I kind of overdid the buying of champagnes for the party. In the end, we drank less than 12 bottles from a total of above 20. The food was also a big hit. I cooked up a storm over the 3 days before the party. I wanted to make sure everyone had enough to go with all the champagne I was planning to serve!
The wines we sampled were:
- Laurent-Perrier Ultra Brut
- Gloria Ferrer Blanc de noirs
- Duval-Leroy NV Brut
- Pierre Peters Gran Cru NV Blanc de blancs
- Nicolas Feuillatte NV Rose
- Ruinart NV Rose
- Egly-Ouiret Vignes de Vigny
- Rosa Regale Brachetto (for desserts)
The G-F is a very easy to drink choice. Good amounts of acidity, a very nice berries nose and a very smooth finish. I heard nothing bad about it. It was my second time tasting this wine, and I think that it is a very good value for the dollar($19).
Duval-Leroy is an old favorite of mine. I've mentioned it before. For some guests, it was the first time they've tried it, and they loved it also. It was a good pairing with the truffle oil risotto.
Pierre Peters is a new discovery for me. It is a very good example of a blanc de blancs from a "grower" house. Citrus and pineapple nose with a pleasant notes of bread and light lemon. Beautiful finish. Great for an appetizer or sushi. It's a little pricey these days ($55), but still well worth it.
The N-F Rose is a good rose for the money, and it pairs good with food. People liked it, but didn't love it. I have to admit: I felt the same way. This might offend some pundits, but I find Rose wines to be uninteresting. Sparling rose are all the rage now, and I think they're overrated. I still enjoy traditionally blended sparklers more.
Most of the guests didn't get to taste the Ruinart. They were starting to leave by the time I opened it. I had such high hopes for this bottle (since I almost visited the house on my trip to France), but I was disappointed. The bottle wasn't bad, but it had no great characteristic. It was average at best, compared to the other wines we had. The few guests that had it pretty much agreed. When you pay about $70 for a bottle of bubbly, "uninteresting" is not the quality you want to get out of it!
Lastly, the Egly was a nice surprise. One of the guests told me they were going to bring it. I researched it, and found it to be intriguing. It's 100% Pinot Munier, which is a "balance" grape with a grassy taste (as normally used for blending). This grower over-ripens the grape, which eliminates most of the grassy flavor. The wine had a subtle floral nose that was very unique. Nothing over-powering, but nonetheless present. The taste was more on the lines of light pears and mild biscuit. It was noticeably sweet compared to the other wines we had, but still delicate. The finish was a little short, but I didn't mind. I do not know the cost, but I think it is around $50. Not an everyday item, but very interesting indeed.
The day after the party, I opened one of the wines we never got to serve. It was a Pierre Gimonnet 1er Cru Blanc de blancs. I was a recommendation from a vendor I visited while seeking Pierre peters. It is a decent example of a blanc de blancs, but nothing exciting. I would rather have the Pierre Peters any day. This is also a pricey bottle at $55, so I would not go out of my way to have this again.
The labels for most of them are here. Some of them don't like the harvesting process, so they might look a little faded.
