If the New Age nutters currently camped-out on top of the Pic de Bugarach, near the vineyards of Limoux, who believe the Mayan myth that world is going to end on 21st December 2012 are correct you won’t be reading this and I might as well not have bothered writing it. If, as seems more likely, they are erroneous they can always console themselves with a cheering glass of the local fizz. Sparkling wine has been produced here for centuries and the local winemakers fiercely avow that Benedictine monks were knocking it out well before the arriviste Champenois got in on the act in the 17th Century. They’re much sketchier as to what extent they perfected the all-important process of ditching the spent yeasts by dégorgement but there is more than a kernel of truth in their claim so one can see why they are chippy about it.
Quite what view Philippe Collin, a native of the Champagne region who set up shop here outside the village of Toureilles in 1980, takes when the well-worn bar room arguments about who first put the bubbles in Bubbly start is uncertain, as we have diplomatically avoided soliciting his opinion. Perhaps predictably, Philippe eschews the local grape, Mauzac, in favour of a classic Champagne blend of 20% Chardonnay and 80% Pinot Noir. His cracking ‘Cuvée Selection’ has a lively mousse (not ‘mouse’ as my predictive text asserts), fresh, zesty bouquet and whistle-clean, dry palate. We broach it for all-manner of small celebrations and with a dash of Gabriel Boudier’s peerless Crème de Cassis it makes a very potable (minor) Kir Royale. Just the thing to see in the New Year or to take your mind off imminent Armageddon!
As a self confessed oenophile and melomane this time of year throws many a swerve ball – the wine that I both know and love is flying out of the doors here at Yapp HQ and the staples that I habitually imbibe during the year are getting thin on the ground or await re-stocking from France.
Shops do unusual things at this time of year, for some reason best known to the outlets, they feel a need to play, on rotation, Christmas tunes that no one really seems to audit – I used to live in the middle of Bath and a ‘bad’ busker outside with a one song repertoire would wear equally thin on the ground by 10.00am on a Saturday. I always thought variety was supposed to be the spice of life? I do know that Slade wrote their Christmas Song to be overly cheering (and noisy) in 1973 as an antidote to power cuts and the 3 day week – but we’re still playing it 38 years later and that just can’t be good for your musical health.
Some swerve balls however are great and unexpected, I saw my son in his Primary School nativity play last week dressed as a sheep singing ‘rock around the flock’ and there’s always some good news if you look for it – we’ve still got good stocks of the delicious Vacqueyras: Cuvée Spéciale 2003 and the Pogues wrote a Fairytale of New York with the late and great Kirsty MacColl – so that’ll be enough to get me through to the New Year – well that and a few bottles of Yapp Champagne and Bellet: Domaine de la Source Rouge 2006.
And if variety is the spice of life – I may well be taking home our Christmas variety pack (the infamous Degustation Dozen) to see me through to new year.. as anyone who has worked at a Wine Merchant in December will know what it’s like – so much so we’ve booked our Christmas meal and night out – for 21st January 2012!
PS Our shop here in Mere is very festive, has some great wines open to taste, is open 9-6pm this week (even on Christmas Eve) – and there’s no playing of “That’s what I call Christmas 42” or whatever it may be called this year!
Today is my last day in the office before I head off for the habitual family two weeks away up in the wilds of North Wales, so last night I started to scribble down my list of holiday essentials.
Times have certainly changed, my children are now a little older (as we all are) and whereas a few years ago I’d have been jotting down the likes of baby bottles, baby food and travel cot I found myself still noting that I’d need bottles but we’ve moved on from the 8oz (standard baby size) to the 75cl (standard adult size - wine).
My list started with children’s bikes at #1 but at #2 wine has made the cut this time round. I’ve learnt over my time at Yapp HQ a few things along the way and I’m happy with my plans for this summer.
I’ve asked the Shop Manager to pack my wine in 6 packs – this seems to fit better in the back of the car boot and fills the space well behind the 2 children’s bikes. It has the added bonus that I can keep 6 bottles separate for my own personal consumption and proffer other wines to folk that appear on our campsite over the next 2 weeks. I’ve got a pack of well priced and road tested crowd pleasers (a couple from Saint Pourçain – the white Cuvée Printanière 2009, the great decently dry and quaffable rosé La Chinière 2010 and the ever popular red, Côtes de Thongue: Tradition 2010).
The campsite is very small and most of the regulars there, like myself, went there as children and now repeat the process with our own children. So Jeremy and family, Oliver and co. – you may want to brush up on the above as that’s what you may well be drinking over the next few weeks.
