Vino hosted a Blanc de Blanc tasting a couple of nights ago and since Champagne runs though my blood vessels, I just HAD to attend the tasting. For the uninitiated, Champagne comes in several flavors. The most common is non-vintage (NV) Brut which uses the big three grapes in the Champagne region; Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier (for bonus points, what were the three original grapes in Champagne?). There's also Extra Brut which doesn't use any dosage (sugared wine) upon disgorgement but you don't see it at retail very often because it's bone dry. When only "black" grapes are used, you have a Blanc de Noir (white from black) which means that only Pinot Noir and/or Pinot Meunier grapes were vinified. Add a little still red wine to any mix and you now have a Rose Champagne. When you only use Chardonnay, you now have a Blanc de Blanc (white from white). Which is what we sampled that evening.
The line-up looked like this
Veuve Fourny
Blancs de Blancs “Premier Cru”
“Veuve Fourny
produces classic grower Champagne, raising pedigreed fruit, adhering to high
standards, & hand-crafting wines that showcase the chalky terroir of
Vertus. The resulting wine is classic Côte des Blancs: a fine bead, rich, deep
aromatics, and a complex minerality emphasizing freshness and purity”.
Varnier Fanniere
Blanc de Blancs “Grand Cru”
“This is a tiny,
4 hectare domaine with exclusively Grand Cru vineyards. Denis Varnier is a
young vigneron making feline-snappy
ultra-clear wines. That Avize signature of newly sharpened pencil (what the
locals call “graphite”) is as pronounced, and as important as any
terroir imprint”, especially on this Grand Cru level.
Jacques Selosse
Blanc de Blancs “Initiale”
“Every decade or
so, a winemaker comes along who, through the force of his ideas, & the
brilliance of his work, has the power to change the course of wine history.
Anselme Selosse is such an individual — and the man most responsible for the
revolution that’s changing Champagne for the better”.
I admit that I have tried all thee Champagnes at some point though never together and never sampled "blinded". For once, I actually guessed all three correctly! My favorites were the Varnier-Fanniere and the Jacques Selosse for different reasons. The Varnier Fanniere was classy and elegant while the Selosse had layers of complexity with earth, stone, dried fruit and bracing acidity. For the record, the Veuve Fourny was also no slouch - like sippin' a carbonated Chablis!
If you want to sample these, Kermit Lynch carries the Veuve Fornay line and Varnier Farnniere can be found in specialty wine shops (if I can find it in the 50th, you should be able to find it Stateside). The Selosse, that's a whole 'nother story. Supposedly Anselme Selosse who makes the Champagne (the label is named after his father) severely curtailed its distribution in the US so GOOD LUCK finding a bottle... and if you do, let me know where your source is...
Along with the Blanc de Blanc tasting, Vino was also featuring several fresh pasta dishes from Chef Keith Endo. As usual we started with the Duo of Sushi:
Then moved on to the Twin Bridges Waialua Aspargus Milanese:
The Mrs sampled the Fresh Linguine with Shrimp, Capers and Sun Dried Tomatoes
While I Splurged with the Fresh Cavatelli with Pork Belly, Swiss Chard and Red Wine Demi
The Mrs ended with the Tiramisu
Though the Limoncello Zabaglione looked very good (it WAS good)!
And once the formal tasting ended, the table started uncorking Champagnes fast and furious!
Another great evening at Vino!
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