Question: Would you please give me a hint as to how in your opinion it is best to attract new members to our IWFS Branch?

Answer: Friends of present members with common interests is always a most reliable source. Getting the word out about your Branch activities to people who are interested in wine and food is crucial. You can do this in many ways including your local wine shop, cooking classes, winemaker dinners etc. These days being involved in social media is a most helpful way. There is an excellent  “How to Grow” feature on your IWFS website that I recommend reading. There also is a PDF attachment manual highlighting 10 ways of attracting potential new members by getting noticed online. Check it out!

You might also like:

There now are lots of Champagne houses and growers producing bubbles which are somewhat difficult to score. It is good to keep in mind that there are 4 main grape growing regions: 1. La Montagne de Reims (most northerly with firmer pinot noir), 2. La Vallee de la Marne (middle slopes from Ay beyond Chateau-Thierry for all 3 grape varieties but pinot meunier is prominent), 3. La Cote des Blancs (classy chardonnay on mainly east facing slopes from Epernay to Sezanne), 4. La Cote des Bars & Mongueux (warmest most southerly area near Troyes & Aube river favouring pinot noir). However the best vineyards tend to have the highest chalk content but there is no real overall classification of all the vineyards except for rating 17 Grand Cru villages at 100% & 38 Premier Cru ones between 90-99%. Still the majority are only 80-89% so it is important to try and find out where the grapes in your Champagne bottle are being grown. More information is being supplied both on the back label and the websites but it still can be elusive to determine. There are approximately 15,000 growers averaging small holdings of only 1.5 hectares with larger co-ops also involved. Therefore it becomes most important to rely on your own nose and palate to judge the quality of the bubbles in your glass. Also there is bottle variation as there in no assemblage later on but each bottle starts out uniquely and stays as such during lots of changes throughout production and bottling.

On November 15, 2017 a Lanson Champagne dinner was held in Vancouver at the innovative Peruvian influenced Ancora restaurant with Enguerrand Baijot their personable and so knowledgeable Director for North America. The menu courses matched well the style of all 5 different Champagnes tasted. Lanson claims to be the oldest family firm plus fourth oldest Champagne house founded in 1760 by Francois Delamotte who celebrated their 250th anniversary in 2010. They pride themselves in avoiding malolactic fermentation (MLF) used by many producers to soften the malic acid and to allow the Champagne to show more forwardly. This is an important current issue as with global warming more grapes are being picked with higher Ph and lower acidity levels. Many houses now are rethinking using automatic MLF and are checking acidity levels of all incoming grapes more closely before deciding.  However Jancis Robinson in an article in vinesmag.com Annual 2017/18 tasted the 5 last vintages of Lanson Noble Cuvee Blanc de Blancs (2002-1989) and because the 1997 and more recent vintages were not yet ready noted that “A 20-year-old wine that is still a bit too tart to enjoy seems a bit of a commercial mistake to me.” Note one also could argue that it is a good sign of a quality wine with fresh balancing acidity that will reward even more complexity with further bottle aging.

blank

Some brief impressions of your scribe on the wines served:

1. BLACK LABEL BRUT NV – 50% pinot noir, 35 chardonnay, and 15 pinot meunier plus 60% Grand & Premier Cru on lees for 3 years (minimum by law is 15 months) with 25-30% reserve wines (used to be only 15-20%) and lower 8 g/l dosage Brut which is 65% of their total Champagne production. Chef de Cave Herve Danton (replaced 27 year winemaker Jean-Paul Gandon in 2015) has allowed some softening MLF on his current blends of Black Label but shows still their consistent fresh clean crisp pure fruit styling.

2. CLOS LANSON 2006 BRUT – First vintage of 100% organic chardonnay blanc de blancs unique one hectare walled Clos site in Reims next to their cellars since 18th century on top of a hill facing south on very chalky soil (planted in 1960 & 1986). Warmer here so harvest grapes from older vines earlier using only the first pressing vinified partly in wooden barrels. Only 7870 bottles (and 320 magnums) produced using 7-9 years on lees with low 3 g/l dosage Brut Nature shows remarkable fine delicacy and elegance as a perfect complex aperitif on its own. Worked with a delicious lobster dish here too. Very impressive prestige Champagne indeed! No rush with that amazing Lanson balance again.

