L.C. Prestance
Maison Vendome
All photos by Trish Beesley
To kick off the 2011 Holiday Season, I was invited to small, intimate tasting of three Champagnes at Toca restaurant, located in the Ritz Carlton Hotel. My friend John Carlo Meli who runs Natural Vines wine agency, was showcasing a new Champagne contender to rival the big names of Dom and Cristal. Not that you ever need a purpose to open a bottle of Champagne since it's fine anytime! The purpose of this tasting was to taste the three Champagnes blindly with Master Sommelier John Szabo. He would ultimately decide how this newbie would place amongst the three contenders. As a blogger, I was fortunate to have also been invited along with the beautiful Angela Aiello from iYellow Wine Club. I'm not used to tasting bubbly at 11:30 am but I could get used to it.
I've never done a blind tasting of Champagne before so this was going to be fun. When they were all poured, I took a sniff of each one for an initial overview. When you're dealing with these types of wines, they're all good. I'd be happy to have any one of these in my glass at any given time. This tasting was to discover the subtle differences between each of these Champagnes. When you start getting up in this price category of Champagne, it really is those subtle differences that make them stand apart.
JC of Natural Vines
Well, I guessed them all correctly! My one clue was the Cristal since I've had that before. Those small, fine and very persistant bubbles is what gave me the tip. Blindly, my favourite was the Dom Perignon. It's funny because us girls preferred the Dom while the men preferred the Vendome! We had Taylor Thompson, wine director at the Ritz try them blindly afterwards and he was aboard the Prestance train as well. I mean, all of these wines were excellent! It just boils down to personal taste of those subtleties. The L.C. Prestance, made with 100% Chardonnay grapes, had a lot of baked apple and brioche notes with excellent weight where the Dom was just slightly more reserved. It was a tough one.
Myself, JC and John Szabo
I was very excited to meet John Szabo and watch him in action. With his laptop on the table, he made his way through each of the wines, sniffing, sipping, spitting and typing. I was watching him with such curiosity and wondering what was going through his mind.
L.C. Prestance Champagne
John Carlo and I sat there looking at eachother wondering if we were allowed to quietly chat or were we to sit there in silence while John constructed his tasting notes. I started to make my way through the flight in front of me. I don't know how John Szabo does this. There's a big difference between tasting and drinking. I know some of you may laugh but wine tasting is really hard work! Especially when you have to give each sample 100% focus while maintaining objective. He's constantly tasting hundreds of wines a month. He's one of the main critics on Wine Align and his reviews are often featured also in the bi-weekly Vintages publication put out by the LCBO with newly released products.
Love the packaging!
Also available in black!
"Maison Vendome, House of Luxury and Creation, has created L.C. Prestance, the first Haute Couture Champagnes." www.maisonvendome.com
Maison Vendome is the official Champagne of the Cannes Film Festival. I think this was as close as I was going to get to brush elbows with the beautiful people of Cannes. The packaging of this Champagne is unlike anything I've seen before. There's a beautiful thick soft cover encasing the bottle that's a piece of art in itself. The first 1000 bottles of each collection have a glittering bow-tie attached with more than 150 diamond-cut crystals that can be worn.
Prestance (n.f): French word meaning "Presence".
Person or object looking elegant, noble and imposing.
If Maison Vendome ever wants me to spin at
the Cannes Film Festival, I'm available. :)
Sure I'll take another!
John Szabo at work
To read John Szabo's article on this event, you'll find it on the Wine Align website. It's a great read that also includes detailed tasting notes on each wine sampled. Maison Vendome's L.C. Prestance was the winner of the day. John Szabo scored it 96. Wow! Fantastic.
All photographs used in this post are by Trish Beesley of Trish Beeley Photography www.tbphotographystudio.com
Thanks to John Carlo (JC) Meli of Natural Vines for putting this great tasting together (and for bringing our lovely contestants Dom, Cristal and Prestance). Also a big thanks to Taylor Thompson of Toca for letting us use the venue.
I thought this article was fitting to end 2011...with some fizz! Wishing you all a wonderful New Year's celebration and looking forward to wonderful wines in 2012. Remember, celebrate well but celebrate responsibly.
Wishing you all the best this Holiday Season! May you be surrounded by loved ones and your glasses be continuously full. Thank you so much for stopping by my blog. I plan to do a lot more writing and video blogging for you. I also hope to be more active in recommendations to help you sift through the sea of wine. Here's to sharing great wines with you in 2012!
I just love this time of year. I don't have to hide my undying love for all things bubbly. After-all, "'tis the season!" Whether it's Champagne or sparkling wine, enjoying that sparkle is one of those things that I look forward to most about the season. Ah sparkle! Not that you need the holidays as an excuse to open up the fizz. It's perfect to enjoy all year!
Currently in my wine rack for sipping on during the holidays:
Vincent de la Remondiere Cuvee Reserve Brut Cremant de Bourgogne $18.95
I've had this one many times before and usually keep a bottle or two on hand. It's a delicious sparkling wine from Burgundy France. Made in the same method as Champagne, it cannot be labeled as a "Champagne" since it's not from the Champagne region. Instead, it is labeled as a Cremant (de Bourgogne).
Freixenet Cordon Negro Brut $13.95
A Spanish cava that's perfect for making mimosas Christmas morning. Also made in the same method as Champagne but using different grape varieties.
Look what Santa left!
Looks like he drank some.
For shame that I currently don't have any bubbly from Ontario. Now I must go pick out a bottle and start the holiday movie watching. First up, Elf!
This past Saturday afternoon I eagerly went to the Summerhill LCBO for a special sampling event. Donald Ziraldo, a pioneer of Canadian icewine, was pouring his new creation labeled "Equifera".
I was excited to meet the famous Donald Ziraldo. He co-founded Inniskillin Winery in 1974 and has been so instrumental in putting Canada on the wine map. He was just as charismatic and friendly as people have described. I had fun just hanging out at the tasting table sampling, listening to him talk about icewine to all the eager tasters. Of course, the refills were also a bonus.
Equifera Estate Winery is located on the Niagara Escarpment. It's a 50 acre Estate which used to be the home of champion racehorses in the 50s and 60s. The name Equifera means "Wild Horse" and is derived from the Latin "Equus Ferus". This winery in unique because it only makes icewine. The grapes used to make icewine are hand picked when temperatures reach well below zero and cause the grapes to freeze. The Vidal, Riesling and Cabernet Franc wines of Equifera are the result of "extreme winemaking".
Aromas of lush, tropical fruit including lychee, mango and dried apricots. Secondary layers of grapefruit and pineapple notes. The rich viscosity of this Vidal leads to a long, rich finish in the mouth. - www.equiferaicewine.com
Sounds good doesn't it!
The secret to icewine, the real secret is the acidity from our cool climate region that balances off the sugar in your mouth...that's the secret to great icewine, that balance, that delicate balance between sugar and acid. - Donald Ziraldo
Below is a video by Donald taking you through wine country, describing not only his Equifera but icewine in general and what goes into making it. I picked up a personally signed bottle of the 2008 Vidal as well as an autographed copy of "Icewine: Extreme Winemaking" written by Ziraldo himself and Karl Kaiser. I felt like such a wine groupie with all my autographed items! I'm a fan, what can I say. Thanks Donald! I love what's written on the front page of the book: "Luxury Begins At... -10 ºC".
For more information on Equifera and Donald Ziraldo:
