Expert Advice: Champagne
It’s that time of year again, you pulled out all the stops last year and this February you’re just not sure how to impress. But rather than reach for the cheap plonk you’ll find discounted to high heaven on the supermarket shelves at the very last minute (which, let’s face it is not going to help you in your wooing quest), let us recommend you something that won’t fail to bedazzle this year’s date (and may well guarantee them as booked in for next year too)...
Introducing the Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé NV Champagne - WineChap’s favourite fizz of the moment, and rightly so. We’re not the only ones to note this marvellous vinous offering as amongst the best that money can buy, in fact ‘The Champagne Guide for 2011’ has rated it a top 10 out of 10. A beautiful salmon pink in colour, you can’t fail to notice the fruity explosion unfurl under your nose and on to your palate. Think beautifully plucked strawberries, fresh and juicy, dipped majestically into lashings of silky cream. The result is a full-bodied wine that is undoubtedly heaven-scent. Bubbles-on-tongue will provide the perfect wake-up call, a surprise adrenalin rush at lunchtime or an idyllic pre or post-dinner lingering moment; it’s your call.
There is a haunting, understated beauty to Billecart-Salmon’s wines that can’t help but seep into the ambience once the cork has been popped. So now you’ve got the bottle sorted, the only question that remains is where to enjoy it. Out for dinner or lunch you can find this fine specimen of a bubbly bottle at various fine establishments around town (just ask the GDG to book you in somewhere suitably romantic). Alternatively you can enjoy this glamorous looking and tasting grape juice in a more intimate location by ordering it from the WineChap team. For a well-invested £50 (bottles usually retail at £60+) one of these delicious bottles can be yours to pop wherever the romantic moment takes you.
Rather than getting it delivered to you door (let’s face it you’ll be out when they arrive anyway, and if we sent the bottles to your work you’d only look like an alchy), pop by the office instead. Head along to WineChap HQ (29 Great Queen Street London WC2B 5BB, which is handily located near the glamorous underwear shops of Covent Garden) – Monday to Friday – 9.30am to 6pm and run the risk of either being seduced by a member of the WineChap team or getting a glass of whatever we have open on the day. Or, indeed, both.
WineChap’s hot insider tip: "Champagne rosé chocolates from La Maison du Chocolat are a perfect addition to these elegant bubbles..."
Sophie Mclean, Winechap
