While most Canadians will be celebrating this weekend behind their barbie, perhaps with an irreverent Aussi Shiraz, one might pause to salute the woman who made it all possible. Yes, Queen Victoria would be celebrating her 184^th birthday next Saturday. Trying to find the appropriate salutatory tipple turned out to be a bit of a chore, although bubbly was high on my list. 

After all, no matter how you spell it, the Victorians were never prudish about Sekt (German sparkling wine)! Indeed, it has been erroneously suggested that Sekt was the favourite tipple of German Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg who was born at Schloss Rosenau in 1819. He married Alexandrina Victoria after visiting London in 1839 and during their 18-year marriage, thanks to Sekt, managed to sire nine children. Certainly a significant toast is in order when one considers that Queen Victoria ruled from 1837 to 1901 and survived at least eight known assassination attempts.

For a woman of such stature, my first choice would have been a jeroboam of 1985 La Grande Dame Champagne from the house of Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin. Unfortunately, my cupboard is bare - I shared my last bottle with Julia Child, another grande dame who turns 91 this summer.

And while it may not be in quite the same vintage league, there is the 1993 (a Vintages Essential) at $144.95. This “marque” was created to honour Nicole-Barbe Clicquot (née Ponsardin) who at the age of 27 and upon the death of her husband in 1806 re-launched the family firm under the name of Veuve (meaning widow) Clicquot-Ponsardin. Fortunately, this 1993 La Grande Dame Champagne is definitely worth considering, especially if you enjoy an elegant, seamless Champagne with refined ripe lemon flavours and masses of tiny bubbles, which caress the palate.  

I know that some high rollers might be tempted to drop $348 on a bottle of renowned Salon 1990 Brut Blanc de Blancs Le Mensil, which is featured in the upcoming Classics Catalogue. Based on a recent tasting, however, my advice is save your money.

In fact, if you want to save a lot of money, you might want to pick up a bottle in next Saturday’s Vintages release of one of the best value Champagnes I have tasted in quite some time – the well structured, harmonious Lanson ‘Black Label’ Brut Champagne, a steal at $39.95. My tasting note reads: Light yellow colour. Fine, bright, fairly rich, slightly toasty, ripe lemon nose. Very well structured, dry but not austere, harmonious, gently spicy, ripe red apple/lemon flavours with very good length.

In addition to Victoria’s actual birthday, next Saturday sees a $3 price reduction in the popular Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Reserve Particuliere Champagne, which drops to $38.95 (General List). This straightforward, crisp, ripe red apple, easy-to-quaff style has its admirers. Robert Parker, for instance, gave it an astounding 92 points back in 1998, suggesting that he would be well advised to stick to evaluating robust reds.

When it comes to Sekt, regrettably, neither Albert nor Victoria had any German bubbly to compare to Karl Lingenfelder Satyr a new “methode Champenoise” Vintages In-Store Discovery that was released last month at $36.95.  

Ron Fiorelli, director of the German Wine Information Bureau, brought this unique effort to my attention. Rainer Karl Lingenfelder, the idiosyncratic 13^th generation owner of this 1520 estate, points out that in making Champagne, sugar is added at three stages - first to the base wine increase alcoholic strength (called chaptalization); second, to kick start the secondary fermentation (called triage); and third, after fermentation when the yeast deposit is being removed (called dégorgement) when a sugar solution (dosage) is added for sweetening purposes.

Lingenfelder’s “non-intervention” philosophy focuses on “quality wines of higher distinction (called Praedikatswein), which under German laws are not allowed to be chaptalized. In other words, no sugar can be added at any stage, meaning that the final wine is “a direct reflection of site or terroir.”

To get the secondary fermentation going, freshly-pressed 1995 Riesling Spätlese grape juice was added to the 1994 Riesling Freinsheimer Goldberg Kabinett base wine, which comes from his own vineyatds. After 5 years on the yeast, the wine was disgorged and fresh Riesling Spätlese juice from the 2000 vintage was added as a dosage (again from his Goldberg vineyard).

So how does it taste? Well this may well be the Sekt of all Sekts. With 11.5% alcohol, good acidity and just a hint of honeyed sweetness, it sings ripe Riesling. Deep yellow in colour, the mouthfilling, zesty, ripe apricot and quince flavours go on and on. Only a handful of cases of this perfect Sunday brunch partner are still available. To see which LCBO stores have it in stock (Click Here). Rainer Karl Lingenfelder created two labels for this wine and the one you find here in Ontario is the subdued, more refined, classic edtion.

Finally for bargain basement shoppers, an Italian best buy appearing in next Saturday’s Vintages release is Rotari Brut, which gives the classics a good run for the money at $15.95. This dry, lively, crisp, bubbly blend of 90% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Nero is perfect for those who are more concerned about what is in the bottle than on the label.  

Upcoming: Only a few tickets are left for the Monday, May 26^th New Zealand Wine Fair, which pairs fine food with some 100 exciting wines for $55 at Toronto’s Alice Fazooli’s. For information (Click Here).  

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May 2003 InStore Discovery

Copyright Food & Beverage Testing Institute of Canada 2004
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