Vintage

The Blind tasting:

There are three sparkling wines. Only one is from Champagne and two of the others are made in the “methode traditional”.  One was the Nyetimber Premier Cuvee Blanc de Blancs from West Sussex, the second Cordorniu Extra Cuvee Seleccionada.  The Champagne was Laurent-Perrier NV Brut.

Accompanying the wine we had smoked salmon and Brillat Savarin cheese bought from Jeroboams in Holland park.  The Brillet was absolutely delicious!

Tasters were asked to say which they liked best and which the thought was champagne.  I was surprised that only one person named the Nyetimber as their preferred wine.  I thought it was very tasty with zingy citrus hit followed by very sweet apples and tastiness.  A couple of people opted for the Cava.  Personally I found this a little too thin, lacking body and any flavour intensity.  Interestingly, nearly everybody guessed which was the Champagne, despite it even being slightly corked.  The Laurent-Perrier did still have the most complex taste profile despite the squiffy nose.

So, well done Laurent-Perrier for holding the quality line(!), and not so well done Nyetimber (though possibly my choice for this selection). The Cava vote was unusual as a couple of tasters voted for it as their favourite for the reasons I disliked it - they felt they could drink it all night without fear of hangover - the lack of body maybe giving a false sense of security.  

Part 2 on the way...