Join us for a “blinding” afternoon…

For our final tasting of 2015, we are going all out to get our champagne fans’ taste buds raring to go for the festive season.

We will be hosting our very first blind tasting, something we have been looking to do for a while, but there are so many interesting champagnes and themes to cover we just haven’t had the chance.

So, what is involved in a blind tasting?? Well, we will be launching our three new seasonal champagnes as usual, but this time putting them up against three champagnes from well known vineyards – grandes marques. And not just any brands – we are comparing champagnes where the small, independent growers featured sell a portion of their grapes to the larger houses. Why? Because we want to explore the relationship between the growers and the merchant houses and if there are any similarities in the champagnes.

Until the Second World War, all growers used to sell their grapes to the merchant houses and that was their sole income. But as margins became squeezed, the grape growers became disgruntled and felt they weren’t getting a fair share of the pie. So, they decided to keep some of their grapes back, often the “premiere cuvee” or first pressing (best quality) and make their own champagnes sold under their own brand.

Obviously their resources in terms of marketing and production are far more limited compared to the merchant houses, but this is what we find so delightful about the growers – how they can make such diverse champagnes and win international awards with their limited resources.

Gradually, many are loosening the shackles of the merchant houses and selling fewer and fewer grapes, with a view to becoming completely independent.

At our next tasting, we will welcome one of the growers, who currently works with a merchant house, but who hopes to retain 100% of their yield within the next few years.

So this is an amazing opportunity to discover a different aspect of champagne production, one that has been relatively unexplored by retailers to date.

In a change to our usual timings, this tasting will be held on a Saturday afternoon (21st November), so there is no rush after work – it will kick off at 1.30pm, just in time for lunch, with the first set of champagnes. Guests will enjoy half a glass of the grower and grande marque champagnes and will deliberate between the two before we reveal which is which. Each set of champagnes will be accompanied with a selection of nibbles!

With each champagne, we will provide more information about the producers, as well as the wines themselves. And for those who like a bit of competition, there will be prizes available for those who can correctly guess which is the grower/grande marque champagne and a bonus point for those who can identify the grande marque house.

After all three sets of champagne have been enjoyed, guests will then be invited to sample other champagnes from our range, which we believe would be excellent for the Christmas period and beyond. You can find out more about the tasting here.

We do hope to see you there!

Good Old Abraham…

Often we see wines and champagnes with unusual names – some have relevance and others just sound, well, posh quite frankly.

Our second champagne producer takes a rather more philosophical view when choosing names for his cuvées. The latest addition to his portfolio, Cuvée Abraham, (the 13th cuvée) pays a double homage.

Firstly it pays tribute to the significant religious figure across several sects; a wine that can be enjoyed by anyone, thus symbolising a union between mankind regardless of belief or location. It also signifies the family ancestry, with the first winemaker in the line holding the name Abraham, at the beginning of the 17^th Century. So what about the champagne itself?

This latest masterpiece from the village of Meurville, in the heart of the Aube, is a classic example of how small producers keep with their historical roots yet create innovative cuvées. Using vines that are 46 years old, situated in an area of kimmeridge clay, the geology, combined with the mature vines gives this champagne a distinct richness and intensity of flavour. After 30-35 years, the grape yields begin to dwindle, which gives those remaining much more intensity and depth, perfect for a prestige cuvée. Taken exclusively from the 2004 harvest, it has a surprisingly subtle beginning, which develops into a richer, more intense flavour of pineapple with a hint of spice. 2004 was one of the most notable years of the noughties, with a dry spring and a wet August, giving way to an impressive grape maturity. As such, Fabrice Perron has decided to leave this prestige champagne to age for as long as possible, optimising the expression of the aromas and flavours.

2004 Vintage made from vines over 45 years old.

Blending a third of each grape variety (Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay), we think it pairs exceptionally well with chicken livers and lightly curried dishes, with the ageing giving a cheeky touch of spice.

The Perron Beauvineau family not only run a successful champagne house, they have also branched out into tourism. They are kept busy with several accommodation options; tourism and champagne sit perfectly alongside each other, enabling visitors to access parts of the region which would otherwise remain largely undiscovered.

