The Wedding Season – Part 2
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The problem at most wedding receptions is being held to ransom by the caterers. At one of the last weddings I was invited to, a slightly off-dry Prosecco was served which was so awful that the contents of most of my glass made it to a flower bed. Very discretely I should add. So what is the answer?
Champagne is still the best, but the weak pound has made it much more expensive. On the plus side though is that, because sales of Champagne have slowed down, stocks are getting more bottle age and that is having a positive bearing on the quality of the wine.
There is of course much more to bubbles than Champagne. From France, Gratien and Meyer in Saumur is excellent and even better since we have been able to make our own blend for The Society’s Celebration Crémant de Loire for example. More generally, the Languedoc appellation of Limoux has seen a lot of improvement thanks to the passing of intelligent new laws and even some consensual leadership among the producers.
Wines may bubble just as brightly elsewhere. Many of the big New World names, especially those with links to Champagne are very good. Currently we like Pelorus from New Zealand. And yes there is good Prosecco.
As for the caterers, it is always worth trying to negotiate corkage and bring your own!
Hear, hear! We are serving the Celebration Cremant de Loire at our wedding next weekend – it is perfectly delicious and means we’ve been able to splash out a little on the wines we’re serving with dinner (all from The Society, of course!).
English fizz is often in the newspapers for winning prizes for quality. I have not yet sampled UK fizz but in the context of this blog surely it deserves a comment from our Society.
I don’t tend to drink a great deal of sparkling wine, but have had occasion to try (among others) the Nyetimber Brut Classic courtesy of the Society. I found it a respectable match to French equivalents.
Great to see some wine advice for brides from the experts – thanks for the tips!
Sadly this is another area where the Wine Society is being left behind. There is a wealth of small high quality producers in Champagne who do not charge ££££ prices only to fund the marketing spin required to shift their high volume mediocre quality wines.
Yet the Wine Society persists in listing either huge branded Marques. Or Alfred Gratien. With very little else from Champagne.
The world has moved on – with the emergence of Selosse, Diebolt Vallois, Lilbert, Vilmart, Drappier, Larmandier Bernier, Tarlant etc etc etc showing that smaller growers can offer more. And often more cheaply than . And perhaps even with a sense of place which the huge volume, big houses fail to supply.
And the Wine Society has not recognised that or spent the time to find smaller growers. Surely the ethos of the Society is about what is in the bottle? And how it shows where it comes from.
Rather that than funding the marketing costs of the Bollingers, Roederers, Moets of this world.
Thank you for your comments but I feel I must respond to clarify our position. We do very few Grandes Marques Champagnes, precisely for the reasons you mention. We certainly don’t list Moët.
We choose to list the likes of Pol Roger, Bollinger and Roederer because, believe it or not, they actually do make very good Champagne and very much in their own style. My life would be incomplete without them!
Gratien is our own label and though the taste may not appeal to everyone, quality is outstanding and consistent. In comparative tastings the wines invariably stand out. They are a small producer and we are their biggest customer, as a consequence we get rather good rates which benefit members. Value for money is second to none
In response to a demand for less expensive Champagne we have introduced several new Champagnes recently.
I completely agree that there are plenty of outstanding growers across Champagne. We buy from several, though not the ones you mention as they are already imported and quantities are often too small for them to have more than one importer in the country. Some you mention sell at very high prices and do not, in my opinion, offer really good value.
Our grower Champagnes are:
Jean-Paul Hébrart: very talented young grower based in Mareuil in the Marne valley. He makes unbelievably good value wine based on 80% pinot and 20% chardonnay.
Benöit Marguet: young and dynamic grower in Ambonnay. Again pinot-dominated with a speciality being his very rich tasting rosé. He is presently working on a range of single-vineyard, cask-fermented wines which are currently in vogue in Champagne.
Pierre Gimonnet: outstanding grower in Cuis in the Côte des Blancs. All chardonnay wines of great purity of expression. His 2002 in magnum is one of the wines of the vintage.
Alexandre Chartogne: Young and critically acclaimed grower in Merfy, north-west of Reims making very pure and delightful Champagnes. The NV is currently listed and the 2002 will appear in Christmas fine wine list.
Champagne Jacquesson: Strictly speaking not a grower’s Champagne as 25% of their grapes come from contracted growers. Wines are highly individual and give a real expression of terroir.
These are listed at the moment. Others will follow….
Marcel – I see the Gimonnet 2002 in magnum has sold out. Any chance of any more, or have I missed it? How do you think it will age vs. the 2002 Chartogne you mention?
Many thanks, Nick
Thanks for your comment. The Chartogne is not unfortunately in the same league. If the Gimmonet has gone (and I know that there is nothing left of it in France), the nearest thing to try would be The Society’s Exhibition Blanc de Blancs which is 2004 in magnum and will age extremely well. The wines that go in it are all grand cru from Côte des Blancs: Mesnil, Cramant, Chouilly and Avize.
Thanks for your prompt reply Marcel. It is nice to be able to communicate with you the buyers in this way.