French
Champagne has always been a luxury. We absolutely love to drink it but it is
only on very special occasions that bottles are bought, or are prised out of
our cellar. So it is always appreciated to be invited to taste it and write
about it. This week, we were guests at a very special tasting of Billecart-Salmon at the Cape Grace hotel where we were promised brunch
We
tasted three champagnes, the Brut Reserve which was our welcome drink, very
French with brioche on the nose and tight, clear ripe pear & apple fruit
with a good mousse. Janis Robinson says its "an extremely glamorous
fizz"
The tasting was held in one of the
smaller private dining rooms
Ken Forrester is the importer of
Billecart-Salmon into South Africa and he told us about the three different
non-vintage champagnes
Robert Parker says "Billecart-Salmon
is one of my favourite Champagne houses, and their non-vintage Rosé is a
consistent winner." and scores it 94 We found it delightful, with a bready
nose, pink fruit aromas and on the palate crisp 'toasted' apples and pears with
a lovely mousse
Our favourite is the Blanc de Blanc Grand
Cru from the Côte des Blancs, made entirely from Chardonnay. There are toasted
nuts on the nose, hints of almonds. Clean, lean and mean on the palate so very
refreshing and food friendly. Tastes of crisp tart apples with a hint of
caramel and this would make this the perfect partner for a Tart Tatin
Served in large Burgundy glasses instead
of flutes. We find this is becoming more normal at bubbly tasting. The glasses
capture the aromas more, let the flavours develop in the glass and let you
enjoy them. The mousse is also held firm and does not dissipate as fast as it
does in a coupe glass
New Executive Manager – Food and
Beverage at One&Only Cape Town, Robert Hatton Jones was at our table
enjoying the tasting
Caroline Bagley and Frank Winter of
Savoy Cabbage being served some Rosé by Marlvin Gwese, one of our favourite
sommeliers. He was very diligent in keeping glasses topped up as we ate
A top up, Madam?
To the Brunch. When we arrived we were
offered glasses of coconut porridge topped with fruit and muesli. Far too
healthy to go with Bubbly, Lynne thinks. We were expecting perhaps a buffet of
brunch food. That was not what we got and from then on it was an incredibly
well constructed lunch. And what a lunch, there was luxury rich, balanced
cleverly with clean flavours, so no overindulgence. This is the menu with
everything paired to the Champagnes
The starter platter. These were the
best canapés we have had for weeks. A sweet strawberry macaron filled with foie
gras was a wow with the Rosé. The salmon tartar, pickled beetroot and rye melba
also went well with the Brut and the Rosé, but the mustard panna cotta did
fight back a bit. The perfect melting choux gougère filled with gentle
gorgonzola was a smash with the Blanc de Blanc. The mini brioche topped with
mushrooms, a perfectly cooked quail egg and a truffle hollandaise was the best.
We all wanted more. It was made for the Blanc de Blanc
A top up for Caroline
Sommelier Martin Drotsky pours the
Miso broth onto the pork and Asian herbs for Caroline Rillema (owner of Caroline’s
Fine Wines)
The main was pork done three different
ways, one each for a Champagne pairing. But they all matched well. The Asian
soup was fresh and herby with only a tiny bite of chilli. The Pork Belly with
the seared scallop was tender and in a rich jus topped with great crackling.
The sweet potato puree with lots of vanilla did separate the table. The third
dish was just plain clever and will be repeated in our kitchen. Tender pieces
of barbecued pork belly with butter fried caramelised apples in a thin crêpe. So
simple and so delicious and so perfect with champagne
Dessert was a deconstructed vanilla
cheesecake, again echoing the flavours found in the champagnes. A rich hazelnut
crumble, a rich mango cremeaux, pineapple marmalade with nice squares of
pineapple and quite a sharp exotic fruit sorbet to soften the richness of the
rest of the dessert. Lots of different textures, lots of different flavours
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor
& Bacchus 2015
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