1 March 2010

THE ULTIMATE CHAMPAGNE

I had been saving this wine. A very special bottle. Dom Perignon OEnotheque Vintage 1976. My daughter Katie's birth year.

Last Thursday evening the family went to dinner at our favourite restaurant, to mark the last time we would be four, for the next day son Scott was to marry Loretta and we would become a family of five. This was a time for celebration and so we opened this amazing Champagne that had been waiting for 33 years. The weather in Champagne had been extraordinarily dry in 1976, and the harvest came early. It was aged, like all Dom Perignon, for 6-7 years but then displaying splendidly exceptional characteristics, it was cellared for 25 years longer.

The aromas were fantastic: musky, woody and spicy. Full of fine beads, the wine filled my mouth with life and a warmth that was reminiscent of raisins and ripe plums. It was delicious, the perfect wine to drink on a hot summer night on such a special occasion.

We toasted the family's future with this spectacularly toasty wine. The best!