The family heritage spans 8 generations, beginning with René Perron, who married Marcelle Arnoult from another wine growing family. Their eldest son, Jean-Claude, took over running the family business when he was just 18 and married Marilyne Beauvineau in 1976. After Jean-Claude’s death in 1999, Marilyne courageously continued with the business. She remains heavily involved in the champagne side of things, insisting that no champagnes younger than 5 years old are commercialised. This ensures sufficient maturity and depth, perfectly demonstrated with the Abraham.

Why so many champagnes? Well according to Fabrice Perron Beauvineau, it is to cater for a wide variety of tastes. Who said you can’t please all of the people all of the time?

For more information on this champagne, see here.

Pur(e) Chardonnay

The first champagne in our summer 2015 collection is light, refreshing and an excellent example of how our producers try to diversify to stay ahead of the crowd. Boulachin-Chaput presents this wonderful 100% “Pur Chardonnay”, despite cultivating in a predominantly Pinot Noir area. With slight green tints, this champagne has notes of subtle citrus and exotic white fruits like pineapple on the nose. On the palate it is extremely smooth with mellow flavours of tropical fruits. It is always a vintage champagne, representing the finest growth years. This example is from 2008 – at the time of writing, this champagne is still relatively young and is light enough to enjoy all year round as an aperitif, but will keep on improving as it matures further. Excellent with shell fish and lightly spiced dishes.

Boulachin-Chaput
Pur Chardonnay

From the Northern Aubois village of Arrentières, with a slightly thinner, chalkier soil, the champagnes here have more of a minerally freshness than elsewhere in the region. The Boulachin-Chaput vineyard has championed “viticulture durable” for over a decade to reduce the impact on natural eco-systems. It is impressive that they manage to create such masterpieces whilst keeping with natural processes as far as possible. Examples of their sustainable operations include planting grass between alternate rows of vines (enherbement) to maintain soil structure and encourage natural pest control, ploughing in and around the vines during the Autumn every year to aerate the soil and maintain its quality and using minimal chemical intervention during the growing period – notably between May and July – with a mere 7 treatments compared to 10 plus elsewhere. Boulachin-Chaput actually adopts more mechanical processes thereby reducing erosion and compaction of soil in the vineyard caused by frequent and repetitive footsteps. This latest addition to our range used to be called “Cuvee Particuliere”, but in 2013 they changed the name to Pur Chardonnay – sales increased 5-fold as it was clearer what the champagne was and appealed to the more curious palate as it has been produced in an area dominant with Pinot Noir.

Boulachin-Chaput Vineyard

Intrigued? You can try it for yourself here. Or join our Champagne Club and get it cheaper.

New Shoots from Old Vines

Firstly, I must apologise for the delay in posting. We welcomed a new addition to the team in April, a baby boy, who has been keeping us very busy. Parenthood, it seems, is not conducive to maintaining a regular blog!

Anyway, despite all the activity in our lives, at the end of last month, we introduced our latest collection of champagnes perfect for the warm summer months. Below is a short introduction to the theme and the producers we have selected, the clue being in the title – all winemakers we have worked with before. Quite a fitting theme title from a professional and personal perspective – never really thought of myself as an “old vine” but there you go.

Over the next few weeks, we will be providing more detail on each grower and their latest champagne. Enjoy!

In France sometimes it takes a few revoirs to make friends, and we’ve been privileged enough to get to know some remarkable winemakers over the course of our many trips to Champagne. It’s always a nice feeling to return to a house where the initial meeting may be slightly formal and business-like and be greeted by a warm smile and an offer of a café rather than – or as well as – a flute. And so it is also with the champagnes: sometimes it takes more than first impressions to really get the measure of a cuvée and a second taster of a promising champagne is always worthwhile, even if it does just confirm one’s initial appraisal.

But there should be subtle differences from year to year even in old favourites. Each grower-producer cultivates a certain acreage of vines and produces champagnes which are unique not only to that terroir but also to the climatic and horticultural story of the individual crop. Reserve wines can be used to maintain consistency of quality but all reserves will eventually run out and anyway in themselves have a distinct character. As such even staple champagnes from a small producer’s range can evolve with time. Producers will also release vintages gradually, with interesting developments resulting from a longer period on lees – a 2004 vintage tasted last year can be very different from the same vintage tasted this year.

