Thirsty Thursday@ 1 Nov

Again it's Thirsty Thursday at Hermitage. The theme for tonight is Champagne/Sparkling. Heavenlicious Bubblies paired with foie gras, escargot, assorted cheese, ham and baguette brought in from London the very morning by M.

Following are the wines we had:
Old Acres Cava Brut: @29sgd
Nose: Bready, pungent, cockroach. (no kidding)
Palate: medium body with bitter tannin.
Length: Short to medium:
Ratings: 3.0/5 (Interesting cockroach nose with big complex nose but that is all about it. Probably a good Cava during blind tasting to fool pll)

Champagne Jacquart:@77SGD
Nose: Intense brioche, yeasty. Beautiful
Palate: Nice citrus attack, structured and full.
Length: Medium to long
Ratings:3.6/5 ( this is the WOTN in my opinion. Big muscular structure and intense brioche nose at an extremely cheap price. Definitely a champagne that could hardly be match in terms of QPR. )

Bollinger Special Cuvee Brut NV:@109SGD
Nose: Citrus and toasty
Palate: Dry, lemon citrus.
Length Medium to long
Ratings: 3.5/5 ( Bollinger seldom disappoints and this is good for those seeking mid level muscular yeasty bubblies)

Moet Chandon Brut Rose Imperial:@105SGD
Nose: Sweet, licorice and citrus
Palate: Slight sugar coating. medium body
Length: medium
Ratings 3.4/5 (nothing to shout about. not much complexity and structure)

Veuve Cliquot Vintage Rich 1999:@124SGD
Nose: intense Honeyed and citrus
Palate: Heavy sugar coat
Length: medium
Ratings: 3.4 to 3.7/5( could improved further with much aged. Probably 10-20years later when the over-sweetness reduced and a more mellow complex secondary flavor emerge)


Verdict: I've chosen the Jacquart as the Wine of the Night due to the extremely good quality price ratio that it brings about. It definitely could be on par with the other major Champagne house Non-Vintages (Tattinger, Moet, Veuve, Deutz). It is big, structured, and intense yeasty but probably could be improved in terms of elegance and purity. However, for the price of 77SGD, you could not ask for more.