99 Jones Street Ultimo NSW 2007
27 bottles of bubbly to try
Thanks to Champagne Jayne for giving me the heads up about this amazing annual event generously provided by the Ultimo Wine Centre. It’s become so popular that this year they held it in the entry foyer of Fox Golden Century in the Entertainment Quarter so there was more space for attendees to move around than the wine shop. Those lucky enough to RSVP early to get on the guest list were provided a tasting glass upon arrival and treated to 27 bottles of champagne to sample — of course I had to try them all. I finally learnt that ‘NV’ stood for Non-Vintage which meant the champagne had a combination of grapes from different vintages/years while other bottles with a specific year on it was made from grapes pertaining to that year only — I hope that’s correct.
The champagne sellers had their work cut out for them constantly pouring their expensive drops of champagne to the eager crowd with a friendly smile and much generosity. Special prices for the event ranged from the very reasonable priced Chateau De L’Aulee Brut Intense NV ($16.95) from the Loire Valley to the highest priced Larmandier Bernier Cremant 2005 ($139.95) closely followed by the Barons de Rothschild Rose NV ($129.95) and Blanc de Blanc NV ($129.95). There was no sign of the more commonly known brands of Moet, Veuve Clicquot, Bollinger and Dom Perignon but Taittinger Brut NV ($71.95) and Prelude NV ($99.95) made an appearance along with Louis Roederer Vintage 2004 ($114.95) and Gosset Brut Excellence NV ($64.95) and Grande Reserve NV ($81.95) which I’ve only just started noticing more in restaurants I’ve dined at like Tabou and Kingsleys.
In the end it was hard to pick a favourite but it was a great event where you could talk shop with the suppliers and learn more about the finer points of champagne. Interesting and tasty canapés were provided by Fox Golden Century by their friendly young staff. Be sure to sign up to the Ultimo Wine Centre mailing list to keep in touch with future wine tasting events.
SNAPSHOT REVIEW:
PROS: Free event, Large range to sample, Tasty canapés, No apparent bad headache from quality champagne the next day
CONS: Must RSVP early to secure a spot, No Bollinger, Dom Pérignon or Cristal to try, Driving home is not an option
MUST TRY: Attending more wine tasting events
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Grab your tasting glass and let's go
Larmandier and Egly Ouriet
Taittinger
Laurent Perrier
Lombard
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