KRUG A TABLE - faites simple

Rue Coquebert  is one of the more famous addresses in Reims, not for its quiet bourgeois architecture but because it is the home of Krug. One's expectations of this ne plus ultra Champagne house have always been high since first coming coming here in the early 1990s. Yet on our first evening, last tuesday, the house excelled in a walk through liquid history, as a quintet of their most famous old vintages in magnums. For a detailed account of a wonderful tasting, I'm keeping that for a more permanent place in a wine journal. But I can say now that the 1969 Krug Collection, which I had not tasted before, is maybe one of the five greatest champagnes of my drinking life, right up there with Veuve Clicquot 1952/1962 and both Henriot Les Enchanteleurs & Roederer Cristal, in 1988.The '69 Krug had effortlessly controlled autolytic aromas- the come hither smells of the baker's shop - then a faultless opulent, elegant mouthfeel, at once rich, vinous, energetic, endlessly complex, and so  fresh & long at 44 years of age. 20/20

                                                

Joseph Krug the founder would have loved this

Factually, my focus today is the informal dinner we had afterwards in the family  house, over or rather next to the shop, looking out onto the lawn, which the beloved, late-departed Henri Krug  kept so immaculately that he could have been an Englishman. As favoured hacks, we're lucky to be able to taste great wines quite often, but I have sometimes thought that the more famous the appellation, the less trouble is taken with the food , especially in sustaining morcels. Not so at Krug, as we sat down to a fine meal, the more impresssive for its simplicity, the quality of the ingredients and the creative touch of Bertrand Grebeau, the young hot chef, protogee of Alain Passard of trois etoiles L'Arpege, now at Septime ( Paris 11eme): Bertrand is in the vanguard of the new bistro-gastronomy wave that is attracting bon vivants wanting to eat as well as always, without burning a hoel in their pocket book.

The theme of the evening was four expressions of Krug Grande Cuvee, the base wines of each blend of different ages: the current 2004, then 2001 (Savoir-Faire). 2002 (Equilibre), 2000 (Richesse). Each blend was matched with a dish.

Line-caught mackerel, citrus fruits & little balls of Macoona almond was a natural pair with the 04 base: the wine a pale vigorous gold, its racy flavours (Chardonnay very present) a fine foil to the strongish mackerel; and, delightful surprise, no way was this GC fazed by the citrus fruits, which can sometimes be assassins of great champagne. xx(x)

White asparagus, button mushrooms & slightly smoked fromage frais. A skilful assembly of flavours, the white asparagus topped with a gratinee; delicious subtly smoked fromage frais a spot-on combo with the 01 base: A more vivid gold, ageing nicely, fine vinosity. A point, 2001 a fragile year but something of a coup at Krug. xxx

Poulette de Patis, roasted vegetables & Cantal Entre-deux AOC.
An exciting dish of beautiful simplicity served with a great Grande Cuvee (base 02 Equilibre). Tender young hen chicken from Le Patis, near Le Mans, pure accompaniments of roasted vegetables, in a light glaze -the carrot esp bursting with flavours. This has the stamp of the great Alain Passard all over it, with the extra Gerbeau touche of lightly melted morsels of Cantal cheese. The GC with a lot of the great 02 in it was perfectly balanced - rich, creamy, upright. elegant, long and satisfying. Grand Vin.Merite le detour, as they say. xxxx

Belched apple, raw cream & salted butter caramel
On its own, a fine dessert and so good for my marginal diabetes! But let's be honest, its sucrosity rather overwhelmed the Grande Cuvee (Richesse, base 2000), which for all its ripeness got lost. I could have done with a small glass of Bonnezeaux or Quarts de Chaume. x

Yet a great convivial evening, and fascinating to see how each harvest has an appreciable influence on Grande Cuvee, in successive releases. A thoroughly healthly exercise - for a professional audience.

Lunch with a difference in Borough Market...

