Go for the Oscar Gold with Champagne!
It’s nearly time for the Academy Awards! If you’ve managed to see any of the movies, even those that clock in at under 3½ hours long (thanks for pointing that out, Hugh Grant!), you’ll have seen some very deserving technicians and artists. My favorite thing to have while watching the show is either fried chicken with French fries and a salad (which I use to fool myself into thinking that I’m eating semi-healthily), or Kung Pao chicken, rice, and steamed asparagus with sliced almonds and a clear sauce. I know that sounds more like Superbowl Sunday (which, though disappointing for SF fans this year, was a nail biter). However, this is the Superbowl of entertainment. No matter what foodstuffs you are planning, there is only one beverage that matches perfectly with this event...Champagne!
To cut through my relatively fatty food choices, I like to keep it crisp and clean. A perennial favorite of mine is the Franck Bonville Grand Cru Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne $53.99 (750ml) and Franck Bonville Grand Cru Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne $109.99 (1.5L). Always crisp and clean, with lemon, pastry dough, light cream, and light honey flavors. It is crisp and precise. I buy mags and end up keeping them for a couple of years.
If you are looking for something more exclusive, the 2012 Taittinger "Comtes de Champagne" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne $224.99 99JS 97JG 96JD 96VN 96WE 96WS 95DC 95WA is the way to go. Bright yet floral, this vintage is a plusher one with yellow apples, stone fruits, toasted nuts, clean lemon, and sweet pastry dough notes. One of the best iterations of this bottling.
For something in between the two above styles, the Laurent-Perrier Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature Champagne $89.99 is a definite winner. It is alive with stone fruits, bread dough, lemon curd, and a bracing finish with generous chalk due to soils and the low dosage.
If you’re more of a Pinot Noir person, keep it bright with Pinot-based champagnes that are also low dosage. First and foremost of these are from perennial favorite Pierre Paillard. They also work with low sugar levels, and their Pierre Paillard "Les Parcelles" Grand Cru Extra Brut Bouzy Champagne $49.99 fits the bill. Once again, we have stone fruits, bright cherries, apples, and almonds—all set off by a very creamy mousse!
Further up the scale the 2014 Louis Roederer Brut Champagne $89.99 95WA is super awesome. I had it again this week. Though it has a standard 8g/l dosage, it tastes much drier. The brightness of the 2014 vintage stands out for this one with pear being the dominant fruit. There are also flavors of lemon zest, hard ginger candy, light red fruits, and shortbread. All the staff agreed that it was stunning and fresh.
At the top of the line, of course, there is the Krug "Grande Cuvée" 171ème Édition Brut Champagne $259.99 99JS 97WE 96JG 96WS 94WA. I have yet to meet anyone who says they do not like Krug. Yes, they may prefer one iteration over another, but I’ve never had anyone say that they didn’t like the wine from this iconic producer. This current iteration (for me) shows more of that classic Krug nuttiness with apples, ginger, pastry dough, sea-salted caramel, and that fine and bracing acidity of lemon and pink grapefruit. As always with Krug, a LOT is going on! All these Champagnes are also age-worthy, so you can buy one (or two or three) to drink on Oscar night and keep a couple for next year’s Oscars. The main thing is to have fun, eat something that’s not entirely healthy, drink Champagne and have friends/family present for commentary on the side. “They wore THAT?! What were they thinking?”
Have a great weekend and happy Oscars watching! Don’t forget to set your clock ahead. After the show. That will only make the whole thing seem longer than it actually is!