Cultivating Time at Chateau Palmer Champagne

Chateau Palmer, a very English-sounding Champagne house, was in fact founded in 1947 by seven French grape growers. The owners had set their sights on the British market and chose what they considered to be a classy English name for their venture: "Palmer." Today the house is esteemed for the consistency and elegance of its cuvees. More than 50 percent of vineyards used by the Chateau are designated as Grand and Premier Cru vineyards located in the Montagne de Reims area which lies between the Marne and Vesle rivers. 

Today the house is dedicated to sustainability and has committed to providing sustainable protection of the vineyards for the sake of the wine, the grape growers and winemakers, the environment, and its customers. 

At a media dinner at Scarpetta, Raymond Ringeval, Export Director of Champagne Palmer & Co., led a small group through a tasting of some current releases as well as some rarer bottles. 

We began with the Brut Reserve NV which, according to Raymond, always has at least 50% Chardonnay. He told us that it is rare to have this much Chardonnay in this kind of blend, but that this "queen of grapes" is one of the signatures of Chateau Palmer, as they source from two of the Grand Cru villages where Chardonnay thrives. The Brut Reserve was crisp with fresh citrus notes as well as toasty brioche. It is aged four years on lees before bottling. 

Next we sampled the award-winning Blanc de Blanc made from 100% Chardonnay sourced from Premier Cru vineyards in the Montagne de Reims as well as from the Cote De Sezanne. Raymond explained that this was one of their most renowned Champagnes. Of special note is the aging these wines see; magnum bottles of the Blanc de Blanc spend 10 years on lees. The 750 ml bottle had 6 years on lees and had notes of crisp lemon, toast, and hazlenuts.  

These non-vintage Champagnes spend more time on lees than many, contributing to their complexity and roundness. In addition to the grapes and winemaking techniques, aging is another important factor in what makes these Champagnes special. According to Raymond, "We're cultivating time." 

The Rose Solera NV Champagne has 42% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir, 10% Pinot Meunier, and there is the addition of 8% of Solera of Pinot Noir.  The solera was begun 40 years ago, and every year new wine is added to it. This unexpected addition is the source of extra richness and complexity. Of all the Rose Champagne I've had, none have made such an impression on me. There is a power to this wine, along with finesse. On the palate, straweberries, baking spice, and cream.  

The Vintage 2012 Champagne was very aromatic with notes of ripe pear and marzipan. On the palate there was great complexity and layers of marzipan, pear, and toasted almonds. The wine also had minerality and bright acidity. Raymond explained that the house only creates a vintage wine every 5-6 years. 

The next wine was a special cuvee known as Amazone. The name hearkens to the mythical race of women warriors and reflects the strength and elegance in the wine. The current release of Amazone is a blend of three top vintages - in this case 2012, 2009 and 2010 - as well as a solera Chardonnay. It spent 8 years on lees. The wine was dense with flavors of apple compote, baking spice, and marzipan. A delicious and unique cuvee. 

We ended the evening with the Vintage 1999 Chauteau Palmer Champagne. Raymond told us that vintage Champagne is part of the Palmer DNA.  This wine had aromas of dried fruits and toffee, which continued on the palate, along with minerality and a freshness that belied the wine's 23 years.  

Among the world of Champagne, Chateau Palmer is making wines that are distinct due to their high concentration of excellent Chardonnay in the cuvees as well for their penchant for long aging. I was impressed by the line, which had excellent choices for many moods and occasions - from parties to noteworthy anniversaries.    

Piper Hiedsick is an Oscar-worthy choice for tonight

Piper-Heidsieck is the official Champagne of the Oscars, so when you tune in tonight you’ll know this is the bubbly that the stars themselves will be celebrating with. Why not pick up some bottles for your own Oscar-watching party to commemorate a great year of film?  Whether you’re rooting for Rami Malek or Bradley Cooper, Glenn Close or Melissa McCarthy, you can drink like a Hollywood star.

Nothing says elegance like Champagne, and Piper-Heidsieck has been a glamorous choice for centuries – Marie Antoinette loved to drink the cuvee in the eighteenth century. Over the years, Piper-Heidsieck was poured at royal courts across Europe and Asia.

Adding elegance to your own Oscar watching – whether at a posh party or in your PJs – is as easy as popping a cork of Piper-Heidsick.  Your choice of snacks runs the gamut, as Champagne pairs with nearly everything! But perhaps the best choice tonight is to drink Champagne with buttered popcorn.  So start popping and pouring to get ready for Hollywood’s big night.

Toasting 2018 Oscar Nominations with Piper Heidsieck

The luxurious iPic Fulton Street was abuzz this morning with wine media, all enjoying a decadent Champagne breakfast and waiting for the announcement of the 2018 Oscar nominees.  After gathering plates of caviar-topped eggs Benedict and flutes of Piper Heidsieck Champagne, we ensconced ourselves in the plushest of movie theaters for a live-streaming of the results. 

I was happy to see some of my faves from this year - including Lady Bird, The Big Sick, and Disaster Artist - all got nods from the Academy.  And myself and other attendees made notes on nominated films that we wanted to see before the 90th Oscars in March. 

After the excitement of the announcements, we enjoyed more Piper Heisieck from magnums with gorgeous art deco designs that commemorate the 90th Oscars. I found this Champagne to be balanced, crisp, and elegant, and it paired beautifully with the rich Hollandaise sauce as well as with decadent donuts from Under West Donuts. 

Piper-Heidsieck is the official Champagne of the Oscars, so when you watch on March 4 - this is what they'll be celebrating or drowning their disappointment with.  With Champagne this delicious in one's glass, even not being nominated would be a lot more acceptable I imagine. 

The best idea for those of us without tickets to the Oscars? Tune in with plenty of Piper Heidsieck on hand and enjoy a touch of Oscar glamour at home. 

Ruinart Champagne Blanc de Blanc

I recently attended an evening sponsored by Ruinart Champagne at David Burke's newest venture, David Burke's Kitchen. More specifically, a dozen or so bloggers and I were invited upstairs to the bar, playfully named the Treehouse.
We were greeted with full glasses of the Champagne house's Blanc de Blanc. The name has everything to do with the color of the grapes used in the wine. Champagne traditionally is blend of wines: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and to a lesser degree, Pinot Meunier. The last two grapes are red grapes, and Chardonnay, of course we know as a white-wine grape.
However, at times Champagne makers choose to produce a sparkling wine from either all white, as in the case of Blanc de Blanc, or all red (also called "black") grapes, as in the case of Blanc de Noir.
And so I sipped the lovely Champagne that was distinctly more refreshing than the usual blend of white and red grapes. After chatting with the tall and charming head of Ruinart, Jean Marc Gallot, and mingling with my fellow bloggers, I headed to a formally-set table for some fun and games with scent.
Ruinart proposed that we wine and food bloggers consider the different aromas and flavors in their blanc de blanc Champagne. So, set before each of us was a small cylinder filled with seven tiny vials filled with liquid scent. We also each had a card of about 18 aromas and a sharpened pencil. And so it began. We unscrewed the top of each vial and sniffed. Was number 2 lemon and number 3 citron, or vice versa? The floral scent of jasmine was undeniable, and Jean Marc offered us a broad hint, "think of Sushi" that led us to ginger. Clues were hidden around the table decorations, and it turned out that one of the vials was pink peppercorns - look there was a glass bowl of them in front of us! We were not subject to the public scrutiny of reading our choices aloud (I was about 50% right), but the one who self-reported the most correctly identified scents did win a prize.
The better prize, however, was an evening full of Ruinart blanc de blanc and the daring cuisine of David Burke. After playing the scent game, the buttered toast, yellow apple of the Ruinart were clearer to me, along with hints of pineapple, and a nice lemon spritz on the back end. The fruit flavors were ripe, and the toasty flavors were delicious.
On to the dinner. The chef wowed us with a deep-friend grape filled with peanut butter appetizer, and a main course of crab cake lined with pretzel sticks - the salty crunch of the pretzels was a wonderful foil to the sweet crab. Lastly a delightul lollypop tree - orbs of different flavored cheesecakes dipped in white, milk, or dark chocolate and drizzled with flavors or dipped in crunchies.
At the end, we were delighted when celebrity Chef David Burke came upstairs and greeted us all. It was a stunning evening that was over too quickly. However, the ripe, layered fruit and toasty notes of the Ruinart were available to us any time we wanted a special champagne to savor.