From the first days of January, mid-winter 2013 has been long and cheerless, made harder by the loss of old wine friends - Frank Prial, John  Radford, and mostly recently the beloved Henri Krug, a mentor to me in the early1990s. So I am doubly grateful for an interlude, an epicurean experience that was quite unexpected. Out of the blue, a week ago I was asked to Sunday lunch by Francis and Bronwen Percival at their flat over the Neal Street Dairy, where Bronwen is the authoritative cheese buyer. I've admired Francis as a food writer for some time, his column in Fine Wine giving me something to think about and always penned with wit, erudition and passion. One knew the couple were fine cooks, but boy was I blown away by the lunch and its theme - cheese, cuisine and wines (especially) from Europe vis-a-vis California. Its conception reflected the couple's merged background and studies: Francis, after Cambridge working at the cutting edge of the British culinary revival; Bronwen, the daughter of a Californian musicologist, going to college at Wellesley near Boston, where she studied biochemistry, so she would later have a head start when thinking about starting yeasts for cheese-making.

The lunch which went on until dusk was actually no grande bouffe but an exhilarating mix of the cerebral and the sensuous. As we gathered for aperitifs, two beautiful Neal's Yard cheeses were offered, with the best match there is, aged vintage champagne. The Innes Log was a subtle blue-vein, incisive and crisp, but the Duckett's Caerphilly was magnificent, making me proud that I have some Celtic blood (Cornish, on my mother's side)

with Pascal Doquet (right) in Le Mesnil

 With these, two cracking growers' champagnes in 2002. Pascal Doquet's Mesnil was just plain delicious, with a purity of ripe peach and apple fruitiness typical of the lower slopes of the village. Eric Rodez's Ambonnay was something else, an exceptional expression of (mainly) great Pinot Noir, which when it hits the spot in a perfect terroir and vintage has no peer for flavour and complexity. Ravioli of boudin noir and Kirkham's Lancashire in a sleek wine-blessed sauce was the best pasta I've tasted for months, the flavour contrasts of wines from the Santa Cruz mountains and those of the Jura so marked and fascinating. The hedonism and patisserie -like aromas of Ridge's Montebello Chardonnay 2004 added to its rich vein of sunny Santa Cruz fruit made a riveting comparison with Benedict & Stephane Tissier Arbois Chardonnay 'Les Graviers' 2010, the tenacity of the rugged stony Jurassien terroir making its presence felt in every corner of the wine.


The centrepiece of lunch was the seven-hour slow roasted shoulder of lamb, easing from the bone with a gentle touch of a spoon and so succulent, served with gratin dauphinois. The two wines were very different. The Montus Madiran, 'La Tyre' 2000 from south west France was an imposing rich  mouthful, a little international in style for my taste and Cathy Corison's lovely Napa Cabernet Sauvignon1998, so open, friendly and elegant that it quite won my heart. I think this is enough for  the natural length of a post. More, another day, about the dessert wine from Kracher, with pudding.  A big thank you, Bronwen & Francis.

Pascal Agrapart comes to London

A week ago, Pascal Agrapart, probably the most incisive winemaker in Avize, was in town to show his repertoire of mainly grand cru chardonnay cuvees back to 2002. The venue was the bruit dans le couloir, the much acclaimed Quality Chop House in the Farrington road fringes of the City, handy for Sadler's Wells. Nine champagnes were shown, the perfect number for serious appraisal by  Grands Fromages like say the Rouzauds & Billecarts or for toiling foot soldiers in the trenches, e.g your correspondent. Pascal has always been quite Burgundian in his respect for his privileged soils esp in Avize and Cramant but very Champenois in his winemaking: precise and supremely adaptive in his  use of oak or tank, depending of the weight and character of individual wines and differently styled vintages. The 'malo' is always conducted at Agrapart, but it is a measure of Pascal's flair that perhaps the greatest wine on the day was a 2005, a  difficult, largely too warm vintage prone to oxidation. Not 'Mineral' 05, which kept its driving mineral focus quite intact. Bravo.

Here is the race card of six front runners, using stars and the WOFW score scale out of 20 points.If the numbers and the words don't match, follow the words!