The ‘hidden’ 6 pack (currently packed behind the beach BBQ and firelighters) is the ‘special’ pack – so Jeremy, if you see any of these being broached, you know we’ve worked our way through the others. Keep an eye out for the simply wonderful Sancerre Blanc: Les Perriers 2010, my favourite summer red (Chinon, l'Arpenty 2009) or a bottle of the rather splendid Champagne: Dumangin Fils..
Well, that’s the essentials covered – with a bottle opener at #3 on the list. Let’s hope the trek through the black mountains and brecons takes us safely to the wilds of the Llyn peninsula with these bottles ready to be opened – very possibly on arrival.
Last weekend, myself and three colleagues had the great honour of being invited to Champagne to visit Gilles Dumangin (our man in Champagne) for the dual celebration of his 40th Birthday and 10th Anniversary of taking over the reins of the family business from his father, Jacky, at J.Dumangin Fils. Although I have been lucky enough to visit Champagne on several occasions, this was my first visit to see Gilles and the village of Chigny-les-Roses.
The festivities kicked off on Saturday at 1pm with an extensive tour of the winery, with Gilles ably alternating between French and English for his diverse audience. There were 30 or so of us in total, hailing from far and wide. Gilles' champagnes have rightly garnered plaudits from around the world and this was reflected with his guests. As well as a fair few French and Brits, including journalist and respected authority on Champagne Tom Stevenson , there were also Dumangin enthusiasts from Belgium, Poland, Lithuania and South Africa.
Following the tour we all assembled in the press and tank room to start some serious work - a potentially daunting, and certainly impressive tasting of 20 Dumangin vintages from Gilles private cellars, ranging from his soon to be available 2004 back to 1982, a time when I still thought R. Whites lemonade was the be all and end all of all things sparkling.
Needless to say, this tasting (quite rightly) took some time and it was fascinating to see how the vintages varied and developed over time. My personal stand out vintages on the day were:- 2002, 1994, 1990 and 1982. Those followers of the 'beautiful' game will note that these dates coincide with the Coup du Monde, a strange coincidence? Certainly a useful aide memoire for recommending his vintages. It is a pity that the England team have never shown as well in these years!
It is amazing how time flies when one is immersed in Champagne and it was about 5.30pm when Gilles ushered us out into the still bright sunlight of day, in order that he and his team could convert the winery into a pop up dining room for the evening grand finale. We popped back to our B&B in the neighbouring village, where we found a bottle of Champagne waiting for us from our genial landlady. A lovely gesture, that was possibly treated a tad flippantly by us, having being spoilt all afternoon with glass after glass of the stuff. How quickly we are corrupted!
We returned chez Dumangin around 7.30pm. As well as fellow tasters from the afternoon, we were now joined by another 20 or so guests, including Gilles' delightful family. Ever the showman, our host produced a Nebuchadnezzar (15 litres or 20 standard bottles) of his 2002 vintage which he deftly opened and poured for his guests. Delicious hors d'oeuvres began to filter out from the field kitchen that had been assembled in the Dumangin office. It took a good couple of hours or so for the assembled guests to finish the monster bottle and for the chef to open the cellar doors and beckon us in for dinner.
The warehouse and bottling room where we had originally assembled in what seemed an age ago had been transformed with the deft use of strategic lighting and beautifully dressed tables, into a dining hall worthy of the food and champagne that was to follow.
Gilles had employed the services of Chef Thierry Landragin from the Restaurant de l'Abbaye in Hautvilliers for the evening, and his food was excellent. Each course was accompanied by a magnum of Champagne for each table, each one specially selected to match the food. My favourite course was the Truite saumonée sur lit d'avoine au Ratafia & Médaillon de Homard which was served with some Dumangin vintage 2000. Not a world cup year, but still a perfect match for this Lobster and risotto fish dish.
Although wistful when our taxi arrived around 2am, it had been a very long day, and I think that we were all ready for our beds as we departed. It had been an amazing evening and a weekend that I will treasure for a long time. Any pangs of sorrow about it all being over and being back at work in the UK, have been tempered as an email has arrived from Gilles forewarning us to keep a weekend free in 2021, when he plans to celebrate his 50th with what will then be a tasting 26-27 vintages plus a couple more Nebuchadnezzars... Now where's my ten year diary...
A straw poll around the office generated lively discussion as to what colleagues will be drinking once we have closed our doors on Christmas Eve. We hope that our selections inspire your Festive food matching!
