[wine] Champagne (2nd try)

Guessing the previous post contained the wrong text... Which wine for holiday? Food-loving Champagne Jon Bonn� Published 3:38 pm, Friday, December 6, 2013 SFGC 12/6/2013 Time for tiny bubbles again. But if you're relegating them to a quick toast at the start of the evening, or a prolonged one at the stroke of midnight, you're doing it all wrong. Champagne makes for one of the most pleasurable wines to drink all evening long, and all through a meal. This isn't new information, but it's too easily forgotten - and especially worth remembering as we enter a season of parallel joy and stress, and endless questions about which wine to serve. So why not go back to an easy answer, one hard for even the most neophobic wine drinker to hate? Bubbles, bubbles and more bubbles. (That's hardly limited to Champagne, by the way. You can find our top domestic recommendations here: http://is.gd/usfizz13. But for the season's sheer festive nature, we'll concern ourselves with the real thing, from France.) Champagne is quite simply the most food-loving wine ever, for a variety of fairly esoteric reasons. The natural carbonation keeps our palates fresh; the acidity works with a wide range of flavors; and the range of textures and weights match everything from the most delicate bit of sashimi to the thickest steak. The sheer diversity of Champagne styles gives you endless options when it comes to food. Reassurance on this front came, for me, in the form of several meals this year, including at London's Kitchen Table and at New York's Contra, where the dizzying progression of complex tasting menus led to a clear choice: one wine, con gaz, to carry us through. Not all Champagnes are created equal, however. The composition of the wine can come from up to three grape varieties - Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier- and in a few cases, several more. While their exact roles were once considered evident - Pinot Noir brought precision and structure, Chardonnay offered flesh and richness - those lines are now blurrier. It's quite possible to have a rigid, lean Blanc de Blancs and a flourishy Blanc de Noirs. And, thanks to emergent talents like Jerome Prevost, in the town of Gueux, Pinot Meunier is trading a reputation as an also-ran for a welcome dose of respect. Texture, too, is crucial when considering Champagne on the table. Not just the wine's weight, but also the crafting of its bubbles - which should take a bit more of a backseat when served with refined cooking. The bubbles in sparkling wine should be refreshing, not aggressive. While Champagne has long been seen as offering finer, more persistent fizz than most of its competitors, some producers like Pierre Gimonnet, with his Cuvee Gastronome, and Cedric Bouchard of the Aube region, bottle wines with slightly less pressure and a more supple texture. Sommeliers, including those at the French Laundry, occasionally have decanted Champagne or poured it into wide Burgundy glasses, for similar effect. While that might be extreme, it's a savvy idea with a meal to forgo the usual flutes and drink Champagne from a white wine glass, which will enhance its aromas. There's a more subtle factor: dosage, the final bit of sugar that helps polish a Champagne's flavors and textures. The Champenois fondness for adding a bit more sugar has led to a backlash of sorts and a fondness for extra brut wines - which can be wonderful, especially in the first half of a meal. (And sometimes throughout, in the case of a talent like Emmanuel Brochet, in Villers-Aux-Noeuds, whose wines have a density of flavor that hardly need dosage.) But dosage isn't a simple science. A subtle, well-handled addition not only fades into the wine's innate flavors but helps to amplify them just enough to help richer food shine. A wine like Henriot's Blanc de Blancs, with less than 10 grams per liter of added sugar, can show flesh without losing focus. But the high levels of dosage in most widely produced brut Champagnes make them more a cocktail than a wine for a meal. With all that, how to make bubbles work through an entire evening? Some notes: Starting a meal: It's hard to go much wrong here. Crisper styles, with less of the yeasty presence of