Les '7 Crus' NV Brut (90/10 Chard/PN , the first time Pascal has used a little Premier Cru PN Avenas (up from Mareuil sur Ay) in his blend. Initial elevage 25% in oak. 30 months aging under crown cap. Dosage 7g/l.)  Very healthy and vibrant pale yellow, the vigour of seemingly 08 Chardonnay  tempered by the gras Pinot ripeness in 09. Smart.   *** 16 now

'Terroirs' Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut ( 2007 + 2008. grands crus of Avize, Cramant, Oger & Oiry. Initial elevage  25% in oak. 42 months aging under crown cap. Dosage 5g/l). Bright yellow, maturing hint of gold, dynamic quite punchy bubbles. Lively and energetic mouthfeel, still wound and tight, un peu serree but very promising. Drink at Christmas 2013. ***(*) 16.5

'Mineral' Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs 2005 Extra Brut (50:50 Avize & Cramant. Initial elevage 50% in oak. 6 yrs bottle aging under crown cap. Dosage 4g/l) Something of a miracle in testing conditions. Perfectly judged ripeness & acidity, pervaded with wonderful mineral flavours, the brisk impact of the chalk. Nothing overdone or out of balance. long and fine. Brilliant winemaking. Grand Vin ***** 18.5

L'Aviseoise Grand Cru Blanc de Blance 2005 Extra Brut (100% grand cru Avize. Initial elevage 100% in oak. 6 years bottle aging under clamped cork). Hedonism in the glass from first sip to last swallow. Richness, gras, heralded by the golden hue...one senses the beneficial, enhancing complexity of oxygenating oak. I do like the wine very much, but for the moment 'Mineral' seems finer- or rather it is to my taste. Re-taste in a years time **** 17.5

'Venus' Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs 2005 (100 % Avize. Initial elevage  100 % in oak; 6yrs bottle age under clamped cork). Golden dramatic hue - but the decision to make it without dosage in this hot harvest seems spot-on. It has all the elegance and depth of Avize yet is crystalline, incisive, very Pascal. But at the end of the day it's still the Mineral 05 that sings to me. And it's thirty pounds cheaper. One mustn't quibble though.**** 18

'Mineral, Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs 2002 Extra Brut (50:50 Avize & Cramant, Initial elevage  50% in oak. 6 years bottle age under crown cap. Dosage 4 g/l) Very rich style just this side of a little corpulence, not yet sure where it's going but still remarkable now. **** 17

ends mfe 5.iii.2013

Favourite wines of the Colli Eugenie

On bright summer's days (June 9th/10th, 2012) looking across to the silhouettes of Padovan towers amid the volcanic Eugenie hills, as Petrarch would have done, I felt I was in Paradise. The wines I tasted those days were heavenly, too. Here are five favourites:

 Colli Eugenie,Fiore d'Arancio,Borin, 2010 - Orange Muscat, native to Eugenie but beautifully dry. An adaptable wine of real class for the simple natural food of the region - pasta, vegetables, herbs of high quality for the genuine bon vivant *** 16.5

Rosso Fernice San Basilico 2008 -made only in great years, an intriguuing mix of Cabernet Sauvignon & Merlot, historically introduced here by noble Venetian families, plus a smidgin of Barbera. A lusty great red of structure and presence, strong but with a knitting harmony and fineness. Will keep well for a further 10 -15 years in magnum.For Piedmont beef. ****18

"Serre" Il Montolo, 2008. In many ways, my favourite of all - for its originality of splendidly taut, fresh and herbaceous expression of tempering Cabernet Franc + Merlot as an antidote to the heat of the Padovan plain. 'Blackberries' shape a very refreshing mouthfeel. Lovely ***** 18.5

Colli Eugenie DOCG Sette Chiesette, Borin Vini & Vigne passito - an exceptional dessert Muscat from a great producer: elegant Welsh gold, glorious scents of honeycombs and flowers; intense but racy and energetic, with perfect integrated acidity. An aristocrat and vino de contemplazione. Bravissimo! ***** 19

Volcanoes & Fine Wine - the link?

Last June I was pleased to be invited to seminars in the Veneto, first in internationally renowned Soave 20 miles east of Verona; then onto the lesser known Colli Eugenie, south of Vicenza and close to the fine cathedral city of Padova. Historically a transitional land between the Alpine north and the continental plain which eventually leads 60 kms south down to Bologna, the hills of Eugenie are like little pimples on the landscape, formed millions of years ago by volcanic activity beneath what was then a calcareous sea.

