Vintage
bubbles for a half century
Champagne
Drappier Grande Sendrée 1999
±R395.00
Available from Manuka Café & Wine Boutiques countrywide; Caroline’s Fine
Wines and Wine Concepts in Cape Town; Norman Goodfellows and Croft & Co in
Johannesburg; La Cotte in Franschhoek; The Wine Village in Hermanus; and St
Francis Bottle Store in St Francis.
A
great deal can happen in half a century – as it can in a day: a man can walk
on the moon, and take a long walk to freedom; cities can be built, and
towers and walls can be brought down; the world’s citizens can open their
hearts to thousands touched by a tsunami, and turn their backs on thousands
of others ravaged by disease or hunted by genocide; two men can win the
greatest title in tennis five times in a row, each; and a printed book can
be replaced by digital versions, readable on laptops, PDAs and … telephones,
but often they aren’t.
It seemed, therefore, fitting that I didn’t let Philip’s 50th
birthday pass without opening a bottle of what some of us are encouraged to
sip in victory – and defeat. It was Madame Lily Bollinger who is responsible
for this. When asked how she enjoyed a glass of Bollinger, she replied: ‘I
drink it when I'm happy and when I'm sad. Sometimes I drink it when I'm
alone. When I have company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it when
I'm not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it - unless
I'm thirsty of course.’
So, I acquired and chilled with great care a bottle of
Drappier’s Grande Sendrée 1999, the house’s Cuvée de Prestige Brut
Millésimé, or vintage-dated brut.
Drappier, owned by André and Michel Drappier, is located at
Urville in the Côte des Bar. The house owns and farms 40 hectares of
vineyards plus a further 12 in association with their owners. The vineyards
are planted to pinot noir (70%), chardonnay (15%) and pinot meunier (15%).
Production tops 70 000 cases, or 850 000 bottles, and, at any one time,
Drappier holds some 200 000 cases in stock – that’s 2.4 million bottles.
Only chardonnay (55%) and pinot noir are used for Grande
Sendrée. The grapes come from a plot planted over 70 years ago.
Poured into champagne flutes with thin rims, the Grande
Sendrée 1999 was a deep golden hue. Tiny bubbles raced to the surface,
forming an attractive and long-lasting mousse on the surface. It was very
lemon fragrant and, naturally given its age, showing a great deal of honey
and brioche. In the mouth, it was possibly the richest champagne I have
tasted. The mousse was creamy, the core still fruity and zesty, but the
overall impression was one of elegance and finesse overlain with a glorious
weight and texture.
Note:This wine is imported by Cuvées Classiques (www.cuveesclassiques.co.za),
situated in the Palms Décor and Lifestyle Centre in Sir Lowry Road, Cape
Town. They pitch themselves as the champagne experts and aim to source high
quality, well-priced champagnes for the ‘discerning consumer, who
appreciates the essential characteristics of Champagne rather than the hype
surrounding a name’. Other marques in their portfolio include Jacquesson,
Duval-Leroy, Bruno Paillard, Colin, Marguet Pere et Fils, Lallier and
Georges Lacombe.
Verdict: The Grande Sendrée 1999
certainly lived up to its price tag and my expectations. Philip loved it;
I’m pleased I bought it.
Foreign
fling