How do you celebrate St Valentine’s Day? Do you dazzle a date with an extravagant dinner or spend the night together at home with a good bottle?
Whatever you and your loved one do, when it comes to Valentine’s wines I like to think I’ve got all bases covered.
My wife and I have always tried to avoid the hustle and bustle of restaurants packed to the gills with swooning young lovers, or the inevitable disappointment of leaving booking a restaurant too late (usually my fault), choosing instead to spend the night in with a good bottle and food to match. It will be the same again this year – having a three-year-old daughter scuppers any spontaneous plans that may arise on the day – and that’s perfect by me.
Staying in
We’ve been marking special occasions lately with grower Champagne, and I see no reason to change things for the most romantic day of the year.
Champagne producers can be broken into two camps – the big houses and the grower-producers. The Champagnes of the big houses are known worldwide and associated with luxury; think Moet, Veuve Clicquot, Bollinger. They’re the Champagnes that rappers rhyme about. These houses, as they’re known in the Champagne region, don’t grow enough grapes to produce the massive volumes of wine they make each year, so they source grapes from a large number of growers.
Owner-growers – or récoltant-manipulants, to use the French term – make their bubbles using grapes grown on their own vineyards, much the same way as smaller wineries in Australia make their wine.
While I’ve had some amazing big-house Champagne experiences in the past few years – and various vintages of Krug, Bollinger and Louis Roederer Cristal have been truly memorable – I’ve found the grower Champagnes have, on the whole, been more interesting and better value.
There are about 19,000 growers with vineyards in Champagne and about 5000 of them produce their own wines. That’s a large number, but the volumes they produce account for less than 5 per cent of the market, and even less in Australia.
The number of grower Champagnes being brought into Australia – one of the world’s largest Champagne markets – is increasing each year, and with the Aussie dollar buying a lot of euros there’s great value to be found. There are some fantastic examples you can find for about $60.
Going out
When hitting the town, Tim Cohen of hip new Brunswick restaurant Albert St Food & Wine has a few tips for getting the best out of the wine list on the big night.
Champagne might often be the most expensive wine poured by the glass, but it’s likely to be the best value wine on a list, says Cohen, whose CV includes a stint with Champagne house Vranken Pommery and high-end restaurants Vue de Monde and The Point.
If a restaurant is going to sell glasses of Champagne, it wants to ensure it’s a popular choice. “Champagne should not be heavily marked up,” Cohen says.
If it’s just two of you celebrating a romantic dinner, ordering wines by the glass to suit the food is a good option, too, he says.
Cohen’s final say on making the most of your food and wine experience, wherever you eat, is this: “Trust your instinct and value the sommelier’s advice. And play to the restaurant’s strengths; if the restaurant is known for its seafood, shy away from big reds.”
Lark Hill Viognier 2011
(Canberra) $25; 12.5%
4/5
I’ve always thought of viognier as being a rather sexy wine – the best examples being voluptuous and taut at the same time. This has the apricot and spice characters you expect in a viognier, but there’s added complexity and interest from ginger, peach stone, citrus blossom and pith and leafy herbs. It’s textural but not flabby, and has a balanced, crisp, refreshing acidity along with a light tannic grip. This finishes with long stonefruit flavours.
Food match \ Coquilles St Jacques
Paradigm Hill Transition Rosé 2011
(Mornington Peninsula) $38; 12.2%
4.5/5
Made from shiraz, this is a top example of the modern rosé style that is all the rage these days – textural, savoury and dry. It’s delicious, too, with exotic aromas and flavours of rose petals, orange-blossom water, cherry, strawberry, Turkish delight and citrus zest. It has a great mouthfeel, with silky texture and a dry tannic grip (it was matured in 25 per cent new oak barrels) and vibrant acidity. It finishes with lengthy berry and citrus flavours.
Food match \ Salad Nicoise
Veuve Fourny Grand Reserve Premier Cru NV
(Champagne) $65; 12%
4.5/5
Made from 80 per cent chardonnay and 20 per cent pinot noir, this wine is imported into Australia by De Bortoli Wines. It’s a Champagne of finesse rather than power, with its complex and pretty aromas of quince, honey, biscuit, zest, green apple and nectarine. There is a gentle intensity to the stonefruit, cashew, mineral and brioche flavours. With a delicate mousse and creamy texture, it has a chalky finish with refreshing lemon curd and stonefruit flavours.
Food match \ Fresh shucked oysters
Pierre Gerbais Cuvee de Reserve NV
(Champagne) $69.95 ($39.95 for half-bottles); 12%
5/5
A blend of chardonnay (75 per cent) and pinot noir, 80 per cent of this family producer’s wine is consumed in France and only a small amount makes it to our shores. It has an elegant and complex bouquet, with new-season’s red apple, nectarine, lemon biscuit, yeast and vanilla on the nose, which are mirrored with subtle concentration on the palate. With an even structure that’s built around an assertive yet gentle line of acid and drying grip, it has length to burn. Sign up to the importer’s mailing list at www.eurocentricwine.com.au for regular pre-arrival offers of Champagne and other top European wines.
Food match \ Fish and chips
Marguet Pere et Fils Cuvee Grand Cru 2004
(Champagne) $60; 12%
5/5
The grapes for this powerhouse Champagne are sourced from Marguet family-owned vineyards in some of the best grand crus in Champagne. It’s packed with rich, powerful aromas of red apple, nectarine, brioche, honey-roasted nuts and lemon zest. Concentrated juicy flavours of lemon, stonefruit, apple, toast and minerals have a touch of delicacy, too. It has a fine bead and great linear acidity along with a chalky grip and a long lemon, biscuit and cashew finish.
Food match \ Crab cakes