And there's  the rub: for the purpose of the consortia's presentations was to assert that the volcanic soils present in both regions was the crucial component  in the quality and distinction of DOCG wines in Soave and Eugenie. Well up to a point, for the soils are more complex than that  - very good wines are made on limestone as well as the classic Basalt volcanic rock of the Veronese; and  the Colli Eugenie has more than 60 different types of soil. In Soave, a tasting of 18 wines from wine producing countries around the world with a strong or  tenuous link to volcanoes produced mixed results. In the end, this seemed like a perfectly legitimate marketing exercise to increase understanding and appreciation  of wines from Soave Superiore, but as an analytical, intellectual investigation, it seemed less satisfying. As Richard Baudoins, the best of the keynote speakers,  sensibly stressed, "in underlining the intrinsic value of wine, of course it's worth trying to find a link with the soil and what is in your glasss..... but we need  also to broaden it and take in more emotional feelings. Personally I'm more doubtful of specific links between volcanic soil and the quality of fine wine, as a general thesis." There speaks the voice of British Philosophical empiricism!I do agree. The influence of volcanic soils was strongly evident in some exceptional wines, for instance, the Etna bianco 2010 Feudo Cavaliere made in Sicly from the Cataratto grape, and the superb Soave Classico " Monte Carbonare" 2006 Suavia. Others like the mildly flavoured, sparkling Souki  of Japan, had a remote flaovur link with volcanoes.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Jacquart's new winemaker and streamlined range

Last thursday, against a freezing wind, I left Liverpool Street Station by the Broadgate West tunnel up into the brave new world of the EC2 restaurant scene.Quite by chance, following my nose, I fell upon Snowden Street and Chrysal, the latest Japanese alternative in the Hakhassan Oriental stable. I had come for a tasting lunch with Floriane Eznack, the new winemaker (barely 30) at Champagne Jacquart. I remember her well as the bright assistant to my friend, the great Philippe Thierry of Veuve Clicquot; together they were making red wine for the peerless Grande Dame Rose. Her new job at Jacquart is to streamline the rather confusing number of cuvees and to concentrate on what this fine former cooperative has always done best: to draw on the fine crus of its members' parcels on the Cote des Blancs to fashion a string of vintage blanc de  blancs in a generous style at once richly gourmand  yet elegantly fresh to give immediate comfort to the impatient gastronome with a busy schedule . The main target is the fine restaurant trade.

Before tasting a quartet of  chardonnay vintages 2005 back to 1999, we had a sneak preview of the new vins clairs from the 2012 harvest.At first, this looked like one of the most difficult of recent vintages, teetering on the edge of disaster -hot march, no sunlight for four months, a prolonged failure of flowering, attended by wind, fierce hail, heavy rain, disease. But then the sun came out in a hot August and a fine calm September that chased away oidium, mildew and botrytis - at least in the best kept vineyards, while others languished with rotten grapes. Selection is everything, more than ever before. Yet Jacquart have done a fine job in salvaging a reduced crop- half its normal volume - of excellent wines: Meunier Villedomange, fruit, structure ,depth and ongoing pleasure;  Pinot Noir Mailly, flavours of blackcurrants energized by acidity; and Chouilly. a lovely expansive wine with a core of cool controlled intensity of Chardonnay flavours not seen since the potentially great 2008 harvest. Judgment is reserved until we taste a broader range of the raw material in glacial January & February.

Jacquart Blanc de Blancs Vertical 6.xii.2012

2005 - ripe-looking, gold with green lights, reflecting hot, maybe too hot conditions at harvest time. Opulent to the point of unctuousness, very much a 'continental' rather than a 'maritime' vintage. its richness gives it crowd appeal and it was appreciated by the other tasters. not my cup of tea - lack athletic energy, poise and class. it doesn't refresh. * (*) 14

2004 - more subtle hue of intertwining yellows and greens. a bit reductive for the moment but this should pass to reveal a smoky, flinty character in a classic style. A good 04 *** 16

2002 - an interesting mix of Chouilly, Vertus and Sezanne. gives immense pleasure now with scented
 flavours of warm brioche and honey - gorgeous mouthfeel, creamy, subtly mineral. perfectly balanced, complex, more to give to 2015. Grand Vin ***** 18.5

1999 - much better than average for this low-acid year. Golden fruits, fresh and dried, spicy .perfect mature aperitif for watching the cricket. **** 17