But as much as it is satisfying to re-discover old favourites, and to track their evolution, it is exciting to return to a house where a new take on production techniques or conceptual design results in a brand new cuvée. One of the benefits of the small producers we work with is that they can afford to be quite innovative – each new generation likes to put their own mark on the house, which can often result in entirely new products or even ranges being born.

In our selection this season we have therefore re-visited three of our favourite houses from previous club cases: Boulachin-Chaput (Carte Noire and Dame Noire, Winter 2014), Perron-Beauvineau (Brut Tradition, Autumn 2013) and Guy Lamoureux (Brut Tradition, Spring 2014). They are all examples of houses where a new generation is leaving their footprint in the annals of history.

The Pur Chardonnay from Boulachin-Chaput is an example of a champagne where we have been converted by a re-visit. First tasted as a 2004 back in January 2012, as a 2008 we feel it has more notes of mature, tropical exotic fruits than the fresh citrussy flavours we found on the first time. With its distinctive evolution, we feel it is definitely worth of a place in a summer club case!

Guy Lamoureux’s Mademoiselle Bouquet Millésime 2008 is a cuvée created not only as a deeply personal tribute to Stéphane and Alexandre Lamoureux’s late mother, whose maiden name was Bouquet, but also very much according to the principles of their father, Guy. Chief among these are a dedication to simplicity in keeping blends and production techniques straightforward and the use of ageing to allow the natural flavours and aromas to evolve. But it is also a good example of how a cuvée can be steeped in tradition but by definition, as a vintage, be different each time a new batch is produced or released. With its elegant aromas of mature red fruits with hints of exotic white fruits, we felt it was perfect for summer.

Finally, with the Cuvée Abraham, Fabrice Perron-Beauvineau is developing the house brand in his own way with an entirely new concept.  The dedication to lengthy ageing is perhaps the most important feature of the house. In this case, a threefold dedication to mature vines, a founding ancestor and the potentially harmonising figure of Abraham. Fabrice has put his unique and personal stamp on the long-held tradition of his house of producing innovative, fine and deeply-flavoured vintages which have been aged for a lengthy period of time.

And here they are:

From Left to Right: Mademoiselle Bouquet, Pur Chardonnay and Cuvée Abraham,  

We are definitely not on the high street….

As part of our strategy to take over the world as THE best suppliers of champagne (like ever!) we have broadened our horizons and are delighted to announce that we are now selling on the wondrous website “Not on the High Street”.

For those who don’t know it, this is the place to go for interesting and unique gifts that can’t be found anywhere else.

Now a lot of items are personalised – personalised glasses, t-shirts, pens, champagne flutes – even personalised pants. We have decided to take a slightly different approach and showcase stunning artisan food and drink gifts that represent the true skills of their producers and will give the recipient a truly tasty experience.

Personalisation is available in that all gifts can include a message, which will be hand-written on one of our special cards.

We will be adding more products over the coming weeks, but if you want to check out our store front, you can view it here.

We are also now available on Amazon, making it even easier to buy outstanding quality champagnes. Enough is enough for the big brands, let’s give the small producers a chance.

Happy shopping 🙂

PS Please tell all your friends if they are looking for special and unique gift ideas!

A touch of pink….

Pink champagne….you either love it or you hate it. Some find it far too sweet and artificial, others find it too fizzy (which, by the way, is often caused by the higher tannin content in pink champagnes than in white, attracting more CO2). Then you get the exceptions that are really dry and lack flavour and the only interesting thing about the wine is the colour.

Well, it may be some relief to know, that even with my job and as a huge fan of all things vinous, I tend to share many of these opinions and I make no secret of the fact that our search of decent rosé champagnes has been a tricky one.

These days, every champagne house worth their salt seems to have a rosé amongst their collection – their clients demand it. There is no prettier drink to serve on a warm summers day, especially if celebrating a momentous occasion, than a glass of pink champagne. But in my humble opinion, if the taste isn’t there, you may as well serve a glass of fizzy water with some pink grapefruit cordial (which is quite nice by the way).

So when deciding which champagnes to include in our quarterly cases, we don’t take the decision to include a pink lightly. We know it is always going to be a controversial move, with some of our clients avidly claiming their dislike for the style, whilst others will embrace it provided it has sufficient flavour and is memorable, for the right reasons.