One Night in France

Last night I taught French Wine: An Evening of Tasting & Discovery for the South Orange-Maplewood Adult School. 24 wine lovers came to drink, eat & learn about the pleasures of French wine.
Our host was Papillon 25, where chef Yanick Ramieri whipped up chicken dumplings, fried calamari, and spicy skewered chicken to accompany the drinks. Our night began with a modestly-priced ($28) Champagne from the house of Duval-Leroy . This light-flavored Champagne was satisfying, but, to me didn’t compare to some of the more expensive ones, including Moёt Chandon or Veuve Clicquot. One piece of trivia I learned recently: it’s good to dry your champagne glasses with a cotton bar towel. The reason? The bubble trains that shoot up from the glass are formed around tiny pieces of lint. This is one time when it doesn’t pay to have pristine glasses. Sure enough, our flutes were just out of the dishwasher and the bubbles were a little disappointing.
We next moved on to Sancerre Delaporte Loire Valley 2006 Chavignol. This was a softer version of the classic Sauvignon Blanc with citrus on the nose and less acid than usual. Reactions were mixed to this pour. Another trivia: the town of Chavignol, where this wine is made, is also the namesake of spectacular Loire goat cheese that’s comes in thick discs. Chavignol cheese is a fantastic pairing with Sancerre.
We moved southwest to explore Bordeaux next. Papillon had supplied us with their house Bordeaux, which was Baron de Rothschild Lafite Reserve Special 2007, a jammy wine, deep garnet, that was 70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet. This wine was palatable but quite simple and young: I showed my class the shine on the wine’s surface which indicated its youth. I would have wished to serve something older and more complex: maybe next time.
We moved east across the country to end my lecture in Burgundy. From this region, we enjoyed the hit of the night: Domaine A.F. Gros Hautes Cotes de Nuits 2002. Earthy on the nose and palate, but balanced with rich fruit that’s mellowed nicely with age, this wine was a steal at $20 from the Wine Library.
By this time, the group had grown quite convivial. I turned off my powerpoint and poured our last wine, a bonus, Fleur Des Pins Graves 2006, made of Semillon 70%, Sauvignon Blanc 30%. With aromas of marmalade and an appealing golden-orange hue, this was a sweet and delicious way to end a wonderful evening. As my happy students left, they thanked me and asked when the next class would be. We’ll see. For now, I’m pleased that my first foray into the world of conducting wine classes—with wine--went so well.

Chalk one up for the Romans

Reims, FR—This busy city, 90 miles east of Paris, has a deep sense of history. Its much-acclaimed gothic cathedral was the coronation site for French kings. But this town’s history reaches even further back to antiquity. It was the Romans who dug out the chalky limestone to build a city on this site. The French word for chalk is craie, and in Reims you won’t hear talk about wine caves, but you will be directed to the crayères if you want to see where the city’s coveted Champagne is aged.
On a wonderful tour at Veuve Clicquot, we viewed a tiny portion of their crayères, warren-like tunnels that extend 24 kilometers! Unlike the moldy, low-ceiling cellars we found in Epernay, the tunnels here are airy because the Romans included vents that reach open air, keeping the walls clean. It’s fascinating that the conditions in these chalk tunnels are perfect for wine storage, possessing both the correct temperature (about 55 degrees F) and the right humidity. Pushing my finger to a wall, I discovered that it released small beads of water and it gave a little--you can scrape a bit of Reims off if you like. My souvenir, however, was far more delectable: a bottle of 1991 vintage Veuve Clicquot. That bottle safely made it to my thoroughly modern NJ home, where it awaits a suitably spectacular occasion for opening.

Bacchus and the Goddess of Wine Carved in the Wall at the Veuve Clicquot Crayères

Raise a Glass

I attended a special celebration last night—a gala for the South Orange-Maplewood Adult School featuring Andre Braugher, Norbert Leo Butz, and Isaiah Sheffer. And what did they pour to commemorate their 75th anniversary? Champagne, of course. I don’t know the producer or the vintage, but from what I could spy of the bottles swimming in silver bowls of ice water, it did look to be French, thank heavens.
Last fall I met a pretty française on a flight from Bordeaux to Paris. She had an enviable lifestyle only suited to the young—work long enough to make money for the next trip, then head off for friends in far flung points around the globe. She always stuffs her luggage with Champagne, Bordeaux, and foie gras to take to her amis, even during a trip to India. As we chatted, she told me about her shock when she discovered that Americans were making wine and calling it Champagne. “But how can they do that?” she asked me. I wasn’t prepared on this six a.m. flight to defend America’s free-wheeling use of the term. I didn’t want to let her know we had also appropriated Chablis and Burgundy. Instead, I told her that I completely agreed with her. We can drink sparkling wine, cremants, cavas, proseccos, but when we drink Champagne, we want it to come from France. We want to know it was made in the méthode Champenoise. No other beverage has its cachet. When the occasion is truly memorable, as it was last night, nothing is more fitting than indulging in the authentic pleasure of a glass of Champagne.