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Comparative Champagne tasting is a soulless task. Champagne without celebration, without friends, without joy, is miserable, acidic, hard work. The base wine that makes Champagne is dry, acidic and unlovely. The bubbles are added, through a second fermentation in the closed bottle, which captures the CO2 that normally escapes from fermenting wine. The fizzy wine is then sweetened and is ready for market. Normal dry white wine has around 1-4 grams of residual sugar, per litre, but Brut Champagne generally has 12 grams, because the wine is so searingly acidic that any less would be unpleasant to drink – think unsweetened homemade lemonade.
However, to do its thing, Champagne absolutely has to be drunk in specific circumstances. It must be cold and absolutely has to be served in beautiful glasses on which the condensation from the chilly wine further enhances the golden colour. I think it’s also important that you’re hungry, which is why favourite times for drinking Champagne are first thing in the morning and early evening. I am always horribly disappointed when some well-meaning soul suggests Champagne at the end of a meal, especially if it’s served with pudding. At such times, it is completely unwanted. There also must be promise in the air, some excitement and preferably friends or even just one friend. Lastly, but not obligatory, I think wearing high heels does improve the taste.
So, when we sat down in our ordinary clothes, round our ordinary table, to plough through Champagne, we weren’t really in the mood. The panel particularly liked Somerfield’s Prince William, which is £15.49, reduced to £12.99 until 15th January. It was lemony and light on the nose and just off dry in the mouth. I often suggest to people who find Champagne hard work that they buy Demi Sec, which is nowhere near sweet, but is easier to drink. I found the Prince William lacking complexity, but that may not be vital. Waitrose Blanc de Blancs Brut at £19.49 was more biscuity on the nose and the taste was more savoury and complex, almost tasting oaky. It was my favourite. Majestic’s de Telmont Grande Reserve Brut is normally £20.99 but is £13.99 until February and is also available in half bottles at £12.75 or £8.50 if you buy 2+. It has a darker, more golden colour, which I think makes a lot of difference to one’s perception of quality. It smelt of buttered toast and was rounded, full and savoury in the mouth. I held on to the bottle and it slipped down very nicely as I tidied up and I even had a glass the next day. Incidentally, it spent the night unstoppered in the fridge door and was still as fizzy as you like the next evening. We tasted all the usual suspects and they were perfectly fine, but we felt that Asda Extra Special and Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference didn’t live up to their billing.
We then put away our tasting sheets, served up canapés and slipped on our high heels and everything tasted a heck of a lot better, or so John and Alan said.