Krug lunch at Murano: the taste of luxury

I've always enjoyed Krug most with food. I recall my first ever mouthful and being struck by its rich, savoury, multifaceted character. It makes demands on you – and I like that in a wine. And, yes, this is most definitely wine, rather than mere fizz, and a wine that demands your attention. The non-vintage Grande Cuvée blend includes several dozen wines from 10 different vintages, some of which might be as mature as 15 years old. After the second fermentation, the wine is aged for six years in bottle 'sur pointes' (upended), so, in total, the Grande Cuvée takes about a decade to make. The vintage wines are also magnificent, but need plenty of time to age. (At home we have a bottle of the 1990 vintage received as a wedding present seven years ago.) Krug's use of wines that have been aged in small oak barrels characterises the house style – something which can polarise consumers, but gives the Champagne more structure, an additional level of flavour and boosts its affinity with food.

Last week I had the great fortune to be invited to lunch at Murano restaurant where Angela Hartnett and her head sommelier Marc-Andréa Lévy have devised a menu to accompany Krug Champagne. We began with amuse bouches and the Grande Cuvée: Parmesan tuiles, Puglian olives, vegetable crisps, gougères, arancini with truffle cream, San Daniele ham, salami and a generous bread basket. This selection alone would have been ideal for lunch! The umami-rich ham worked brilliantly with the tangy, savoury, yet refreshing Grand Cuvée, but what really stood out was the the arancini and truffle cream – sheer bliss and an inspired partner for the wine.

Our first course was scallop with sea bream ceviche with vegetable tempura and horseradish cream served in a separate little bowl. The tempura included an orange segment that was a revelation with the wine – the combination of fresh citrus and crisp batter was perfect. The slightly zesty ceviche, creamy textured and well seasoned with crunchy salt sat neatly alongside the Grande Cuvée.

Next came ravioli of king prawn, shellfish vinaigrette and fennel purée with Krug 2000: opulent, toasty and notably savoury. Whereas the first course was quite clean and pure, this second course rose decadently to the occasion. The fennel was served in raw shavings as well as the purée – an aromatic counter-balance to the sweet richness of the king prawn. It was interesting how the dish had an enlivening effect on the wine, making it taste more youthful and bright.

Our main course of roasted English rose veal, orange chicory, cooking juices and spiced bread was served with Krug 1998 which was a deep golden colour, vinous, savoury, long and complex. The nose in particular hinted at exotic wintery spice. The combination was really special: the orange infused chicory and toasted breadcrumbs chimed perfectly with the wine and Krug just loves juicy red meat.

The cheese course was simply served chunks of Parmesan which, like the proscuitto, being so tasty and rich in umami makes a great partner to complex Champagne. Although it was good with the 1998, it was better still with the fresher tasting Grande Cuvée – this would make a totally luxurious little snack!

Unusually, dessert also turned out to be excellent with the wine. The French have a tendency of serving dry Champagnes with desserts and it generally doesn't work. However, Angela Hartnett's ginger pain perdu, Earl Grey jelly and ginger ice cream was a revelation with these wines (helped by not being too sweet). The rich exotic flavours of ginger and the pain perdu's crunchy caramelised crust worked especially well with the Krug 1998, highlighted by the aromatic bergamot note. Inspired stuff.

Finally, coffee was served with these chic and absolutely delicious salted pistachio chocolates. A lovely detail to conclude a quite remarkable meal.

Murano is offering this menu at £250 per head and more seasonal menus for Krug will follow. The restaurant is also hosting a winemaker dinner with Oliver Krug on November 28th at £175 per head.

Krug is also offering a 'unique dining experience' at a pop up described as the Krug Institute of Happiness from 5th to 8th December at 28 Swain's Lane, overlooking Highgate Cemetery. Nuno Mendes of Viajante is creating a four-course 'happiness themed' menu at £220 per head, part of an all-round endorphin-releasing experience. Further details can be found on the website.

I attended the lunch as a guest of Krug and Murano.