While there was unanimous agreement that any of the excellent J. Dumangin Fils Champagne would feature strongly over both Christmas Eve and Day, one or two suggested that Clairette de Die Tradition (at just 7% ABV) might be a sensible breakfast tipple for any chefs who are organizing the lunch!
Ex-pat Frenchman, Michael, is toying with either white Cassis Clos Sainte Magdeleine 2008 or Picpoul de Pinet Domaine Peyrificade 2009 with the traditional Gallic starter of oysters, while fellow Bristolian, Richard, is eyeing up Pouilly Fumé Les Loges 2009 en magnum to satisfy the extended family and do justice to a side of smoked salmon.
Few of us could improve on Hamish’s match of a magnum of Châteauneuf-du-Pape Père Caboche in the terrific 2007 vintage to mark the main day, partnered with a rib of beef. Our anglicized dutch colleague, Bianca, will be evoking memories of home with raclette accompanied by the crisp, red Savoie Mondeuse 2008. Vegetarian Michelle will be drinking the ripe, fruity Chinon l’Arpenty 2009 whose soft tannins will complement baked squash and spiced couscous.
Jason will be serving the garrigue-infused Pic Saint Loup ‘Arbouse’ 2008 to his thirsty neighbours on Boxing Day with Jane Grigson’s classic recipe for devilled and pulled turkey. Tom is looking forward to tucking in with Colombian-in-laws and thinks that Richeaume Tradition 2008 might have the versatility to tackle Bandeja Paisa - grilled steak, fried pork rind and chorizo on a bed of rice and red beans that is then topped with a fried egg and a side of sliced avocado and plantain – provided his cargo survives the journey to South America.
Joyeaux Noël and bon apétit,
Yapp Brothers
P.S. Stuck for last minute Christmas gift ideas? A wine gift voucher from Yapp Brothers could be ideal!
A recent reunion of an unofficial lunch club saw me dropping in on old friends at a new venue. Michelin-starred chef, Alexis Gauthier and sommelier supreme, Roberto Della Pietra (ably assisted by Damian Sanchez) have opened Gauthier Soho in the attractive town house formerly frequented by Richard Corrigan. The layout over four floors and steep stairs is a challenge that must keep staff fit and a few kilos lighter.
We had unintentionally booked in the middle of London Restaurant Week and were taken aback by the jaw-dropping deal of £25 for four courses that they were running for this festival. I can’t cook at home on this budget, so we immediately re-channelled the funds into a bottle of Gosset Champagne as a succession of meticulously-prepared plates appeared - foie gras with apples, sultanas and a Calvados reduction; scallops and langoustine with girolles, welsh lamb with Autumn vegetables and pommes dauphines and a sensational truffle risotto. All this was washed down with rare white Trévallon and La Landonne 2006 which showed surprising integration and finesse. The restaurant even managed to squeeze several amuse bouche and a bizarre hand wipe that expanded with hot water out of their meagre budget.
I’ll be back soon for sure and note that the £33, three course lunch menu includes a half-bottle of wine. Exceptional!
Like many other families we found our Easter holiday break involuntarily extended due to the closure of UK airspace at the end of last week. Having had a terrific week in Rome (more of which at a later date) we were enjoying dinner in a restaurant with friends on Thursday evening (which we believed to be our last night abroad) when we received the news that a volcano had erupted in Iceland. We naively laughed off the idea that this might in any way interfere with our travel plans.
The following morning as we were due to leave for Rome Ciampino airport we discovered that our flight had been cancelled. After some frantic searching on-line we eventually managed to re-book 4 flights for the following Monday. Making the most of this setback we headed south down the coast to Sperlonga where we enjoyed a terrific weekend on an empty beach before heading back into Rome for our second 'final night' of the holiday. It was only on the train back to Rome that we found out Monday's flight had been cancelled, as had the following day's and the days after that.
The situation was beginning to look serious so we earnestly began to explore other routes home - via Corsica by ferry? by train? via France by plane? Unsurprisingly we had little joy in getting any train or plane bookings but through a friend of a friend pulling strings we did manage to locate what was possibly the last hire car available in the Eternal City. After a breakneck trip across town on the back of our friend Maura's motorbike I reached an Avis rental office and never has a battered old Lancia looked more attractive. For a pretty reasonable 180 euros I collected the keys and a SatNav and then had the baptism of fire that is driving in Rome. I picked Pippa and our boys (Alfred 11 and William 8) up in San Lorenzo and we hit the autostrada. Fortunately Pippa had had the presence to pack a picnic so we were able to belt north unrelentingly before an enforced overnight pit-stop in San Remo. We weren't allowed to leave Italy with the hire car and San Remo is the most northerly outpost of Avis in the country but the office had closed for the evening by the time we arrived.
