Thursday, January 22, 2015

Moet & Chandon Nectar Imperial - Thursday, Jan. 22nd

I'm not a big fan of New Year's resolutions. Changing an aspect of your life shouldn't be something that's thought up while lying in bed on the 1st, hungover and coated in the remnants of appetizers and spilled drinks. It is something that requires thought and dedication which, frankly, I always find lacking when I can still taste whiskey on my breath. The only thing I'm motivated to do is brush my teeth and drink coconut water. I suppose that New Year's resolutions, even if people make them and forget about them a few weeks later, are at least a stepping stone towards the thought process of changing what you don't like in your life. I guess that's a pretty decent start.

For me, it means doing reviews again. Things lately have been...hectic. I've been diagnosed with an incurable illness and am on enough medication that I require one of those old man medicine strips to keep track of things. I haven't been drinking much lately and that's really including tea and coffee. I just drink water. Mainly because I have to keep very hydrated and also because the side effects of the medicine mean that water is really all I'm capable of drinking. It sucks, yes. But I'm still here and in far better spirits than I was.

Spirits. Get it? Because alcohol? C'mon, you missed me.

I'm sure you're saying to yourself at this point: "But Bacchus! You said you don't drink much any more and this is a review of champagne!" You'd be correct. A bottle of Moet & Chandon Nectar Imperial was purchased to ring in the new year and I was finally able to pop it and enjoy it recently. And I figure, what a better way to present to you, dear readers, my New Year's resolution than with a bottle of damn fine champagne? So, here it goes. My New Year's resolution is to get back to posting on In With Bacchus. I know I've said it in the past and then disappeared...and I'm sorry for that. I am working on applying myself to this, and my gaming, website as often as I can. Things aren't easy for me but I don't think they're easy for anyone. But enough about me. Let's talk about this champagne, shall we?

According to the Moet & Chandon website, the grape statistics for this are:

40% - 50% Pinot Noir
30% - 40% Pinot Meunier
10% - 20% Chardonnay
Dosing (secondary fermentation sugar) at 45 g/L

This is the bottle. 



It's very classy looking. Classy enough that I did not feel worthy to hold it. I mean, it's champagne. A $56 bottle of champagne which, to me, is a lot. I'm on more of a methode champenoise budget. A bath-tub methode champenoise budget. From your crazy grandpa. Here are the notes:

Nose: Marzipan and honey. Green apple peels. Pineapple; juice but not fresh squeezed. A bit of yeast/bread but not baked bread, more like raw dough before you punch it down. Heather, maybe? There's a...piquante-ness to it I can't place. Not tannin but something cuts through it. Like a woody tang; maple syrup? Nope, it's vanilla extract.

Taste: Bit of heat at the forefront is chased away by baked green apples coated in honey. Very sweet. Candied grapefruit peel. A bit pedantic but..white grape-y. That primary "white grape" flavor hasn't been fermented out. Heat stays but carries with it a cracker taste that fades into a nice finish. If  that sweetness had maintained through it would be cloying. The Chard comes through on the end, man. Very buttery and pear-y. Straight up pear tart.

Overall, this is a very good champagne. I am more of a brut fan myself so the sweetness of it almost took me by surprise. The recommendations for food are all very rich, very fatty foods which I can't agree with because I feel it lacks the acidity to balance with them. So I'd solidly categorize this as a dessert champagne. It'd be best with bright, citrus-y foods like a sorbet/sherbet or some sort of citrus tart. I feel like it'd do well with maybe some not-too-sharp-but-rather-nutty cheese as well. Or, y'know, just in a glass at the end of a meal. Like this:


So cheers, all. And here's to a new beginning. Again.

2 comments:

  1. Hi. I like your latest blog post. I’m a big fan of whiskey in general. So much so we’ve started sourcing and aging coffee beans in whiskey barrels. Any chance you would be up for reviewing our coffee for your blog readers? I can send out some free samples to you. Awesome site by the way.

    Let me know. Thanks.
    John

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    Replies
    1. John,

      Drop me an email at contact@inwithbacchus.com.

      -Bacchus

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