3. EXTRA AGE BLANC DE BLANCS BRUT MV – All chardonnay only from three exceptional vintage years (2003, 2004, 2005) and 100% Grand Cru & Premier Cru in this blend so qualifies as MV compared to Black Label only with NV. Long lees aging of 7-9 years of full bodied yet citrus flavours is underrated quality of excellent value. Will age further.

4. GOLD LABEL 2005 BRUT – First vintage releases are 2002 & 2005 of 51% pinot noir & 49 chardonnay. Made to age but 2005 is already quite charming. The one to cellar is their next release of 2008 (an outstanding year) which is very promising for very long aging. Could turn out like those old Red Label (no longer made) treasures like the 1969 I enjoyed so much recently. Recommend Gold Label 2008 on release.

5. ROSE LABEL BRUT – 53% pinot noir, 32 chardonnay & 15 pinot meunier with 50-60 crus and 8 g/l dosage. Pioneer of the Rose style has salmon colour with some red fruits showing with the wine added from Bouzy. Classic.

Admire the direction Lanson are going. Check them out. Have you tried their quality bubbles recently?

You might also like:

 Loading ...

Question: What is a flabby wine?

Answer: Flabby usually means limp or relating to a person with some flesh sort of hanging down. In wine terms however we usually use it to mean a wine without enough balancing vibrant acidity. In other words the exact opposite of high acidity to describe a wine with soft low acidity. Sometimes also used for a sparkling wine that has lost most of the bubbles.

You might also like:

 Loading ...

I wanted to alert you all to a brand new outstanding unique cookbook LURE by talented sustainable-seafood driven chef Ned Bell with Valerie Howes. It is published by www.figure1publishing.com and distributed in the U.S. by Publishers Group West but of course is available on Amazon and other book outlets as well ($38.95 Canadian & $32.95 US). Ned Bell founder of Chefs for Oceans was Executive Chef Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver (including Yew seafood + bar) until 2016 when he became totally committed as Ocean Wise Executive Chef for the Vancouver Aquarium. His exciting first book contains wonderful recipes captured well by Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin: “When it comes to preparing delicious fish and seafood dishes, Ned has a gift for combining flavors that speaks to our minds and our bellies.”  Yes it is a remarkable cookbook with recipes easily listed by Appetizers, Salads, Soups, Sandwiches, Snacks, and Mains – and even (Sea)Weed Brownies for dessert. However it is much more than that as a mission statement that helps you understand the compelling need to support ocean preservation with sustainable-seafood and how best to use it in your home. It provides an encyclopaedic breakdown on recommended products (each one with a comprehensive profile) into categories of White Fish (Char, Cod, Halibut, Lingcod, Rockfish, Skate, and Sturgeon), Fatty Fish (Sablefish, Salmon, Sardines, and Tuna), Shellfish (Clams, Crab, Geoduck, Mussels, Octopus, Oysters, Scallops, Sea Urchin, Shrimp, and Squid) and Sea Greens (Dulse, Winged Kelp, and Bull Kelp). Outstanding photography throughout shows the 6 varieties of whole salmon so clearly captured in detail. Full of so many tips from a monthly seasonal guide to how to cook from pan-frying, baking, grilling, poaching, steaming, ceviche to his “naked fish” approach to building a recipe. What a useful valuable reference work! Highly recommended.

You might also like:

Question: Ordered at dinner in a restaurant a 2015 Chablis from the producer J. Moreau. The sommelier told me there are several different Moreau producers. Would you kindly clarify this for me. Thanks.

Answer: Yes Moreau is an old very common producer name in Chablis. J. MOREAU had many choice historic vineyards plus a wine negociant company that they sold in the mid-eighties to Hiram Walker. CHRISTIAN MOREAU (now an outstanding top producer) bought back those vineyards resulting in their first vintage from them in 2002. There is another part of the family dating back to 1814 producing LOUIS MOREAU now in their 6^th generation producing excellent Chablis over all 4 levels of the appellation. You can also find the newer MOREAU NAUDET (no relation to the above mentioned 3 Moreau producers) run by the late Stephane Moreau-Naudet producing Chablis in a low yielding riper richer style. Try them all and appreciate their differences.

You might also like: