Yet one misconception persists: the idea that Champagne belongs only at aperitif time or at the midnight toast. To refine your palate, I’m offering a practical exercise today — aligning your choice of cuvées with the rhythm of your day. Champagne’s terroirs are so diverse that they offer structures suited to every hour of our biological clocks.

11:30 AM — Awakening the Senses: The Purity of Chalk

Your ideal starting point is late morning. Your palate is fresh, receptive, free from aromatic interference. This is the hour of analytical clarity.

At this time, we seek a wine of awakening — stripped down, unadorned. This is the realm of Blanc de Blancs (100% Chardonnay) from the Côte des Blancs.

• The profile: From pure chalk soils (such as Avize or Cramant) come taut, vibrant wines marked by citrus zest and wet chalk. The Extravertie Grand Cru cuvée from Pertois‑Lebrun fits this profile.
• The educational value: Choose a Brut Nature (no dosage). The salinity and iodine‑tinged liveliness of chalk will make the palate salivate, stimulating appetite in the noblest way.

1:00 PM — The Casual Lunch: The “Street Food” Pairing

At lunch, let’s break a rule together. A great wine must also be able to elevate everyday cooking — even street food.

If you’re going for crispy fish and chips or a buttery lobster roll, you need a Champagne capable of standing up to fat and texture.

• The choice: A balanced Non‑Vintage Brut, with a generous proportion of Pinot Meunier for fruit and roundness. A rosé Champagne dominated by Pinot — such as Jérôme Dehours’ Œil de Perdrix — is a perfect match.
• The mechanism: The wine’s natural acidity cuts through the fat, cleansing the palate, while the effervescence highlights the dish’s crunch. It’s a fascinating exercise in thermal and textural contrast.

8:00 PM — Dinner Time: The Power of Blanc de Noirs

At dinner, Champagne changes costume. It must shed its lightness and become a true table wine, capable of accompanying meat or a complex dish.

This is the moment to open a Blanc de Noirs (100% Pinot Noir or Pinot Meunier), ideally vintage, from the Montagne de Reims or the Côte des Bar.

• The profile: This wine has real vinous structure, solid backbone, and fine tannins lurking in the background. The nose opens with ripe red berries, toasted bread, and forest floor. The Premier Cru Champagne from Egly‑Ouriet is a perfect example.
• At the table: This structured Champagne pairs magnificently with poultry in morel sauce or pan‑seared sweetbreads. Its aromatic power harmonizes with the texture of the dish without ever being overshadowed.

11:30 PM — Dessert: The Sugar Trap

Let’s end with a classic mistake to avoid at all costs: serving a Brut Champagne (very acidic) with a sweet dessert. Sugar makes the wine taste bitter, and acidity makes the dessert feel heavy.

To close the day in harmony, two (or three) options are ideal:

• A Demi‑Sec from a grower, where residual sugar is perfectly balanced by bright acidity — ideal with a citrus tart.
• A Rosé de Saignée (Pinot Noir maceration), vinous and fleshy, whose notes of morello cherry and cocoa pair beautifully with intense dark chocolate desserts.
• And of course, the Winston Churchill cuvée from Pol Roger always delivers pure pleasure.

By learning to adapt your choices to the hour, you’ll discover that Champagne doesn’t have a single face, but a multitude of nuances for those who know how to listen. Explore an extraordinary Champagne or choose the one that truly suits you.

Enjoy your tasting…

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The great producers like Ruinart, Dom Perignon or even Roederer do not need a designer or an artist to highlight the quality of their outstanding champagne! Neither the artist, nor the designer need the Champagne producer. This approach is not just a commercial one, but more complex than that, more noble and more interesting from several points of view. It is, in fact, an exchange, sharing and creation of an outstanding product, a sort of artwork. Something modern and unusually laid-back may either attract or disturb. The Champagne seen through an artwork, a common creation, offers you a one-of-a-kind and unsustainable emotion. This intangible collaboration offers a new perception of Champagne – but, at the same time, both the artist and the champagne producer remain loyal to their conviction and philosophy.
Phillip Stark collaborates with Roederer both on the bottle and its content, Roederer Stark champagne will have no added sugar, which means «an absolutely honest champagne» for the designer.

