Champagne

At 2 million bottles, Billecart Salmon, still a family-owned business, rather straddles the line between the biggest well-known brand at 35 million and the boutique “grower champagnes” that are increasing in popularity. Here is what the winemaker thinks of their Billecart Salmon Brut Reserve Non Vintage: “Fine bubbles which rise slowly, persistent mousse. Straw-coloured. A nose of ripe pear with some touches of cut hay. Full fruit, but clean in the mouth. This cuvée contains 40 per cent pinot meunier, 30 per cent pinot noir, 30 per cent chardonnay. All wines from the best sites in the department of the Marne, from more than twenty top vineyards in Champagne. The overall composition of this cuvée has not changed much for almost fifty years.” Critic James Suckling wrote: “92/100. This has impressive ripe stone fruits on the nose with peaches, mangoes, melon and cherries. Really upbeat and attractive purity. The palate follows the same thread of fruit characters with a clever balance of flesh and crunch, a bright finish and good balance.” $49.90

Champagne and port producers only declare a vintage in exceptional years and most champagne sold is non-vintage, which is a blend from various years. Vintage champagne is more expensive and it does vary in personality, whereas the non-vintage gives the winemaker the opportunity to blend to get their particular “house style” and a high degree of consistency.

From this they build a loyal customer base. When asked for advice I suggest that if you are really, really into champagne then buy the vintage, otherwise just enjoy the wonderful non-vintage blends.

Laurent Perrier is our top selling brut non-vintage and it rates 91/100 with the Wine Enthusiast. It is pale golden in colour with fine and persistent bubbles and hints of citrus and white fruit. As good as this is, it is their rosé that they excel at, with the most popular one in the world. With reviews like the following it is easy to understand why. Connoisseurs’ Guide: “96/100. Elegant and fruity at the same time with a quick invitation from bright, pure cherryish notes and then filled out handsomely by whiffs of chalky soils and well-integrated, rich and uplifting yeast-driven scents, this wine manages to be both vigorous and layered at one and the same time. Its bubbles are insistent, finely carved and add to the early sensations of lightness and energy yet also carry the wine long into a balanced, refined finish. And its latter palate grip is exactly what one should expect from the genre. While service with light foods would be our first choice, this one has the beauty to stand alone.” This Laurent Perrier Brut Rosé is made 100 per cent from pinot noir. Bottles are $89.60 ($94.60 for the gift box) and magnums $179.20.

Nicolas Feuillatte is now the third largest producer and growing well. Their brut non-vintage is composed of 20 per cent chardonnay for elegance and delicacy, 40 per cent pinot noir, for roundness and structure and 40 per cent pinot meunier for fruitiness. It is pale gold in colour with an abundance of delicate bubbles. Floral aromas of fruit with subtle predominance of white fruits: pear, apple, almonds and hazelnuts. $47.35.

Let me quote a news story on how a small producer was catapulted to international fame. “In the video, Jay-Z is seen to refuse a bottle of xxxxx (blanked out as I do not wish to offend a competitor of Burrows Lightbourn) before he accepts the lavish gold Armand de Brignac bottle presented in a silver case. The champagne was immediately catapulted to fame and its first release quickly sold out. Today, the Ace of Spades gold bottle comes in a lacquered black box lined in rich, black velvet. At around $300, it remains one of the most expensive, yet most desired, bottles of champagne in trendy clubs from New York to Tokyo.”

So you have an absolutely stunning gold bottle embossed with the Ace of Spades, but what is inside it? At one blind tasting it was judged to be the number one champagne. It is marvellously complex and full-bodied with a bouquet that is fresh and lively along with light floral notes On the palate, Armand de Brignac has a sumptuous, racy fruit character that is perfectly integrated with the wine’s subtle brioche accents. The champagne’s texture is deliciously creamy, with great depth paired with a long, silky finish.

Armand de Brignac is a prestige cuvée produced in the traditional, old-world style, from grape to glass. The Brut Gold also known as Ace of Spades, is pressed from a perfectly balanced blend containing chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier wine.

Armand de Brignac’s unmistakable gold-plated bottle has its roots in the French fashion industry and its reputation for opulence. Originally conceived by the celebrated Andre Courreges fashion house, the striking bottle is decorated at a single site in France’s Cognac region and is fitted with four pewter labels that are hand-applied to the surface of the bottle.

The exclusive champagne has a high-profile fan base including actors Leonardo DiCaprio and George Clooney, rapper Jay-Z and athletes Roger Federer and Luis Figo.

Our price for Armand de Brignac Ace of Spades is $275 and I believe I am correct in saying that all of our champagnes have come down a little in price since last year, due to the weaker Euro. Let’s all make 2017 a wonderful year for our island!

This column is a paid for advertorial for Burrows Lightbourn Ltd. Michael Robinson is Director of Wine at Burrows Lightbourn Ltd. He can be contacted at mrobinson@bll.bm or 295-0176. Burrows Lightbourn have stores in Hamilton (Front Street East, 295-1554), Paget (Harbour Road, 236-0355) and St George’s (York Street, 297-0409). A selection of their wines, beers and spirits is available at www.wineonline.bm.