After a fretful night in the appalling Hotel Eveline (too bad to go in to detail) we dropped the Lancia off at 8.30am sharp and got a taxi across the border to Nice airport. The only car available here was a Peugot 207 for which we were fleeced an outrageous 900 euros by Hertz (at least Dick Turpin wore a mask). We then headed west then north across the autoroutes of France with minimal stops at service stations. At 9pm that night we checked into the reassuringly old-fashioned Hôtel de la Bannière in Laon, just north of Champagne.
We were up and running (sans breakfast) at 6am to honour our 9am car rental return at Calais Sea Port. On arrival our hearts sank as the scenes before us looked like something from a disaster movie. Files of coaches were backed up onto the autoroute slip road, hire cars were abandoned indiscriminately and files of foot passengers were being herded into queues. Happily the evacuation operation was being well run and within 2 hours we were on board the 'Pride of Dover' heading back to Blighty at a not unreasonable 195 euros all in.
By lunchtime we had docked at Dover and after a ridiculous schlep on foot across town to Dover Priory station we caught a high speed train to London Saint Pancras. After that it was a relative doddle with a tube to Paddington, train to Westbury and taxi home to Frome, Somerset. I then had the unenviable task of heading out to Bristol airport to pick up my long abandoned car. Seldom has it felt better to eat at our own table and sleep in our own beds but it was a Herculean effort to drag ourselves out of bed to get to school and work on Thursday morning. There's nothing like travel to make you appreciate getting home and when a neighbour asked the boys if they'd had a good holiday they replied 'yes great thanks'.
Designed by Inigo Jones for James I and being the last building that Charles I walked through to his execution on the scaffold outside, Whitehall's Banqueting House is steeped in history. The surroundings of the Main Hall are truly majestic, with a Rubens painted ceiling looking down over proceedings below it is perhaps apt that in more recent years, this has been the home for The Champagne Bureau's Annual March Tasting.
With over 70 producers in attendance and each one showing a selection of three champagnes, it is thought to be the largest Champagne tasting in the world. It is certainly always much anticipated and well attended. This year I was helping 'our man in Champagne', Gilles Dumangin, present his wares to the great and the good of the UK Wine Trade; the wine journalists, the bloggers, fellow merchants, sommeliers and anyone else who could get their hands on a ticket. It is ironic that this is the event that all the Champenois look forward to travelling to as it is the only time that they get to try each other's wines on such a scale!
The current economic situation had done nothing to dampen people's enthusiasm and this is reflected in the fact that although imports have dropped in the U.K., we are still the largest importer of Champagne in the world. It is when people are more considered with their spending that it becomes even more important to make sure that what is available is of good quality and value.
Once again, out of the champagne that I had a chance to try, it was the Grower champagnes that stood out best. When up to 50% of the retail price of a 'Grand Marque' champagne can go towards marketing and promotion, it is little wonder that the actual product can often fail to live up to the price tag. This made it all the more refreshing that our Dumangin range was so well received on the day. Indeed, it was interesting to see how quickly our Grande Reserve NV was consumed by fellow merchants at the exhibitors' lunch in the vaults below. Every exhibitor had donated two bottles each for the lunch and by the time I made it downstairs for a bite, the Grande Reserve had long gone!
Gilles is proper récoltant manipulant (a wine-maker producing wine from their own vine holdings) based at Chigny-les-Roses on the Montagne de Reims - as was his great great grandfather Hippolyte Dumangin the first of his forebears to bottle his own wine. The three champagnes that we were showing were:- Brut Grand Réserve Premier Cru NV, a rich, full flavoured champagne with delightful toasted notes and elegant, smooth finish ; Brut Premier Cru Millésime 2000, a corking vintage which is just coming into its own. Great structure with great balance of mineral, citrus and delicate fruit. Long refreshing finish that leaves you wanting more! (£30.75); Brut Rosé Premier Cru NV, mouth-filling berry flavours, well balanced with crisp, developed finish .
Following an extensive and extremely informative morning tasting of J Dumangin Fils Champagnes, some colleagues and I entertained Gilles Dumangin to lunch at the beautiful Howard's House Hotel in the quaint Wiltshire village of Teffont Evias. Neither the village nor the hotel could have looked more stunning on such a glorious Spring day and I felt sure we would be in for a most enjoyable interlude.