On our Pinot Meunier adventures we found that generally, the rosés produced using the “saignée” method (gradually extracting the juice from the grape skins before mixing back together to give a deeper colour and often, flavour) exhibited a much more intense, fruity flavour, possibly because the flavours of the grape had more chance to mature and develop.

The blended versions, made with still red wine taken from Pinot Meunier grapes were fruity and floral, but quite light and subtle (in flavour and colour) in comparison. In both cases, the champagnes were drier than rosés usually are. Just like the Meunier whites we tasted, there was much diversity not just from house to house, but also within the same vineyard.

Some growers used oak to add additional depth and character to their pink champagnes, giving a hint of smokiness – one example being Alain Bailly from Serzy et Prins. His exclusive rosé had strong flavours of black cherry and finished with a surprising minerally kick – something of a trend we noticed with Meunier pinks. It took us a little by surprise. The rosé champagnes from the Vallée de la Marne, high in Meunier content, exhibited more savoury flavours than we have been used to with Pinot Noir or Chardonnay.

There were elements of fruit coming through, but this was matched with a distinctive minerality we have never seen before with pink champagnes.  Nowhere was this more evident than at the quaint little vineyard of Joel Gobancé in Savigny-sur-Ardres in the Vallée de l’Ardres. With parcels of vines spread over 5 communes, including the Vallée de la Marne and Chateau Thierry, this might explain why their champagnes bring such unique flavours to the table. The Brut Rosé is made from 90% Pinot Meunier, 5% Pinot Noir and 5% Chardonnay.

Cédric Gobancé is one of three brothers to manage the house today and chief wine maker – the others have pursued alternative careers, but still maintain an interest in the vineyard since taking over from their father in the early 90s. Gaston Gobancé began cultivating vines in the 1960s, though purely for the provision of merchant houses. In 1990, the family invested in a press and cellar and began producing their own champagnes. For a relatively young house, they are pushing out some interesting cuvées and even though they are at the beginning of their journey, there is much ambition to turn the brand into something quite special.

Cédric uses the “assemblage” method to make his pink, blending a little Pinot Meunier still wine with the white to give a very elegant peach colour to the champagne, dressed in a beautiful clear glass bottle. He also ages it for 4 years prior to disgorging to give the flavours and aromas a chance to fulfil their true potential.

The champagne has a nice soft fragrance and florality, as is usual with a Meunier-based champagne with an underlying musty depth. On the palate, it is quite complex, with a surprising minerality, almost flint-like finish after an initial hint of red fruits. It has a decent length considering it’s dryness too. When we presented this rosé to our Club Members, one justifiably noted hints of strawberries….soaked in vinegar. Perhaps that sounds unpleasant, but many thought it was intriguing, which kept them coming back for more.

With such savoury elements to a champagne variety that one would usually pair with fruit desserts or chocolate cake, this makes for an interesting selection of possible pairings. We think it would go very well with seafood or shell fish, or even a musty, earthy cheese like a Délice de Bourgogne or Chabichou.

It is refreshing to find pink champagnes with a bit of difference. Of course, this one did still divide the crowd, but those who usually dismiss a rosé fairly early on actually found themselves rather enjoying Gobancé’s masterpiece, which reinforces to us the importance of trying a wide variety of champagne styles as they often take you by surprise.

It is important to remember also that in some years, producers forego the production of their rosé champagnes altogether as they are not satisfied with the quality of the grapes. Given the sensitive nature of Pinot Meunier, this is even more prevalent with our most recent producers and so we should appreciate the specialist cuvées as they are not always easy to come by.

You can find out more about this one here.

We hope you have found our Meunier adventures interesting. Stay tuned for summer, coming soon, where there will be more tales from the world of grower champagne.

Best wishes,

Karen

Chief Bubble Taster @ The Real Champagne Company

PS. Did you know….The Pinot Meunier vines are always pruned and tied first as they are able to replenish their crop if damaged by frost? They are shortly followed by Pinot Noir, which has more robust grape skins, finishing with Chardonnay, one of the most sensitive of all grape varieties.