By its collaboration with Maarten Baas, Piet Hein Eek and, currently, with a swiss visual artist Georgia Russell Ruinart would like to highlight the history component of this great house and produce a limited edition and a unique artwork.

The collaboration of ultra-talented young designer Iris van Herpen from Netherlands and Dom Perignon was sincere. «Dom Perignon’s independence and freedom are the most valuable qualities that offer a breathtaking result!» – insists Iris van Herpen. Über-Premium – a perfect translation of her attitude.

These collaborations would have been a success for Champagne houses and a productive experience beyond any description. It’s still unknown if the amateurs, professionals and collectors will follow the song of the sirens, but the idea to unite so much passion for an artwork in one bottle is so attractive!

L’article Champagne, Art and Design – a subtile mix of styles est apparu en premier sur Blog World Grands Crus.

The same goes for the Rhone valley and Côtes du Rhone vineyards. According to Inter Rhône, a fresh summer has slowed down the grape’s maturation, in spite of the fact that it started rather prematurely due to a mild and sunny spring. Saved from hail the grapes offer a first-rate quality material, and as mentioned before, an excellent sanitary situation.
Harvesting has already started for certain white wine grape varieties, and should start around the tenth of September for the more mature red wine varieties.
What about the other wine regions, Burgundy, Bourgogne and the Loire valley? We will need to wait.

Could the 2014 vintage be another “2005”?

L’article 2014, a great vintage? est apparu en premier sur Blog World Grands Crus.

The accident took place during a sumptuous party, thrown to celebrate the 5oth anniversary of Mr. Loeng, Some 200 guests where present including the elite of the Hong-Kong political scene. The celebrity, after a short speech proceeded to open a champagne bottle and was hit violently by the cork, The first reaction was one of laughter, underestimating the extent of the injury, this was followed by a heavy silence. Mr. Loeng remained unconscious. The emergency medics arrived rapidly on the premises. In spite of all their efforts, the death was confirmed less than 20 minutes later, whilst he was being transported to the hospital.

Mr. Loeng was classed as the 51st Hong-Kong fortune, according to Forbes magazine; Mr. Loeng was an extremely successful and eccentric real estate agent, whose fortune was estimated at more than 1 billion Dollars. According to the police, the bottle was a Chinese counterfeit bottle; this seems to be an extremely plausible theory seeing the large quantity of CO2 gas found in the bottle.

For the last few years, counterfeit bottles have become an important preoccupation for the authorities. In fact, several experts estimate the Chinese counterfeit market at 80% in most Chinese cities…

Be safe and order your Grand Crus with all the necessary guarantees of origin through a well-known provider, www.worldgrandscrus.com, or put on a helmet!

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1—The conservation

In the winter, the temperatures are low and in the summer they literally explode. One has to realize that wine’s worst enemy is the temperature change or it’s variations. The ideal situation being to keep your wine in a place that is slightly moist and the temperatures stable at around 15ºC. the best being of course, a cellar or an underground space. For those of you living in apartments, drink it all! (No just kidding) the best choice is to invest in an ageing cellar with a capacity for just a few bottles. This will allow you to always have a few good bottles at the right temperature at hand.

2—Drinking.

The time for barbecues and meals on the terrace has arrived, and nothing better than a good bottle of rose, white and why not champagne, in order to cool off and accompany your salads, grills etc. But beware; these different nectars are to be drunk cool, (8º to 12ºC)! First of all remember to put your bottle(s) in the fridge, at least a good hour before the meal in order to achieve its optimum drinking temperature. Once the bottle has been brought to the table the ice bucket remains the best solution for keeping the wine’s temperature, but under the condition of mixing well the ice with the water in order to obtain an even temperature. Please! Avoid the ice cube in the glass; this will water it down thereby destroying the aromas and the taste. You can also use an “ice bag” or a decanter with an integrated ice tube. As a last resort plastic or granite ice cubes can be used. All that’s left for us to say is cheers and enjoy!

