Rosé des Riceys as a wine to try.

Recipe for Mushrooms Feuilleté

(2 large starter servings or 2 light lunch servings)


We were surprised how many of you really enjoyed the mushrooms at the Champagne Gala Fundraising Dinner this September at Tongham Village Hall. In the absence of Jane sharing her recipe at present, here is a recipe I did one Valentine’s Day for Jane – it was very good, even though I say that myself. It is a good way of using up any left-over puff pastry. I was once a vegetarian and this developed my love of mushrooms and cooking them. This recipe shows you how to properly twice cook mushrooms and how to make a nice mushroom stock and also a mushroom sauce without cream. Credit must go to Paul Gayler whose excellent Vegetarian Cookbook taught me how to make a good mushroom stock; the version below is simplified a little. Also mention must go to Patricia Wells and her wonderful Paris Cookbook that first taught me the proper way to twice cook mushrooms à la Frederic Anton.

Shopping List
400g of Cheap Basic Mushrooms
2 Shallots or 1 medium onion
2 Tomatoes
1 large clove Garlic
1 bunch Parsley (preferably Flat Leaf)
Ready Made Puff Pastry
250g Chestnut Mushrooms
2 large knobs of butter

Store Cupboard Ingredients required (Check before you go shopping!)
Olive Oil
Tomato Puree
Soy Sauce
Salt & pepper

Step 1 – Make the stock for the sauce (this can be done the previous night if preferred)

Take 400g of cheap basic mushrooms and roughly chop.

Chop 2 shallots or one medium onion finely.

Peel and chop 1 large clove of garlic.

Roughly chop 2 tomatoes.

Cut the stalks off of a bunch of parsley and then chop the stalks.

Add one tablespoon of Olive Oil into a very large saucepan and bring to medium heat.

Add the chopped shallot and garlic and sweat for a few minutes until soft, without browning.

Add the 400g of chopped mushrooms, bring up the heat, and stir until they have gone brown and released their liquid.

Add the chopped tomatoes and a squeeze of tomato puree and the chopped parsley stalks.

Add a pint of water and turn up the heat.

Bring to a rolling boil and continue boiling for 25 to 30 minutes (it depends on the pan) until well reduced (it needs to taste quite concentrated).

Add 2 good slugs of soy sauce and stir.

Taste and season with salt, pepper and soy sauce as required.

Sieve the stock into another saucepan, pressing down in the sieve to ensure you get all of the good stock out of the vegetables and let cool. The contents of the sieve can be discarded as all the flavours have been cooked out. You will need the stock in Step 4.

Step 2 – Making the “Feuilleté”

Roll out the ready-made puff pastry.

Cut out 2 three-inch squares. Other shapes such as triangles or circles also work well. Make a smaller square, not cut all the way through, in each pastry square, to form a border.

Bake in the oven according to the instructions on the packet.

Step 3 – Prepare the Mushrooms and Herbs.

Take most of the parsley leaves, leaving a few whole to decorate the plate later, and chop (not too finely). Reserve until step 5.

Take 250g of Chestnut Mushrooms and thinly slice.

Fry the mushrooms in a little olive oil until they begin to lose most of their liquid.

Put to one side.

Step 4 – Prepare the Sauce

Take the stock you prepared earlier and heat in a small saucepan to just below boiling and then stir in a knob of butter; continue to stir until you have a shiny rich sauce. Taste and add seasoning if required.

Step 5 – Finish Cooking the Mushrooms.

Add a knob of butter to a frying pan and bring up to a reasonably high heat.

Add the mushrooms and stir whilst cooking for about 2 minutes.

At the end, stir in the chopped parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Step 6 – Plating Up.

Put the mushrooms on each plate.

Add some sauce to the mushrooms.

Place the puff pastry delicately on top.

Decorate with some whole parsley leaves.

Serve and enjoy!

Alternative serving suggestion - If you’re not a fan of puff pastry, serve on some toasted brioche or other toasted bread. If not a fan of Parsley then try Tarragon or Chervil. At this time of the year you could substitute any Wild Mushrooms for the Chestnut Mushrooms. If you have other mushrooms such as Shitake or Portabello use can these in the stock; they add more flavour but make it more expensive.

Wine Pairing – This goes very nicely with a Blanc de Noirs Champagne. Otherwise try a Pinot Noir (e.g. Burgundy, Oregon or New Zealand) or a Cabernet Franc (e.g. a Chinon or Bourgueil from the Loire). If you are a confirmed white wine drinker, try a Chardonnay.

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.