Pommery Winter Champagne~From The Caves Of The Champagne Region~Perfect Even In Summer
by ifif1938 - Written: Aug 18 '08 (Updated Aug 20 '08)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: A very fine champagne,dry and lightly fruity
Cons: None
The Bottom Line: This Champagne is unique and suggested as a Wintertime champagne but is perfect all year...
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| ifif1938's Full Review: Pommery Winter Champagne |
Madame Pompador, the mistress of Louis XV, once said: “Champagne is the only wine that leaves a pretty woman prettier after drinking
I love Champagne, as a matter of fact, I really don't drink much alcohol except on special occasions or some wine with a good meal, but when it comes to champagne I will make an exception anytime.
Just recently while I was on vacation on Marco Island, on the Gulf Coast of Florida, a very dear friend of mine, as a matter of fact, a member of epinions, was vacationing in her winter home in Ft. Myers, about an hour and a half away. She decided to come visit me for the day. To celebrate the occasion of our getting together she surprised me with a bottle of Champagne which she had brought back from the Champagne Region of France a few years ago…Funny thing, she and her hubby went to the same champagne cellar in Reims that my husband and I went to just a few months earlier and we both brought the same champagne back to the states.
So before setting out for the lunch, Jayne showed me her bottle and asked if I had any glasses…(she was so smart to have put the bottle on ice in a cooler for the ride so it was nice and cold). I found a few glasses in the cabinet of the apartment I was staying in, (though they weren't flutes, they served the purpose)…so we celebrated our friendship sitting in the lobby of Eagles Nest, watching people come and go to the pool as we talked, drank and talked some more.
Funny thing too, she brought a bottle called Pommery Wintertime, though it was summer. A winter celebration in the heat of July. But its coolness and sophistication of the taste was just perfect. Regardless of the time of year.
As we drank our bubbly we reminisced about our trips to France, about all the wonderful sights we had seen and of course about the picturesque town of Reims in the Champagne region and the unique experience of going down to the cellars or caves, where all these wonderful bottles of fine effervescent wines come from
Caves: The French word for the Cellars where Champagne is stored miles underground at the perfect temperature that very special bubbly needs for perfection
A little History
To be called Champagne there are some very strict rules that the owners of the vineyards and Champagne wine cellars have to abide by. They have to use special grapes and growing techniques, even the way they are stored and corked all have to be done to a special code and law of these lands. People come from all over the world to visit these caves of Reims and Epernay in order to sample these most famous of all sparkling wines
The Pommery vineyards and cellars are located on 741 acres, a vast property and considered the biggest in the region. In the entire Champagne region there are just 30,000 acres used for the purpose of growing these very special grapes that can be rightfully called Champagne. There are only 3 kinds of grapes that can be used which fall into the classification of Champagne grapes. The soil, the grapes and the way the sun falls on the vineyards all come together to create what we know as Champagne and only that special combination of nature and mans ingenuity in this region can this drink be called by that name
The Chateaux of Pommery is in itself an incredible sight and what an amazing place to take a tour. The name itself has always stood for elegance and has been a driving force in this business of Champagne making since 1840. When Jeanne Alexandrine Louise Melin, married Alexandre Pommery she became the famous Madam Pommery. They were fairly successful but, not until after poor Alexandre's death in 1860, when she declared “I will carry on with the business and take the place of my husband", did the business truly become as famous and world renowned as it did and still is today. She was quite industrious and planned ways to develop new strategies for marketing her Champagnes when she began doing business with the international markets and imported her famous bubbling wines to Russia, England to the United States. She was clearly ahead of her time in ways of doing business. For a woman of that time it was certainly unusual to have such a good head for business.
She used more then 120 chalk quarries from the time of the Romans who had carved them into the hills in the 2nd century….these caves formed the cellars that stretch for 11 miles and have held more then 20 million bottles. It really is mind boggling and quite sight to see.
Our little tour group entered a silent subterranean world after descending a steep staircase of 116 steps, old, old steps, worn smooth by the countless visitors and workers who walked them before us. These are the link between the outside world and this fascinating underground labyrinth which takes you on a journey through time in this unique under world of time and space.
Here, in the dark underground world of shadows, lie the bottles of wines that will be reborn as Champagne with tender loving care when the time is right. Each bottle needs to be rotated on a regular basis and on a precise schedule. Our guide demonstrated the procedure which is very time consuming as they have to keep track of when each bottle was last turned. He told us about the three varietals of grapes used and that some champagne used all three while others just one. The Wintertime vintage, for instance, just used the dark skinned "Blanc de Noirs", meaning literally "white of blacks, a white wine made entirely from black grapes, produced from a dozen Pinot Noir and Meunier grape varieties. Other varieties of the champagne are made from either Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier or a blend of the two (these being the only two black grapes permitted within the Champagne region.
Looking up, you can't miss the bas relief artwork high on the walls depicting the history and technique of creating champagne…. the centerpiece of these pieces of art, carved into stone, is a portrait of the famous Madam herself looking down on this dimly lit silent world she created.
This was truly a fascinating tour which I found extremely interesting and educational but I was getting thirsty.
My timing was right and, since all good tours have to end, poor us, we only had the Champagne tasting upstairs to look forward to…well, we did have to make it back up those 116 steps.
I had been looking forward to that, you can be sure. It was very tempting and hard to resist bringing home a few bottles. That was how Jayne and I ended up with the same vintage. It was a favorite of mine and hers when we tasted all the varieties of champagne they had on display, when we make our choice they packed everything carefully and it was easy to bring home in the special cartons they provided, but now I guess shipping would be the answer, though I'm sure it would bring the price up, the amount saved by buying your bottles there would probably end up costing you the same.
I've since learned that Wintertime is considered a truly refined mature wine with a complexity of the dark skinned Blanc de Noir grapes. They call it a cuvee. It is full bodied, with the taste of dried winter fruits. A winter offering that is innovative with a sensational taste. Especially made for winter but it certainly tasted terrific to us in July.
But I imagine this champagne would be just lovely to sip while the snow is falling, a fireplace is ablaze and a christmas tree is all lit up, with family all around you.
Opening the bottle the pop was suburb, loud and perfect, Jayne knew exactly how to do it without the cork flying away. The color is a straw, golden tone with an amber look, and the scent and taste of apples and fruit. It's not particularly dry, but just dry enough and not too sweet, personally I think it’s the perfect taste of champagne. I'm not at all a connoisseur but I know when I drink something that is good and worthwhile with an exquisite taste, Pommery Wintertime Champagne, certainly fits that description.
A big Merci Beaucoup to my dear friend Jayne for celebrating Wintertime with me in the hot humid days of summertime.
A Votre Sante’ To Your Health!
For those interested in the price of this champagne I've seen it selling on various wine sites for about $60 a bottle
Many thanks to Bruguru for adding this champagne to the data base and if its not to late I'd like to add it to his
Christmas in July write-off even if it is August
I am going to add this review to my French/English write-off as well
Recommended:
Yes
Year: Non-Vintage
Winery Name: Pommery
Varietal: Champagne
Country: France
State or Region: Champagne Region France~Reims
Price: $60-70
Wine Rating Scale: Better than most
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