Until now, when I thought of Moet & Chandon Champagne, images of four star restaurants came to mind, weddings that appear in the NY Times, or a lavish New Year's Eve in Monaco, all good, but I now know that this view was missing the many, the boundless, occasions there are to enjoy this fabulous wine.
To prove the point Elise Losfelt,the charming, well spoken, exquisitely French, winemaker and oenologist for Moet & Chandon, took her champagne manifesto to the streets. Do read on.
In a most unlikely spot, on Clinton Street in the Lower East Side.
Elise hosted a fabulous dinner paired with five spectacular Champagnes.
The dinner was held at Seoul Chicken, a restaurant created by Top Chef contestant culinary wizard Chaz Brown, it is Asia meets Dixie, serving up an alchemy of flavors that, frankly, only a great Champagne can truly enrich.
Sure I was skeptical when I got the invite. Not knowing quite what to expect, but as the wine flowed and the dishes arrived it was a sheer delight.
The market fish crudo, yuzu, coconut, radish, celery, pear was ethereal with the Moet & Chandon Imperial Brut.
And then...
Yellow curry mussels, kafir lime, chrysanthemum leaf, pastis, lemon served with the Moet & Chandon 2006 Grand Vintage Rose. It was an extraordinary pairing like a blossoming patch of summer flowers in a ripened fruit orchard on the seaside.
Elise explained the extensive, carefully orchestrated, efforts that go into making Moet & Chandon Champagnes consistent and exceptional year after year, and then a vintage comes along, perhaps once in a decade or so, where the harvest is so good that a vintage champagne can be made. In recent history that was 2006 and what a vintage it was.
We tasted the Moet & Chandon 2006 Grand Vintage Brut, in a pairing I never would have dreamed up, southern-style fried chicken, five spices, herbed salad, and exotic sauces. No other words to describe this but "I Love You."
Elise, a young and brilliant, 6th generation woman winemaker, discussed the critically acclaimed 2006 Grand Vintage Brut (which earned 94 points from Wine Spectator) and the 2006 Grand Vintage Rosé with magnificent clarity and intimate passion. It is quote a story. For the record she returned to the wine after a year in finance, they all do.
This evening Elise also had for us the magnificent, luxuriant, Moet & Chandon Nectar Imperial Rose that was poured for a light dessert of coconut gelato, asian pear, fermented yazu paste, cilantro oil and black pepper. Never has the word nectar had so much meaning.
A fabulous event and a whole new perspective on the versatility of Champagne.
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Seoul Chicken LES 71 Clinton Street New York, NY 10002
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