A taste of France

Here’s a Champagne beloved of the French themselves. They buy it in droves, and indeed it is now the top selling brand in what’s called the ‘off trade’ over there. That simply means it’s taken home to enjoy with friends and family, rather than served in restaurants or bars. The wonderfully eccentric name is simply a derivative from the couple who started the company some 140 years ago: Victor Canard was a barrel maker and his wife a wine grower. Unusually, this is still a family owned company yet it is decidedly modern in its style and approach to sales of the wine.

How does it taste? It’s definitely different from, say, a Veuve Clicquot, which tends to be light, creamy and delicate. A very high proportion of the grapes used for this Champagne are red. For some, it comes as a surprise that Champagne is produced from two red grape varieties, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier plus familiar Chardonnay. It’s up to the blender from a particular Champagne house to determine what the mix shall be, but in the case of Canard, it is based right on the Montagne de Reims, in the heart of the red wine district, so it has always had a certain depth of flavour which derives from these grapes, plus a noticeably high acidity which makes it great with food.

Try a bottle with a lovely fresh turbot, or perhaps a high quality organic roast chicken and prepare to be surprised at how well fizz goes with flavoursome dishes. Alternatively serve it with some charcuterie like salami, ham or classic French pork rillettes (made with shredded belly pork and spices) for a really memorable picnic.

Canard Duchêne non-vintage Brut Champagne, Majestic Wines on special offer, £29.99 reduced to £26.65 per bottle: www.majestic.com

ROZ COOPER: BIOGRAPHY

Roz began her wine career in California, leading wine tours and tasting wines for a wine warehouse near San Francisco. She then ran her own California wine import business in the UK and subsequently became assistant editor of Decanter magazine, then wrote various books on wine including The Wine Almanac. Since then, she has written wine columns in many publications and edited books and magazines, including The Italian Magazine. She’s passionate about green issues including organic and biodynamic winemaking and also works on a voluntary basis with the Galapagos Conservation Trust.
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Tags: Wine of the Week