L’article How to keep and drink your wines during the summer months est apparu en premier sur Blog World Grands Crus.

A rare wine

Henceforth, in more than a century, only 37 vintages have been produced, that is one every three to four years. The 1943 vintage is certainly the most symbolic one, being Aimé Salons last harvest, before his demise that same year.
Nevertheless, following his death, things have hardly changed. After having belonged to the Pernod Ricard group. The Salon property was bought by Laurent-Perrier in 1988. Michel Depond, the president and Michel Fauconnier, the cellar master of the Laurent Perrier group, are the key men of the Salon estate, as well as the sister estate of the Delamotte champagne, since 1989.
The grape is harvested and pressed at Mesnil-sur-Oger, however the first fermentation is carried out in the Laurent-Perrier establishment, located at Tours-sur-Marne. Following that, the wine returns to the Salon cellars, in order to mature slowly.
For in the Salon establishment, they allow time to have time, even if between the harvest and the commercialization of a vintage, it may take up to ten years, there are no rules, only one, quality.

Simply, the estate follows a reasoned culture process, avoiding wooden barrels and the addition of yeasts in order to insure that the all the aroma proceeds from the grape variety. The champagne is only commercialized when it appears to have reached its optimum maturity; the bottles are disgorged only when they have been ordered, thus ensuring that the wine keeps all its aromas the longest time possible.
The Salon champagne is considered as one of the best in the world. You will only find it on the finest starred tables or the best delicatessen boutiques.
What has made the success of the Salon champagne is its quality. The vintages are selected with precision in order to produce not a simple sparkling wine, but an exceptional Grand Crus.

The 2002 vintage

This new vintage is the first one of the XXI^st century. This 2002 vintage was born following a conjunction of extremely good conditions, in order to produce an excellent vintage, I quote: “In the Champagne region and in particular the Mesnil-sur-Oger area, the alternation between cool, mild, and dry weather on that year is to be particularly noted. There where no terrible periods of frost, no ravaging rain fall, virtually no hailstorms. The vines were extremely healthy. The pollen count during the flowering period predicted almost an over-abundant harvest and the grape bunches where getting too heavy! Quality might not be there? The knowledgeable wine growers, lightened their vines, the big summer season arrived putting all this back on tracks, beautiful warm days concentrates the grape hence making them ideal. The harvest starts at mid-September, the 16^th at Mesnil-sur-Oger, under a brilliant blue sky and a cold nip. The harvested Chardonnay in exact quantities reveals itself as being rich and powerful, each grape keeping the memory of a climate.” (Issued from a press release by Champagne Salon, March 2014)
This vintage, considered as one of the best ever produced, has many a year in front of him. This “adolescent” will refine and exalt itself with the passing of time.
It is complex to the nose, with notes of orange blossom, honey, candied citrus fruit and warm brioche. The taste is long to finish, refined and extremely elegant.

It should marry very well with caviar from Aquitaine, an Iberian cured ham, or even with a scallop Carpaccio or a white truffle risotto. Enough to wake up your taste buds!

L’article Champagne Salon est apparu en premier sur Blog World Grands Crus.

The cellars are dug in the rock on three levels. Tens of thousands of bottles are stocked at a constant temperature and perfect hygrometric standards!

The Fallet-Prevostat blanc de blancs Grand crus Extra Brut comes from the 2002 and 2003 vintages, in other words, ten years of aging on slats. The bubbles are extremely fine, enrobed within a superb environment, it is a delicate, airy and flowery champagne.

It is, according to us a great reference that has to be tasted.

Enjoy the degustation!

Clic here to see our  Fallet-Prevostat blanc de blancs Grand crus Extra Brut proposal

L’article CHAMPAGNE FALLET-PRÉVOSTAT, BLANC DE BLANCS GRAND CRU EXTRA BRUT, AVIZE est apparu en premier sur Blog World Grands Crus.

It is time for France to wake up, before becoming a new Chinese province.