Our attentive host, Noele Thompson, brought the menus to us in a comfortable ante-room and, while we made our choices from the short but wonderfully varied menu, we were delighted to hear another party of diners ordering a bottle of Gilles' Grand Réserve Champagne. Deciding, though, that we had had our fill of Champagne for one day, we ordered a bottle of 2007 Vouvray Sec from Domaine Champolou which pleased everyone and, with subtle honey nuances that made it seem almost off-dry, it was a sublime pairing with my starter of Twice-Baked Blue Cheese Soufflé with a walnut and poached pear salad. There was much praise from my colleagues for their starters too and these included a Leek Risotto topped with breast of local pigeon and Home Cured Salmon with a smoked salmon mousse.
The dining room at Howard's House is small and well-appointed and looks out onto the walled garden and terrace. Both made an idyllic picture in the sunshine and I could see why the hotel is a popular venue for weddings. Chef Nick Wentworth's ethos is to cook simply with the very best of predominantly local ingredients which are sourced from the hotel's own potager garden and from a stable of impressive local suppliers and we could certainly see this theme coming to life at our table.
Our main courses arrived with appropriate timing and were as exquisitely presented as the starters. I plumped for Braised Blade of Devon Ruby Red Beef with a root vegetable purée, spinach and confit shallot and I couldn't have been happier with my choice. The beef was cooked to perfection, the texture of the meat being almost like a Boeuf Bourgignon - meltingly tender and rich. My fellow diners reported a Fillet of Wild Halibut with fondant potato, baby asparagus and a brown shrimp dressing to be full of flavour and beautifully cooked and the Roasted Tenderloin and Confit Belly of Pork with a wholegrain mustard mash and calvados sauce both looked and smelled divine. A bottle of Côtes du Rhône Saint Gayan, from the superb 2007 vintage, accompanied our main course and it was extraordinarily good with the beef.
As decadent and delicious as the desserts sounded, and I was sorely tempted by Rhubarb Crumble with Dorset clotted cream, we all decided to go straight for coffee, choosing a mixture of double and single espressos. When they were brought to the table, each cup looked to have exactly the same measure but, by this time, no-one really cared and the coffee itself was as strong and flavourful as a good espresso should be.
All in all, this had been a most delicious and convivial lunch. In fact I can't remember one so good in a long time. I was keen to hear that a new dining terrace opens in the garden on 1st May and I have made a mental note to return on a sunny summer's day to partake of a relaxed al fresco lunch with friends.
Plaquemusephilia may well sounds like a rare dental condition which might be apt considering that Yapp Brothers was started by Robin Yapp, whose profession BW (before wine) was that of a dentist. But in fact, it is the name used for collecting Champagne cork capsules. I hadn't realised that these were so collectable until my recent visit to see our Champagne producer, Gilles Dumangin, at his house in the picturesque village of Chigny-les-Roses, situated on the plains between Reims and Epernay. Most of the local houses seemed to have specially made wooden boards either hung up on the wall or placed on a coffee table to display their collections.
Historically, champagne bottles used to have a simple piece of wood wrapped in cloth and then sealed with wax as a stopper. This method, especially with the pressure build up in bottle during secondary fermentation, wasn't ideal and resulted in many explosive incidents and much wasted wine. Then, along came Adolphe Jacquesson – a hugely creative person, who devised numerous methods to improve the processes connected with the making of champagne which, at that time, were still very much at the trial and error stage.
Jacquesson is credited with the idea of planting vines in rows in collaboration with Dr Guyot and for a process of measuring sugar density with the chemist Jean-Baptiste François, but his most famous patent (1844) was the muselet – a wire 'muzzle' still used today to hold the corks of champagne and sparkling wine in place. In these early days the capsule de muselets were just made out of plain discs of metal but, as things progressed, growers began imprinting their 'house' mark for promotional purposes. Today, there are unlimited amounts of imprints and themes, from famous people to wildlife to astral constellations!
The wooden boards are available (in France) in a variety or different shapes – a map of France, Champagne bottle, grape bunches etc – with indentations for 20, 30, 50 and more capsules. I went for the square wooden board with (no messing around here!) 150 slots – thus ensuring, of course, that I will have to keep drinking fine champagne or sparkling wine until I fill the board up. Currently, I have 21 to go but I've also included several blank coloured tops which aren't particularly interesting so, as I gain more capsules, these will be relegated from the main board. Hmmm, unless, of course, I get another board...