aging, are often in order. But especially if you're planning something fresh, with citrus or raw fish, it's a time to let a Pinot-dominant wine, like a Blanc de Noirs, show its particular virtue. Fish and side dishes: A Chardonnay-based wine, especially a lightly dosed or extra brut selection, can work beautifully - its mineral aspects matching the saltiness of good fish. But if you're moving into fattier realms (salmon, halibut, mackerel), there's much to be said for a wine with some Pinot Noir. It's a good moment for a spry, lighter style - unless you've got a lot of butter in your sauce. And why wouldn't you since it's the holidays? Pasta: If you're making it at this time of year, chances are it's luxurious. The more cheese you include, the more you'll want a rich, leesy style of Champagne - perhaps a vintage Champagne from 2002 or 2004 with some extra aging. If there's pork involved, some Pinot Noir or Pinot Meunier in the blend (in addition to our recommendations, your retailer should be able to help with the composition of the wine) will be welcome, doubly so in ros� form. Ros� Champagne and true spaghetti carbonara should go down as one of the world's great treats. The main event: That point in the evening when you're beginning to consider red wines - roasts, rich stews and the like - is a time for the howitzers of Champagne. This could be a matter of a full-throttle vintage bottling; it could be a style, like those of Gosset, Bereche or Chartogne-Taillet, that ratchet up both some of the toastier aspects of Champagne and powerful fruit flavors. Better yet: Again, it could be a ros�. In the Champagne realms, ros� has the very opposite effect as with still wine. It is a wine of gravitas and depth, in part because it's often made by adding a touch of still red wine to a pale-colored Champagne. That splash of color - and tannin - grounds the wine and provides the versatility of both a white and a red. By the time you step up to more stalwart ros�s, they easily match the slickness of goose, sweetness of lobster or density of beef: ros�s from grand names like Krug and rarer choices like Vilmart's polished Cuvee Rubis; or exquisite esoterica like the Oeil de Perdrix from the Bouzy based house of Jean Vesselle, which approximates a 19th century approach in its dramatic extraction of flavor from powerful Pinot Noir fruit. Such is Champagne's great gift. Much as it should be enjoyed the rest of the year, now is when its greatest charms pay off. Beyond Champagne While sparkling wine is made all over the world, the French options outside Champagne are often overlooked. Cremant is made in many regions, but those in Burgundy and Alsace often rival Champagne for mineral depth - and outperform on price. NV Piuze Non Dos� Cremant de Bourgogne ($23, 12% alcohol): Chablis maestro Patrick Piuze also works with bubbles, these from a vineyard in northern Chablis - a short hop away from Champagne's southern boundary. An equal mix of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, without dosage, it's packed with both chalky minerality and a richer hazelnut presence. (Importer: Aliane Wines) NV Meyer-Fonn� Brut Extra Cremant d'Alsace ($24, 12%): This Alsatian house in Katzenthal now has a sparkling entry on its roster, made predominantly from the region's under-loved Pinot Auxerrois planted on well-drained granite soils. There's both welcome astringency, like honeydew rind, and an olive-like richness, something for oysters - baked or fresh. (Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant) 11 Champagnes for a holiday meal NV De Sousa & Fils Cuvee des Caudalies Blanc de Blancs Brut ($90, 12.5% alcohol): Erick de Sousa's wines typify the power of the Cote des Blancs, and this bottling aged in barrel from 50-year-old vines is both muscled and contemplative: kombu, red apple, tangerine cream, and a toasty macadamia aspect, with almost tea-like complexity to the aromas and richness that keeps building as it opens. Disgorged January 2010. (Importer: Charles Neal Selections) NV Varnier Fanniere Cuv�e Jean Fanniere Origine Extra Brut Champagne($65, 12%): Avize-based Fanniere often gets overlooked amid some better-known growers, but the polish in Denis Varnier's Chardonnay-based wines