Debate a Bubble - Champagne News and Reviews

Buying champagne at Sainsbury's

Just a little whinge today about buying champagne in a supermarket - not a great experience at the best of times, but unfortunately one that has just got worse.

Those of you who have been to one of my champagne events or read some of my previous blogs will remember me telling you that that a good strategy when buying champagne is to go to a specialist to get information and then, once you know what you are looking for, try a supermarket to get the best price - things don't always work out this way, but the theory is sound in my experience because supermarkets are just not into product information, but they are into " Pile 'em High and Sell 'em Cheap".

So, on going into my local branch of Sainsbury's yesterday ( for those of you who don't live in the U.K. Sainsbury's is a major supermarket chain over here ) I thought I'd take a look at their champagne selection.

I was a) sort of pleased to see my theory confirmed and b) dismayed to see that there's even less information available for buyers than there used to be.

This is a great shame because Sainsbury's have a good reputation for their wine selection, but on the information front they are doing you a dis-service, at least as far as champagne is concerned

There was quite a wide range of champagnes on sale, from vintage champagne, to rosé champagne, to Sainsbury's own brand champagne - 15 or 20 in total I would say, so that was pretty encouraging.

Not surprisingly most of the selection comprised the well-known brands such as Moët, Lanson, Veuve Clicquot etc, but there was a fair smattering of lesser-known brands too that I suspect might have been of interest to consumers. It was noticeable, mind you, that almost all the bottles had an electronic anti-pilfer tag around the neck.

Now, you'll probably know that there's often precious little useful information on a champagne label, but it's always worth looking on the back label to see if there's something helpful about the blend or indeed anything other than the fancy, but useless, stuff about traditional cellars, respect for nature etc that all champagne houses trot out.

Imagine my disappointment therefore when I picked up almost every bottle only to find that Sainsbury's had slapped a large " Security Protected " sticker over the back label preventing anyone from reading whatever information there might have been available.

I accept that if there is a problem with pilfering then the electronic tags may be a good idea, but why oh why put a sticker right over the back label?

In the absence of any information at all how can you choose? You end up just going for a price point you're happy with or a brand name that  you feel safe with. If this is all you have to go on I can't see much point is having a wide selection in the first place because most people will have no clue why or how they are different from one another.

All in all then I think I'll still get my champagne elsewhere

TWO FOR THE ROAD

Lots of people say to me that they’d like to discover some of the excellent champagnes made by some of the smaller producers, but they don’t know where to start, so I thought I’d make a few suggestions.

Here are two champagnes that you may not have tried but which are certainly worth getting to know

First Georges Vesselle Brut, Grand Cru

 

The first thing to glean from the label is that this is a Grand Cru champagne, meaning that only the best quality grapes were used in the blend. Next you can’t help spotting that this champagne comes from the village of Bouzy – great name and very apt and No, it’s not a joke; there really is a village called Bouzy.

Turning to the back label, you have the usual marketing stuff about how good the champagne is ( nothing original I am afraid and pretty much the same as you find on any other champagne label ) but there is one really helpful piece of information that you don’t always get and that is the proportion of grapes used ( what the French call the "assemblage " ).

In this case it’s 90% Pinot Noir and 10% Chardonnay which gives a champagne that leans towards the powerful and fruity, rather than the light and delicate.

In the U.K you can find it at Nicolas shops and it’s currently ( May 2009 ) on special sale at only £19.99 – a good price in my book

For anyone outside the U.K. who wants to find out where to buy Georges Vesselle, let me know and I’ll try to find out if there’s and importer is in your country

My e-mail is jiles.halling@virgin.net

 

Next is Franck Bonville Sélection Grand Cru

 

This is another Grand Cru champagne but this is from the other side of the region, in the village of Avize, and it’s a Blanc de Blancs ( 100 % Chardonnay )

Franck Bonville is a real specialist. Their vineyards are ALL planted with Chardonnay and they make only Blanc de Blancs champagne ( with the exception of their rosé which has a small percentage of red wine added ). If you like the Blanc de Blancs style, there is little to beat Franck Bonville

Some people feel that Blanc de Blancs can be a little too acidic for their palate, but a well made Blanc de Blancs – and this is certainly one - has a great balance between the fresh zing that gets your tatse buds going and a smooth creamy texture that is soft and easy in the mouth. That’s the sign of first-class grapes and an expert champagne maker.

In the USA there are a number of stockists and you’ll pay around $30. In the U.K expect to pay about £22.99 – again there are several stockists

If you’re enjoying either of these great champagnes with food, don’t forget that different champagnes match with different foods. I’ll be covering that in detail in future posts, but for now remember to avoid really strong flavours such as garlic, onion, curry, chilli etc