Dear Members,
Champagne has always enjoyed a favoured reputation as a bit of a luxury product, not undeservedly when the difficulty and expense of making it is considered. This tended to favour the emergence of large houses, who would contract to buy grapes from many of the approximately 19,000 small growers who own almost 90% of the land that qualifies to be labelled Champagne in order to make wines that reflect a consistent style year after year. However, one of the movements in the world of wine in the past decade that has the genuine feel of a paradigm shift has been the emergence of a new wave of small-scale Champagne makers. These artisanal winemakers go against the established norm by making wines not to taste the same but to taste of where they come from. Their champagnes would be sourced from the same vineyard or cluster of vineyards from the same village, with the emphasis being terroir rather than uniformity — and the outcome is a new wave of champagnes that taste different: they sparkle with character and exhibit increasingly transparent and daring flavours on the palate.
In curating this champagne lunch then, our esteemed cellarmaster put together a list of champagnes that excites him personally. All 6 champagnes are Grand Cru, which means they come from the best 9% of vineyards in Champagne. Half of the list is not commercially available in Singapore. The Alain Soutiran Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru took first place at a blind-tasting of 64 champagnes in London in early 2010; unsurprising considering that this fifth-generation champenois hand-harvests from his 37 acres of vineyards and ages his reserve wines in Burgundian oak. The Blanc de Blancs has an open-knit nose with creamy, vanilla and toasty notes overlaid with lemons and green apples, and even a note of savoury depth appearing on the harmoniously structured palate. Its sibling, the Alain Soutiran Grand Cru Brut (which incredibly placed second in the same London tasting) is almost our cellarmaster's house champagne: on the nose it combines summer fruit delicacy, including lemons, peaches, a touch of lime, green apples and sherbet, with a precision and lightness on its feet, and yet there is depth on the palate that fills out the fruit with some dairy and patisserie notes. Meanwhile, the Lallier Grand Cru Brut turned out to be Jancis Robinson's top NV grower champagne at that tasting. Her note: "Quite a deep straw. Smells a bit wild-flower-like, sort of biodynamic! Fleury? Tight knit with lots going on. Interesting even if there is a bit of bruised apple on the finish. Quite long and certainly interesting. A bit chewy, but very attractive."
Of the remaining champagnes, the Egly-Ouriet Tradition Grand Cru may be somewhat more widely known as one of the earliest to gain attention in the grower-champagne movement, and its 75% Pinot Noir and 25% Chardonnay offers a powerful nose of apple, yeast and cream, persisting through alongside some rustic notes on the palpably dense palate. The Henri Giraud Hommage à François Hémart Aÿ Grand Cru is the hidden gem from the producer of Fût de Chêne, one of the richest (and priciest) champagnes ever. 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay from the vineyards of Aÿ, this wine was matured for six months in small oak casks, giving it that additional depth. The nose is all toasted coconut, dairy, baked apple, cream, biscuity notes, and yes that bit of oak showing through vanilla and cinnamon, while on the palate there is density and weight even as apple and citrus fruit comes through with a touch of honeycomb. As for the Paul Bara Special Club 2002, you should have seen our reaction the first time we encountered its highly poised nose of citrus fruit, green apple, light white flowers and minerals, giving on to peaches and cream on the palate outlined by very fine acidity on a slightly expansive body. The Special Club series was created by the first wave of independent growers to be taken notice of, all the way back in 1971, as their version of a prestige cuvée, with the catch that each wine proposed to be bottled in the distinctive Special Club bottle must gain the approval of the other growers in the club, so you can be sure of an exceptional wine.
We're not forgetting however that many of us feel a meal is incomplete without some red wine, so we're also pitching in a liberal quantity of Chateau Liversan 1989, and for the sweet ending we thought it would be nice to also have some bubbles in it, hence the Freixenet Carta Nevada Sweet NV.
Matching the delicacy and transparency of these champagnes needs a cuisine with an equally poised and precise touch. For this reason we selected the Boathouse, where chef Jonathan Koh, who had trained under a classical French chef in a three-star Michelin restaurant in Montpellier, turns out modern French cuisine featuring seasonal produce and not a small dash of creativity; although we must admit the intimate setting within the heritage 1919 Waterboat House opposite the Fullerton has its charm too.
The Society proudly presents ….
The Artisanal Champagne Lunch at The Boathouse
Date: February 18th 2012 (Saturday)
Venue: The Boathouse
Address: 3 Fullerton Road #03-01 The Waterboathouse, Singapore
Time: 12:00 pm (Aperitif Reception), 12:30 pm (Lunch)
Price: Member (S$160) Guest (S$180)
Dress Code: Smart casual
Limited to 40 pax
Bookings and reservations: Please email: C T Chen at ctchen@acieslaw.com for reservations.
PLEASE NOTE: Reservations WILL NOT be considered confirmed unless the Booking Form together with Payment
is received by 11th February 2012.
Menu Selection:
*For non-meat & vegetarian options, a special menu can be arranged upon prior request.
Amuse Bouche
Gazpacho of Petite Pois, Emulsion of Alsatian Bacon
Lallier Grand CruBrut NV
Salt-baked Beets and Oysters Beignet
Compression of Legumes, Raspberry Vinaigrette
Alain Soutiran Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs NV
Alain Soutiran Brut Grand Cru NV
Roasted Hokkaido Scallops
Smoothie of Cauliflower, Caramelized Almonds, Emulsion of Piedmont Hazelnut
Egly-Ouriet Tradition Grand Cru NV
Atlantic Sea Bass ala Plancha
Fricasse of Seafood, Cremeux of Fennel, Chateau Estoublon Olive Oil
Henri Giraud, Hommage à François Hémart, Aÿ Grand Cru NV
Paul Bara Special Club 2002
Roasted Angus Ribeye
Fondant of Ratte Potato, Glazed Shallot Confit, Sauce Bordelaise
Chateau Liversan 1989
Warm Banana Brioche, Confiture of Raspberry, Nutella Ice Cream
Freixenet Carta Nevada (Sweet) NV
Regards,
Joyce Chang
President,
IWFS of Singapore
