Perrier Jouet
“On Valentines’ Day I would always buy boxed sets of Perrier-Jouet Champagne with matching glasses so my guests would have a memoir of the evening,” said a well-connected restaurateur at a recent lunch to celebrate past and present vintages of the House of Perrier-Jouet Fleur De Champagne Portfolio.
Of course, you know the House of Perrier-Jouet brand – it is easily recognizable by the floral anemone design created by Emile Galle, the master glassmaker of the Art Nouveau movement, in 1902. Just looking at the bottle makes one feel happy, gay, and in the mood to celebrate something fun. And it also takes one back to the fabled Belle Epoque period in Paris, when appreciation of gastronomy, wine, and the arts were at its peak.
Fabien Gay PJ Regional Director
The star of today’s luncheon is the guardian of the Perrier-Jouet house style since 1993, Herve Deschamps, a very charming, well-spoken gentleman charged with enormous responsibility, as he is only the seventh Chef de Cave in Perrier-Jouet’s two hundred year history. As you might suspect, he grew up in the Champagne region where his grandfather grew grapes and sold them to the large Champagne houses. Entranced by the magic of how grapes grown on the best soil turn up in the bottles of the world’s most coveted champagne, young M. Deschamps studied and earned degrees in agriculture and oenology at the university in Dijon, then joined Perrier-Jouet in 1983 as oenologist in charge of the fermentation process and cellar aging of wines before rising to his current position.
In addition to showcasing top vintages, the tasting lunch was also an opportunity to see how easily one can pair the champagne with food. Most Americans consider champagne appropriate for only an aperitif or a toast, yet the Perrier-Jouet champagnes paired well with every course. Upon arrival, guests were poured the Perrier-Jouet Fleur de Champagne Brut 2000, with its crisp, subtle brioche and apple nose.
lobster
Perrier-Jouet Fleur de Champagne 1998 (in magnum) was paired with the Lobster salad with avocado and citrus vinaigrette, and proved a perfect partner The citrus of the salad’s dressing matched the hint of citrus in the champagne, and the light body of the champagne matched the texture of the dish, both in weight and tropical spirit. As for technical details of the 1998, it was a year of global warming with a very hot August which paved the way for very high sugar and potential alcohol (not a good thing in Champagne). Yet Mr. Deschamps was able to work his magic in the cellar and create a spectacular cuvee (Chardonnay 50%, Pinot Noir 45%, and 5% Pinot Meunier).
The second course of Roast foie gras, buttered radishes, and sweet onion cream was paired with Perrier-Jouet Fleur de Champagne 1999, a very aromatic wine opening with white flowers and a touch of honey and ending with a hint of brioche. It was really a perfect and refreshing pairing compared to Sauternes, which is traditionally paired with foie gras. The 1999 gave the dish a refreshing new lightness.
menu
Perrier-Jouet Fleur Blancs de Blancs 2000 was paired with the main course of braised turbot, asparagus, and caviar cream sauce. Blanc de Blanc means Chardonnay only, and this vintage was sourced from a single vineyard in a single year. Mr. Deschamps explained that only two parcels are used in the blend, Bourons-Leroy and Bourons du Midi located in the village of Cremant. Champagne aficionados would be interested to know that the conditions in the parcel enable vines to easily bypass the thin layer of topsoil and take root into the pure limestone. This wine is produced in such small quantities every country in the world, I learn, fights for allocation.
Dessert, described as Yuzu crème turned out to be a refreshing sorbet from this citrus-like Yuzu fruit, combined with a long rectangle of cake, was a wonderful pairing with the Perrier-Jouet 2002 Fleur De Champagne Rose, made from 55% Pinot Noir and 45% Chardonnay. On the nose, one can detect floral notes of peony and rose, and on the palate, silky flavors of strawberry and raspberry. Once the grapes are pressed and racked, the clear juice is transported to Epernay for fermentation in modern stainless steel tanks. Once all the base wines are fermented M. Deschamps must taste from over 300 separate lots to choose the best, which are blended into the final cuvee.
dessert
So now, you are probably wondering what it must have been like to sit next to a grand master with such a sophisticated, well-schooled nose and palate. And you can imagine that as a journalist and wine scholar, I was bubbling over with questions. Yet nothing I could ask M. Deschamps could be explained in words. Asking him how he whittles down 300 base wines to just a few for the final cuvee would be like asking a fish how it knows how to swim. One suspects a Chef de Cave like Mr. Deschamps has a natural instinct for flavor combinations that must have been developed in childhood at his grandfather’s vineyard, verified at oenology school, and perfected as assistant to his predecessor Andre Bavaret.
Ed McCarthy Champagne for Dummies
All in all, a spectacular opportunity to sample the world’s best vintage champagne by the side of a grand master. At the conclusion of the luncheon, when asked which vintage was his favorite, M. Deschamps could only laugh. “They are all my children. I cannot decide between them.”
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