The ageing of Pinot Meunier

In our third post about our “Mystery of Meunier” spring theme, we look at the ageing potential of this grape variety, putting one exceptional example of an aged Meunier under the spot light.

Prior to our research into this incredible grape variety, we had been led to believe that Pinot Meunier is not suitable for ageing over any considerable length of time. Yes, it is often used in blends, which can be left to age over a fairly substantial period, but not in any significant majority. The dominant grape varieties seem to always be either Pinot Noir or Chardonnay.

Perhaps this is because, as we discovered last time, Meunier can be susceptible to rot given the proximity of the grapes on the bunch, which, for those who do not practice selective picking, may affect the overall quality of the wine. Or maybe it is because the Meunier grape actually reaches maturity more quickly than other varieties?

We can’t be sure exactly what the individual thoughts are in this regard, but as they say, the proof really is in the pudding, or in this case, champagne tasting.

And so we move to the second of our spring selection, taken from Délouvin-Bagnost, a wonderful little vineyard in the village of Vandieres in the Vallée de la Marne. We have wanted to work with them for some time as they have three exceptional examples of Pinot Meunier.

During one of our first visits to this quaint house, we tasted the Brut Tradition, which is 79% Meunier, 15% Chardonnay, 15% Pinot Noir, closely followed by the 1999 vintage of the same blend. Wow. Never have we tasted such a rich, powerful champagne, which is still really easy drinking.  And so when we were presented with their 2005 vintage, we were not surprised to find the same characteristics, albeit to a slightly lesser extent given its relative youth compared to the 1999.

Délouvin-Bagnost 2005 Vintage

The great thing about vineyards who keep the same blends across multiple cuvées is that you really get to see the evolution of flavours as the wine ages, which with Pinot Meunier is important given the lack of vintage examples available. The Tradition has the roundness, the depth and a touch of creaminess, but this intensifies with age. Unlike an aged Pinot Noir, which over time adopts more of a fortified wine aroma and maybe even taste and Chardonnay, which becomes buttery and biscuity, but still with a slight acidity, Meunier seems to retain its smoothness, making it a wine to be enjoyed very much on its own, as well as with food if one chooses.

So despite the fact that Pinot Meunier matures more quickly than other grape varieties, it can go on to develop further still, bringing out more of its wonderful characteristics. This has been fully understood and respected by Délouvin-Bagnost, who gives the vintage time to “find itself” and truly express its character. What they have also realised is that in leaving their Pinot Meunier to age for longer, they do not need to add as much extra sugar when it comes to disgorging, as the combination of the three grape varieties, as well as the maturity, combine to create a wonderful scent of syrup and rich, full-bodied, fruity flavours with no overpowering acidity and an incredible length. If you wanted to pair this with something, it is powerful enough to pair with blue cheese or even spicy beef dishes.

During our Meunier adventures, you may remember that we said we were surprised by the more acidic and minerally varieties that we discovered. Whilst these vineyards had not yet released vintage versions of their Meunier champagnes, we couldn’t help but think ageing would soften them and bring back some of the roundness we had been expecting, thereby making them slightly easier on the palate.

It is no surprise really that this little vineyard should excel in their work – the family roots can be traced back to the end of the 17th Century when their main work was as barrel makers. Georges Délouvin began cultivating grapes as early as the 1930s, but sold them on to the big merchant houses like many others pre-wartime. Eventually he dabbled in making his own champagnes, before passing the baton to his son Robert, who married in the late 1940s to a fellow winemakers daughter with the name “Bagnost”. They had a son called Christian, who in turn had a son called Jérome and it is he who today creates the masterpieces under the watchful, yet respectful eye of his father.

Jérome and his family!

With a modest 4 cuvées in their range, we can’t help but feel there is more to come from this house, which has significantly expanded over the years and now has the potential to produce around 100,000 bottles per year compared to the 10,000 of recent times.

More information on the champagne can be found here.

If you have ever tasted a vintage Pinot Meunier, we would love to hear your thoughts so please feel free to comment below.

Until next time, happy drinking.

Karen

Chief Bubble Taster @ The Real Champagne Company

The Mystery of Meunier Revealed…

So with The Mystery of Meunier uncovered, as far as is possible at least, we are very excited to introduce our brand new champagnes for spring, showcasing the best of Pinot Meunier.