L’article When China awakes… the world shall tremble est apparu en premier sur Blog World Grands Crus.

The passion for French wine brought our friends across the channel, to develop a vivid imagination.
The amphora was the first vessel to contain wine, but not very practical, heavy and fragile during transportation, she was replaced by the wooden barrel. This was practical for transportation puposes but inappropriate for its conservation, since the wine rapidly turned to vinegar.
The barrel was also rather cumbersome for service on the table, therefore a more practical conditioning method had to be found, this was done by our friends the “English”. It was in the XVII^th century that the thick and stable shaped glass bottle first appeared, answering to the needs of wine merchants.
Henceforth the bottles are found on the tables, but where not hermetically closed. In the antiquity, Greeks and Romans, used to close off their amphora with cork. These where replaced in the Middle Ages, by bits of cloth and leather and by other rather unorthodox means in order to close off the bottles.
Always, in that same century, our friends the English, them again, redeveloped the cork, due to its intrinsic qualities and capacity to seal of the wine and hence, its conservation in the bottles.
Now that the cork has been invented, obviously the corkscrew followed, and yet again its the “Englishmen” in the beginning of the XVIII^th century that developed the first corkscrew around 1795, filing a patent for the first corkscrew with a bolt and screw mechanism.
But that’s not all, for all this was extremely beneficial to the development of this divine beverage that’s wine. And us, the French, can be proud, and still not so long ago, as having the best wine in the world.
However, there is another English phenomenon, inherent to the only 100% French wine in the world, and never equaled to this day that is: Champagne.
It is in the middle of the seventeenth century that the English, bottle this French wine that came from the Champagne region and had not finished its fermentation. The French, in those days considered that this wine was defective. This white wine is then bottled in solid black glass bottles and the cork tied up with hemp string, in order to be opened the following spring. In 1660, the “popping cork” Champagne wine, sparkling and frothy, became THE wine of the British gentry.
Therefore the English also invented Champagne but…national pride obliges, it is the French that have made it a prestigious, precious, fantastic and never equaled wine.

Phew! Saved our national pride, but we have to admit that our English friends, connoisseurs and amateurs as well as collectors of Grand Crus, have really helped in the development of these wines of which we are so proud.

One has to read « La bouteille de vin, Histoire d’une révolution » by the éminent specialist of the history of wine, Mr. Jean-Robert PITTE, published by Taillandier.      (N.T. Pas encore traduit.)

L’article Englishmen “please shoot first”! est apparu en premier sur Blog World Grands Crus.

Therefore the prices of the Bordeaux wines have shot up sky high and have reached to-day, record prices.
Asia having finally understood the interest and incomparable quality of Burgundy wines, has changed its position and has “attacked” two regions: the Burgundy and Champagne areas! But beware the wine production of the Burgundy area cannot be compared with that of the Bordeaux vineyards!
When one sees the mean annual production of the Burgundy vineyards (between 4000 to 10 000 bottles), and those of the Bordeaux area (approximately 300 000 bottles), it is easy to conclude: the strong demand and the reduced production leads to a shortage market hence the price increase. In order to give you an idea , the Domaine Mugnier in Burgundy, produces excellent wines, hasn’t accepted a single new client in the last 5 years, this might seem an absolutely astonishing situation.

For all the lovers of great wines two choices open up to you, increase your wine budget, or reduce your consumption, I suggest you increase your budget!
Let us now have a quick look as to how one can profit from this price rise: by investing in great vintages! Everyday several thousands of persons are looking to fructify their money and all have the same question in mind, “where am I going to place my liquidities?”
You’ll have understood that fine wines are an extremely interesting placement, and one of the most stable ones in the market place!
If I can give you some advice, diversify your portofolio by buying grand crus, not through an investment fund but directly on the real Mackoy! And let those bottles age gently, getting better and more valuable over the ages!

The wine investment remains basically an investment in pleasure, from which you will obtain interesting returns as well as offering yourselves the pleasure of opening some excellent bottles.

L’article Price increases in French wines. est apparu en premier sur Blog World Grands Crus.