Saturday Night – More Champagne

This past Saturday night it was my turn to host the usual Saturday night dinner.   I picked up a bottle of 2002 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Brut Champagne a couple of weeks ago as it was one I hadn’t tried before so I wanted to add it to the menu for the evening.  I debated whether or not to use it with the appetizer or for the main course; as it was fairly pricey $83, I decided to use it with the main course as the feature wine of the night.

I started with Bruschetta and Garlic Bread with Cheese.  It was a bit weird going with two bread based starters but I really was in the mood for Bruschetta but Kathy was having stomach issues with Tomatoes recently and asked me to make Garlic Bread with Cheese so I did both.  I paired this course with a 2003 Beringer’s Knight Valley Merlot.  I have reviewed this wine before so I won’t be reviewing it again - other than to say it was very good pairing with both appetizers.

For the main course I did Veal with capers in a browned butter sauce and a side of fettuccine pasta and paired it with the  Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin.

The nose on the Champagne was a pleasant mix of green apple, vanilla, peach and roses.  Tasting the Champagne for the first time you’ll find big creamy start to it with an interesting bite in the mid-palate with a dry lingering finish.  When we initially tried it, the flavours were a lime-vanilla flavour but as it opened up that morphed to a mango flavour and later in the night there was a light butterscotch flavour to it.  It was a very good wine on its own but lost a bit with the food at times and made a good but not great pairing.  Mick really liked the character of this wine, its complexity and how distinct it was and I’d have to agree with him on this.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 91, Mark - 90, Kathy – 90, Amy – 90, Overall – 90.25.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine -

VEUVE CLICQUOT PONSARDIN BRUT CHAMPAGNE

VINTAGES 508614
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 88.95
Wine, Champagne
12.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Champagne, France
By: Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin S.A.
Release Date: N/A

Please note – I picked it up for $83 as it was on special for $5 off.

For dessert I picked up some Vanilla Slices as they looked great and were something I hadn’t had in a long time.

It was a fun night and I got to try yet another Champagne.  I’m really enjoying discovering each of these sparkling wines with their unique styles and how they work with different foods and will be keeping an eye out for new ones to try.

Cheers!

Mark