is exquisite. Full of moss and Meyer lemon aromas, and a precision that speaks less to the grape's opulence than its ability to cut glass. Think fatty fish, doubly so in sashimi. Disgorged May 2013. (Importer: Terry Theise/Michael Skurnik Wines) NV Benoit Lahaye Ros� de Maceration Brut Champagne ($50, 12%): Now certified biodynamic, Lahaye shows just how expressive great fruit from Bouzy can be - in his Brut Nature, but also this ros�, on its skins for nearly a day, which explains its vibrant rosy hue, and the intense fruit: currant, a thyme and rye-cracker savoriness. Distinctive, young and fun - just right for lamb. (Importer: Charles Neal Selections) NV Henriot Blanc de Blancs Brut Champagne ($60, 12%): This esteemed Reims house is often better known for their straight brut, but their Chardonnay-based effort sourced from throughout the Cote des Blancs and elsewhere matches a fruity apricot and biscuit side to a distinct austerity on the palate. It's serious, lean Chardonnay, able to leap from aperitif to creamy pasta. (Importer: Henriot Inc.) NV Barnaut Ros� Authentique Grand Cru Brut Champagne ($49, 12.5%): Barnaut's ros� is a great demonstration of the power of flavors from the town of Bouzy. The Pinot Noir is strong in this one, which may not suit all tastes but is that elusive steak-wine Champagne. A bit of tannin appears to bolster tangerine, raspberry, fern and deep mineral accents, plus a rich pastry aspect, like a good Linzer torte. (Importer: Vintage '59 Imports) NV Egly-Ouriet Brut Tradition Champagne ($85, 12.5%): Ambonnay-based Egly is always about exuberance. The oak impact in this wine, mostly Pinot Noir from three grand cru villages aged for over four years, underscores big, sinewed fruit flavors: deep orange and almost chewy cherry fruit. Bubbles for a grand finale to a meal. Disgorged November 2012. (Importer: North Berkeley Imports) NV Serge Mathieu Tete de Cuvee Select Brut Champagne ($60, 12%): Isabelle Mathieu's family has long worked in Avirey-Lingey, in the Aube - and theirs has rapidly become one of the names drawing attention to this long-dismissed region. This focuses more on Chardonnay, a relative rarity in the Aube, and there's remarkable finesse to the bubbles, and a slight burnished quality of maple syrup and chestnut. The opulence is matched by mineral freshness, sweet pastry notes and an orange-peel and mint leaf liveliness. (Importer: Charles Neal Selections) NV Moutard Pere & Fils Grande Cuvee Brut Champagne ($30, 12%): Moutard remains a fantastic value that shows the potential of the Aube, and no different with this latest - a tangy crabapple side, plus redcurrant, chestnut and a chalky austerity. A great way to start an evening. Disgorged March 2013. (Importer: Grape Expectations) NV Mark Hebrart Cuvee de Reserve Brut Champagne ($44, 12%): Despite being located in the heart of the Marne Valley, Jean-Paul Hebrart often doesn't get his full due. This Pinot-dominant bottle taps some great spots (Mareuil, Bisseuil) and outperforms: cutting, fresh flavors of mandarin and apple skin, and a pastry-like sweetness. (Terry Theise/Michael Skurnik Wines) NV Laurent-Perrier Cuvee Ros� Brut Champagne ($100, 12%): For a somewhat larger house, L-P takes its pink wine most seriously. There's intense strawberry and nectarine fruit, with a chalky presence - and a deft hand with dosage that leads to precision. (Importer: Laurent-Perrier U.S.) NV A.R. Lenoble Terroirs Chouilly-Bisseuil Ros� Brut Champagne ($50, 12%): Counterintuitively, a delicate rose to start a meal - mostly Chardonnay (plus still red wine) from two villages known for their nuanced flavors. Delicate wild strawberry and sweet orange flavors, and a mild pastry aspect. Fizz that whispers. (Importer: Atherton Wine Imports) Jon Bonn� is The San Francisco Chronicle's wine editor. Find more of his coverage atwww.sfgate.com/wine. E-mail: jbonne(a)sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jbonne -- NOTE *** This address is going away. Please use my StThomas Address for now. *** ------------------------------ * Dr. James Ellingson, * * mobile : 651/645-0753 * * Great Lakes Brewing News, 5219 Elliot Ave. S, Minneapolis, MN 55417 * * james(a)brewingnews.com James.Ellingson(a)StThomas.edu *