WINE: PERRIER JOUET Grand Brut NV

Type: Champagne
Origin: France
Approx Cost: $80
http://www.perrier-jouet.com/

When I die I want to have my coffin engraved like the bottle of the Perrier Joeut Belle Epoque. I think that’s a reasonable request.

After going off them for a while, I’ve come back to non-vintage Champagnes in a big way. It’s getting a bit trickier, since I’ve tried most of the easily available ones, but dammit I’m trying.

Picked this up after seeing it on the cheap at the lovely David Jones wine store in the Food Hall thingy. Normally their mark-up is too ambitious for me, but with a discount it brings the price back into line a little.

Deep gold in colour. Mousse and bead are a bit out of wack, medium mousse and the bead dies a bit too quickly. I don’t think it’s really at it’s best. Nice palate of citrus and apples. Very toasty and creamy. Finish of brioche.

This isn’t really my sort of style of champagne. After another look at the bottle I wasn’t really surprised to see that it is dominated by Pinot Noir grapes with only a little Chardonnay in there (less than Pinot Meuniere even), which I don't usually go crazy over.

The Belle Epoque has a bit more Chardonnay in there, so I might give that a go, but I won’t be coming back to this NV.

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