In the end we decided on three cuvées with a Meunier majority which passed the most important test – that of quality – whilst giving a good representation of the overriding characteristics of this grape. Delouvin-Bagnost’s Millésime 2005 (70% Pinot Meunier, 15% Pinot Noir, 15% Chardonnay from Vandières), Joël Goboncé’s Brut Rosé (90% Pinot Meunier, 5% Chardonnay, 5% Pinot Noir from Savigny-sur-Ardres) and Piot-Sévillano’s Brut Tradition (70% Pinot Meunier, 15% Pinot Noir, 15% Chardonnay from Vincelles) all have the lovely fragrance, soft musty bitterness and subtle fruit we have come to expect from a good Pinot Meunier, combined with the balance, maturity, complexity and elegance needed to be accepted as Real Champagne Club champagnes.

And here they are:

Over the next few months, we will focus on each of the new producers in turn, along with a fact or two about this elusive grape variety.

Let’s begin with Piot Sévillano, from the village of Vincelles in the Vallée de la Marne. Started in 1955 by Emile Piot, the house used to grow exclusively Pinot Meunier, so they really are experts in their field. Subsequent generations have planted the other grape varieties to make interesting blended champagnes, but still with a focus on Meunier. Each generation has grown not only the production, but also added their own special “cuvée” to the house portfolio.

Today the house is run by Christine and her husband Vincent, who had to train in wine-making and learn from her grandfather as both had been pursuing careers elsewhere before deciding to take over the vineyard. Not that you’d know it today. Their knowledge and passion is astounding, which is reflected in their exceptional range of champagnes.

The focus for Piot Sévillano is to reduce the yield of their vines to ensure optimal quality. They do this through a process called “palissage” whereby they remove any buds that have not flowered or are unlikely to do so, clearing the way for those in bloom. When it comes to harvesting, they look for a “potential alcoholic volume” of 10.5-11 degrees. This refers to the anticipated alcohol content once the juice has undergone its first fermentation. Usually, growers add sugar before the initial fermentation to achieve the desired level of alcohol content, however Piot Sévillano prefer not to interfere with the natural character of the grapes and the wine. The process of adding sugar to the grape juice before fermentation is called “chapitalisation“.

The Brut Tradition from this house, made from 70% Pinot Meunier, 15% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot Noir has been taken from the 2012 harvest and aged for 20 months in the bottle. This gives it a slight vegetal and very aromatic nose and a wonderfully soft and round palate. There is also a delicate freshness, with a slight minerality, developing into flavours of orange, dates and raisins. It would pair fantastically well with light meats and cheeses – our guests enjoyed it with Mozzarella and Sweet Pepper Tart and Mini Chicken and Ham Pies.

It takes great skill to work with Pinot Meunier in the exposed climates of the Marne Valley. Pinot Meunier is more susceptible to rot than other grape varieties because the grapes bunch closer together. That said, unlike the other varieties, it possesses a unique asset, whereby it can replenish up to 70% of its growth if damaged by an early spring frost. This is because Meunier vines have 3 sets of bud shoots. For this reason, it is often pruned and tied first, closely followed by Pinot Noir, which has tougher grape skins and finally Chardonnay, the most sensitive grape of all.

Christine Piot-Sévillano

Definitely the most popular champagne of the night at our launch event – very quaffable and perfect for a spring afternoon.

Why not try it for yourself?

Until next time…

Karen

Chief Bubble Taster @ The Real Champagne Company

Making your mind up….

This season took us on a quest to uncover Champagne’s ‘other’ pinot; the grape which lives perennially in the shadow of Pinot Noir, more fleeting and perplexing, more difficult to pin down: the enigmatic Pinot Meunier.

On any search for champagnes with a basis of Pinot Meunier, you have to venture into the spiritual heartland of the grape: the Vallée de la Marne. Here you will find the true Meunier specialists, those for whom the grape is a raison d’être rather than the poor relation the grand houses sometimes regard it to be; those who might be brave enough to put their family name on a bottle containing only Meunier.

