Goosegogs wrote:
We had Sainsbury's chicken crowns with rosemary and garlic and wild boar sausages in sausage shaped yorkshire puddings. Wonderful !
The Champagne was dreadful.
Why is Chablis so much more consistent than Sancerre/PouillyFume. I am talking £15 and under with no oak. Chablis always tastes like Chablis. Some are better than others but even supermarket own label wines are of a decent standard.
Sancerre is more often than not just dry tasteless white wine. Yellowfin sole with a lemon and herb crust today with goose fat chips. And some Badger beers.
Errr - not all Chablis is properly representative of the style. We just side step them, so maybe, you don't hear about the horrors.
The other reasons are: The climate in the north central area is a damn site more reliable than the west facing Loire valleys that are soaked by the Atlantic "conveyor " The south west pumping action that soaks Wales, Bristol channel, West Devon and Cornwall & southern Eire since global warming climate change kicked in. Also, the terroire, the underlying soils and climat effects on the gentle slopes are consistently kimmeridgeon, there are heavier clays here and there, but the farmers appear to plough deep to pull-up the Terres Blanches. There always seems to be enough warmth to properly ripen the crop in the more central area, and then it is an easier judgement on style, as to the date when the pickers should be employed. Marlborough SB has spoilt you
I think "since global warming" that the Loire is more the minefield now, not so for northern Burgundies, particularly for the recent white wines which have enjoyed a really good run.
Which champagne was dreadful - must make a note to avoid, also Mr G, a dry champoo with wild boar sausages is not considered a harmonious choice . A 2009 PC fruity claret or an aged Chilean cab would have done well.
Without the wild boar, we had that now mature 75cl "2003 by Bollinger" (not for purists) bottle before the chicken, and because it was so full and ripe (almost demi) and only a pin prick mousse, the last quarter of a saucer, was lush and lovely with the breast meat. CT people though, did not rave about it, my palate is changing slightly.
Notes:
‘2003 by Bollinger’
2003 was an atypical year in Champagne, when it was just too hot to make a typical vintage wine. ‘I’m proud of the risk that we took in 2003’, says Montgolfier. ‘Usually, we blend [from weaker years], but here we decided to make no Grande Année or RD. As wine lovers, when we had such good base wines we didn’t want to forget this year.’ So a special wine, the 2003, was made. It’s a nice drop, but I’m not sure this was a fantastic decision because the wine is atypical and lacks the sort of qualities that make Champagne special. Bright and extremely fruity with quite a delicate character. It’s accessible and fresh with subtle herb notes and a bit of toast. Easy drinking style. 89/100