InterWined.com

Liquid Refreshment

6

Aug

A Son Arrives, A Father Leaves

Jacob Gaffney  in Sparkling Wines, Champagne, Pinot Noir Chardonnay , , , , ,

The ebb and flow of the wine world is just as in life.

Storms rage. The sun shines. Snow falls. Leaves sprout.

Some years are plush, plump and fresh — others bitter, undernourished and disgusting. It can’t be helped, of course, much less stopped. But we can attempt to put a value on it. To give it something more, be it an age or a vintage.

A son arrived three months ago. A father left one week ago.

The world continues vibrating and outliving everything else. In this ultimate measure, the ephemeral tracking of souls, the paradox is that numbers rarely count for anything. The vintage, after all, takes up the least amount of space on a label, if it is even applicable.

So it is with no surprise that a week of celebratory mourning concluded for InterWined last night, with the popping of the final bottle of non-vintage Champagne, the type of sparkling wine made from grapes grown across many years.

Hot or cold, red or white, all the grapes that just were not good enough to make vintage Champagne are tossed into a communal grave — where Chardonnay and Pinot Noir lay side by side until it all tastes alike, year in, year out.

It is wine’s best stab at staying the same forever.

To the point:

Perrier-Jouet wins for best non-vintage Champagne, for value, for taste. For that elusive odds-ratio that wine websites, such as this, describe but never really ultimately get. The art, my good friends, is in the struggle. The nobility is in the craft of the winemaker. The legacy is in the bottle. The meaning is in the taste.

Lanson Black Label is another great one and it tastes great with cigarettes, but InterWined doesn’t smoke, so what do we make of that?

Lanson Rosé Champagne is a good deal at £24 at Costcutter. The short-term exposure to the red skinned Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier give it that special pink tint, usually. The Lanson is not-very-creamy and peachy in color. Of all the notable non-vintages sampled during various entries of the last seven days, this is the Winston Churchill. A bulldog. Rugged and sluggish, with a hint of heavy metals (zinc, copper). No biscuits, no vanilla.

Drink by itself and never in anger. 8.6 points.

Moet & Chandon, also £24 at Costcutter. This non-vintage is very pleasant and introspective. A Gandhi of a Champagne. Sweet and well-structured, but the character feels tarnished. The finish is dry, and over way to soon. 8.6 points.

Thus concludes the non-vintage review of non-vintage Champagnes for InterWined.com.

Rest in Peace.

Now it’s back to work in the £5 to £10 range…and there is still much work to do.

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Dee
Dee said: August 7th, 2007 at 1:25 pm

This newest blog was a little sad about the comings and goings of family.

Anyway, so very hot here in MS, been drinking MICHELOB LIGHT ice cold in the evenings. Great vintage…

Recipe Chicken w/ hazelnut looks awesome. will try. YUM

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