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- Published: 26 December 2011 26 December 2011
There is something about the label of the champagne Folies de la Marquetterie that reaches out to the natural born hedonist and screams: "Open me and drink me!"… and so we did - our first drink on Christmas morning.
The grapes are picked from the area close to the Taittinger family home and this wine is made in limited quantities, only containing the juice from the first press. Dip your nose in deep to catch the effervescing wine on the tip and breathe in through the nostrils to experience a sensation of brioche and ripe peach. The fruit express themselves more fully when the liquid gold asserts it self on the palate and the flavours of pear, peach and subtle toasted bread rebound like atoms in a hadron collider, propelled instead by an excellent balanced acidity.
All in all, a champagne to drink… and drink again!
RRP £51
Fortnum & Mason, Harrods, Alfred the Grape, www.everywine.co.uk
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