Not from WoodWinters of course! But the supermarkets are at it again and it’s really made us think …
Douglas was lucky enough to be invited to take part in the Champagne Academy at the start of the summer but he did not come back singing the praises of many of the Grand Marques! Too much of the ‘terroir’ is full of rusting metal, razors, plastic and dead batteries from Parisian rubbish! Only producers who care about their soil can truly talk of terroir in champagne. But it’s not just the rubbish, the rest of it is BS!
We totally agree with Jancis Robinson who was quoted after a Dispatches programme as saying that “From my point of view perhaps about 30% of all champagne is worth the money.”
I think that Champagne has really shot itself in the foot with this one! Surely people will start to see it as a commodity and no longer a premium product? I think that half price offers of these champagnes make the job of independents much harder - or does it? We don’t have to list anything that does not fit the quality:value ratio for our company and so have taken the radical (?) decision this week to take all the Grand Marque champagnes of our shelves! Frankly, I don’t know what has taken us so long.
We’re not alone in the independent sector! “***k ‘em!” said Noel Young ;-) and Mike Watson of the Secret Cellar said it was something he had been considering for some time.
We enjoyed a bottle of Jacques Selosse Initiale on Friday (after the tasting) - now that’s a special bottle of champagne! Larmandier-Bernier small production, biodynamic made by people passionate about the wine and not with marketing budgets and brand ambassadors arrives this week into our stores and is a much better spend at £29 than any Grand Marque at double that price!
But consider the alternatives: Ferghettina’s Franciacorta comes in at £18-£24 and is a massive leap in quality above similar priced champagnes. Even Pelorus - the sparkling wine from Cloudy Bay is realistic at £15. Our Mas Macia Cava at £7.75 (or the Brut Nature) is not at all bad either!
Cheers!
PS We love Krug, DP Oenoteque, old Cristal and a few others which can be named on request!
