A little red faced as after last week’s e-mail, though only one of you upbraided me for such a glaring failure (sure more of you noticed it), Avize is of course Champagne, as per the topic of conversation, but not one of those illustrious Grand Cru names in Burgundy as I wrongly ascribed. So J.C. of W.8, you are quite right Avize is indeed Champagne and not Burgundy. Though in reality, the very best of Champagne and with serious bottle-age is more than compared to Burgundy, many say it is!
Enough of Champagne. No, it’s St-Valentine’s Day looming. Luckily on a Monday so I can stay at home and do the washing. Still, I am sure some of you indulge in such romantic notions and for those of you not perusing the wine lists of Hôtel Meurice à Paris or the Fat Duck in Bray or some shack in Verbier or Le Grand Coeur in Mirabelle…
François Diligent Brut Rosé Champagne at £ 29.50 per Bottle
A friend treated me to a couple of glasses of Laurent Perrier Pink t’other night up at The Commander just off Westbourne Grave and I have to say I far, far prefer the Diligent, even forgetting that it is markedly cheaper. The bargain in Restaurant terms however, for a proper Champagne, is next door at La Côte (on the corner of Westbourne Grove & Hereford Road) as they have Henriot 1996 at about £ 64.00 a bottle. Made the Laurent Perrier look and taste positively anaemic! La Côte looks good and in Fulham always full yet I found the food competent no more. Perfectly cooked steak but just lacking in that depth of flavour one wishes when slaughtering a cow. Otherwise what’s the point. Little or nothing else of merit on the Wine List but Henriot 1996 at £ 64.00 is worth a trip itself.
For those not thinking pink, the usual suspects in Village; Premier; Grand Cru; Non-Vintage; Vintage; Blanc-de-Blancs; Growers; Brands even, of course prevail (£ 20.00 to £ 150.00). APPLY WITHIN!
I have a boozy lunch planned for this coming Sunday 13th February but for any die-hard romantic regulars who might require “last minute” something concerning alcohol, I could happily open By Appointment so just try my mobile number.
Weekly curiosity (as opposed to indulgence):
Château Loudenne 1996 Médoc Cru Bourgeois at £ 20.00 per Bottle
Yes this should really have been drunk 5 or more years ago but still drinking okay now.
Rugged, earthy, backward, typical Left-Bank 1996 really.
12 Bottles available.
Silly Season
“When the battles are over and the soldiers have all gone,
The real heroes of the Great War – the dead – will reassemble under the moon in the vast cemeteries,
whose crosses look like nothing so much as vines that have never borne fruit.
And there, Champagne will be celebrated once again.”
- C.I.V.C. archives
- “Champagne” – Don & Peter Kladstrup
Think about it, if you ever had cause to telephone the Police Complaints Authority you would arguably be most likely to call them of an evening or weekend or both. Funny then that in today’s world where so much goes beyond the nine-to-five, this little service doesn’t.
Well, what an extraordinary weekend of Premiership Football. You kind of have to feel sorry for Arsenal. Not.
Speaking of sorry, what about the Muppet who robbed a Petrol Station in Cardiff using a Halloween disguise? He was easily identified as he bought the disguise from the petrol station three days earlier.
Well my furry slippers are usually slid beneath the bed well before midnight these days but I might just stay up this coming Sunday as the Oscars unravel down the red carpet and into some of our homes. A customer has been nominated for the Documentary “Waste Land”. They already bagged the Audience Award at the recent Sundance Film Festival so one to watch, in both senses. www.wastelandmovie.com
Tuggy & Henry
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