This week I ‘ave been mostly drinking...

Russell Wallace, General Manager – This week I ‘ave been mostly drinking…Vintage Champagne! Returning after a couple of well needed weeks away and a very quiet wedding celebration gives me the perfect opportunity to help everyone get to grips with a couple of the big names in Vintage Champagne. I was lucky enough/patient enough to have kept a bottle of Louis Roederer Cristal Champagne aside for just such a marital occasion, and given that it is not exactly an everyday choice it is important to get a little bit of help on these special fine Champagnes.

I am not saying that I am an expert on the matter, rather more useful than that I hope I am an amateur that has been lucky enough to try just a couple of exquisite bottles over the last few months. So starting with the Cristal, I had a 2004 vintage which is sadly no longer available largely due to its roaring success amongst socialites and W.A.G’s. Instead, we have a nice cache of the 2002 vintage still available but selling out fast, or the current vintage on offer the 2005. What is in the bottle? As I am sure you can probably guess a damn fine Champagne all in all. It packs more of a full flavour and fizz than I was expecting.  If you are a fan of NV wines then you will love Cristal. I received this bottle some two or three years ago as a gift and thought I was doing fabulous keeping it for such a long time (the impatience of youth!) and for the right occasion. My patience did pay off but I cannot help but feel where I just a couple more years patient then I would have been richly rewarded by the Champagne – I am just not too sure if my wife would have been quite so patient!

Not in the last week, but over the last six months there have been a few other vintage Champagnes I have graced my lips with. Bollinger has always been my Champagne of choice, so an invite to a Pre-James Bond Bollinger soiree for a try of the new 2004 vintage La Grande Annee was a must attend. I have always found Bollinger to have a truly unique flavour, but was gobsmacked that this was significantly less obvious in their vintage offering. The wine was still light delicate and just divine, and when you bring price into the equation it is simply unbeatable.

At Christmas, I enjoyed the pièce de résistance in the form of the sublime 2000 Vintage Dom Perignon. This really was the wine that opened my eyes to what a Vintage Champagne can aspire to.  Well-aged and from a great vintage (well, in fairness there is no bad vintages when it comes to Vintage Dom), my praise for this perfection in a glass is hard won. I have never been a fan of the mass market over-hype of their owners Moet & Chandon so I was all but ready to cut this wine down to size as another over-priced piece of work. Instead, I find myself humbled by the refined elegance from the bouquet and flavour to the fine delicate bubbles. Do not be mistaken, this is not a washed-out wine – the flavours are full and present, as they are delicate and long lasting.

Susan Ross, Logistics Manager – Time to go to South Africa as the weather here, despite being May, is still far too cold! So this week, I tried Fairview Darling Sauvignon Blanc.

This family run producer owns vineyards in four different areas of the Western Cape to allow them to produce a wide range of wines from grapes grown in the best of conditions.  The Darling area, just an hour’s drive from Cape Town, benefits from being one of the closest to the cooling Atlantic and is known for the exceptional quality of its Sauvignon Blanc, the variety which initially spearheaded the wine growing progress of this area. 

Fairview Darling Sauvignon is full of tropical flavours, rich in taste and well balanced.  This is an ideal wine for every day drinking as well as sharing with friends at those al fresco parties.  Well made and great value at £8.47 per bottle or £57.74 per case.

Dianne Barrie, Company Administrator – We saw some sunshine here in Scotland last week (yes, I realise it’s a rare occurrence, but you have to make the most of these brief moments while you can!), so this warmer weather encouraged me to finally make the move from my deeper, richer red wine choices of late to a more delicate and lighter white wine style. And, this week, my choice was spot on with Pascal Jolivet Sancerre Blanc.

This is a beautifully balanced wine that is subtly fruity with predominant floral notes – think summer meadow flowers! It’s what I would call a ‘grown up’ sort of white wine – smooth yet with a powerful minerality. Pascal Jolivet Sancerre Blanc is also a great wine to accompany food, especially with lighter flavoured fish dishes as the delicate flavours really complement each other. This wine really is a summer classic, and definitely one I will be adding to my picnic basket this summer!

Kieran German, Shop Manager – This week I’ve mostly been drinking Chiantigiane Chianti Riserva, which is rapidly becoming my ‘go-to’ chianti. Here’s why: It is 2007 vintage, having had over twenty months in barrel before being bottled. Accordingly it is a wine which has aged very nicely and is now coming into its own. It is a beautiful deep garnet colour with a purple hue to the rim now showing some maturity. The wine has relaxed, with rich blackberry and forest-fruits aromas bursting from the glass effortlessly. On the palate, depth of flavour is complemented by a medium body and faint acidity – tastes of the forest floor (more berries, cherries and oak presence) mingle harmoniously. On the whole, this is a wine of some sophistication and truly rewarding flavour, yet versatile enough to drink alone or with food. For the price (£10.63) it is a steal.