This wide valley, which curves its way gently west from Epernay to the edge of the Marne and beyond, has an aspect which encourages the cool, often damp climate in which this grape can thrive. Its soil is silty from the erosion ground out by the river which lies at its heart and also contains more clay than its neighbours, the Montagne de Reims and the Côte des Blancs. These conditions combine to favour a grape which is slow to bud and quick to ripen, as rich in sugar and acidity as Pinot Noir and yet softer, more aromatic, sensuous and complex.

And so it was that we found ourselves drawn, over a few days on a mist-draped February road trip, to the fringes of the Marne in search of the promulgators of Pinot Meunier. We went with a certain expectation in mind: to find champagnes with perfumed noses and flavours of musty dark fruits with a strong florality pervading the palate, but perhaps with less depth and body than their Pinot Noir-based cousins.

As it was we discovered a wide gamut of Meunier styles; some soft, apricotty and slightly bitter flavours, a fruity kick of vivacity elsewhere and floral minerality from another part of the region. How does one choose? In the end, the ultimate decider had to be quality, whilst giving a good representation of the overriding characteristics of the Meunier grape. All of the champagnes we have selected for our spring collection have the lovely fragrance, soft musty bitterness and subtle fruit we have come to expect from a good Pinot Meunier, combined with the balance, maturity, complexity and elegance needed to be accepted as Real Champagne Club champagnes.

With most grande marques and commentators still discounting Pinot Meunier as a protagonist in its own right, we hope we have managed to find three champagnes to carry a torch for this under-appreciated and often misunderstood grape. Perhaps the misgivings about Meunier come from long-held assumptions: we had heard for instance that Pinot Meunier doesn’t age well, but we found much greater balance, maturity and flavour from aged Meuniers on our travels. Equally it became clear that without careful treatment it’s hard to attain the maturity and power of Pinot Noir or the finesse of Chardonnay with this grape. But perhaps the greater appreciation of Meunier lies in the hands of those who are willing to push the boundaries a little, just like the three wonderful new producers with have found for spring.

So if you would like to taste the fine examples we have selected for Spring, you can join us on Friday 6th March in London’s Covent Garden and make your own mind up about this elusive grape.

We hope to see you there.

PS. We have frozen our early bird ticket price too, so they are just £40 instead of £45!

Love is in the air….the champagne’s in the fridge….

And if it isn’t, then it should be! February has a reputation for being a bit lovely, a bit sexy and a good excuse to wheel out the romance – even if it is just once a year! That’s right, Valentine’s Day is fast approaching so credit cards at the ready boys!

Now if you are anti-Valentine’s Day, single or otherwise, fear not, there is something of interest in this post for you also! Any occasion is one to indulge in champagne.

We have put together some fantastic selections of champagnes, macaroons and chocolates to get the senses racing whatever you have planned.

If you are looking for a quiet night in, with a nice, sophisticated bottle to enjoy over dinner, then you should most definitely have a gander at our stunning Dame Noire from the Boulachin Chaput house in Arrentieres, Aube. This 100% Pinot Noir champagne is from the 2006 vintage and is warm, inviting and earthy, with a nose of golden syrup, dried fruits and honey and intense flavours of dark red fruits. It is great before or during a meal – hell, you could even have it after, why not! And it is dressed in a stunning bottle.

If you are looking for a little pre-and post-dinner treat, or just a pick me up, maybe our champagne and truffles gift set is the way to go for you?  A half or full-sized bottle of artisan champagne, paired with 12 sumptuous and rather boozy champagne truffles, all dressed in a beautiful gift box. The truffles are rolled in chocolate flakes to add to the indulgence. And you get to choose from a variety of champagnes.

And now on to something a little more teasing…our brand new popping candy macaroons. A pimped up version of the traditional macaroon to leave a lasting and fun sensation on the tongue. Paired with a beautiful bottle of artisan champagne to add to the fizz! The macaroons are vanilla flavour and are delivered in a lovely little gift box. Ooooh our tongues are tingling at the thought:

Finally, as if they weren’t exciting enough, you might also like to try one of our special champagnes from our “Lovers” Collection from the Jean-Jacques LAMOUREUX vineyard (that’s French for lovers by the way). You can see them and the rest of our range here.

Whatever your plans are for the 14th February, make sure you invest in some decent champagne and have a great time! We will be dining at Chez Max in Epernay, a fabulous little bistro. Can’t wait!!

Lots of love,

Real Champagne