Jacquesson Avize 1996: a Valentine's Day treat

Yesterday was Valentine's Day and a good excuse to open a decent bottle. We'd had a busy day and Nathan had some DIY to do when he got back from work. However, once the chores were done I rustled up a simple supper of smoked salmon, new potatoes and a delicately dressed salad – perfect for some special fizz.

I adore great Champagne and happily avoid overpriced and disappointing Grandes Marques in favour of smaller houses and individual growers. At our wedding we served Gimonnet Premier Cru Cuis bought directly from them and I'll never forget driving towards the Côte des Blancs and seeing the dramatic ridge that boasts so many great Champagne vineyards. I hadn't realised how similar it was to the Côte de Nuits in Burgundy – another thrilling sight for a wine lover. I'll also never forget how the Champagne flowed at our wedding and how we even had several bottles left over (bliss). I'd negotiated corkage per head (rather than per bottle) with our wedding venue, Middle Temple, so there was no need to hold back.

Our Valentine's bottle was also from the Côte des Blancs, but from the Grand Cru village of Avize. I'd been given this bottle as a 40th birthday present by my friend Martine Bounet who works for Fields Morris & Verdin, the importers of Jacquesson. Following her recommendations, I laid it down for a while before deciding to pop the cork yesterday. It had a deep golden yellow colour and an opulent nose of toasted brioche and caramelised tropical fruit as well and complex savoury notes. On the palate there were layers and layers of flavour, but all bone dry (extra-brut), despite the rich concentration. The finish went on and on, tangy, saline and mouthwatering. An amazing, substantial wine that stood up magnificently to the food – a superb match for the smoked salmon, cutting refreshingly through the oily richness. It may well have benefited from longer cellaring (given 1996's unusual combination of high acidity and ripe fruit), but it tasted beautifully harmonious last night. Next up will be a bottle of Krug 1988 – a wedding present that's been maturing nicely in our wine storage cabinet. Maybe for Nathan's 50th next year? We'll see...

If a wine were a person, who would it be and vice versa?

I recently contributed to a book in which I had to describe my most memorable wine of 2010 and the brief included suggesting a celebrity or personality to best represent the wine. This turned out to be the most difficult part of the exercise.

This has always struck me as a useful bit of shorthand to express a wine's character and style but, in practice, it's much more tricky than you'd expect. I remember the first time I heard a wine described in this way. It was a ripe, voluptuous, rather unsubtle Californian Chardonnay that was compared to Dolly Parton. Ingenious, I thought, and far more expressive than a string of pretentious-sounding adjectives that didn't mean much to most people.

When I came to make my recent comparison, it was incredibly challenging. The main problem was that the wine in question is not the most immediately appealing wine, but unfolds with layer upon layer of haunting complexity, leaving you deeply satisfied. I ended up with a shortlist of possible candidates that included actors, writers, musicians and a certain Portuguese football manager. They are all desirable men (I am a heterosexual woman – happily married, mind) and generally quite mature (reflecting the character of the wine) and none of them set out to please in a mainstream, superficial way. Some of them are quite edgy, even having psychological problems. I'm sure this all reveals too much about me and my personal tastes!

The flip side of this is the idea of coming up with a wine that represents a particular person. We're big Arsenal fans so, for example, let's take Arsène Wenger. He is mature, cerebral and uncompromising and physically quite streamlined. I can imagine a top-notch Grand Cru Chablis with bottle age and discrete oak.

On a populist level there is, of course, George Clooney. Beautifully packaged and enjoyable in so many ways, he brings to mind great quality Champagne. Krug Grande Cuvée would fit the bill perfectly – insanely glamorous, but with surprising depth and complexity. Better than Nespresso any day.

Postscript (February 2011)
The book has now been published and fellow contributors include Steven Spurrier, Simon Woods, Tom Cannavan and Richard Hemming. I won't tell you here what was my most memorable bottle of 2010 – you need to buy the book to find out for yourself but, as a teaser, the celebrity I compared it to was Alan Rickman...

Every Wine Tells A Story: a collection of the Most Memorable Bottles of 2010 to Warm the Wine Lover's Soul, as told by 29 International Wine Experts by Tara Devon O'Leary.

http://www.everywinetellsastory.com/
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