Veuve Fourny Grande Réserve Brut Vertus Premier Cru NV
“Bloody terrific fizz these Fournys. My first experience of them and wow, this is what it’s all about. Grande Reserve is a blend of 80% chardonnay and 20% pinot noir/pinot meunier. 30-40% reserve wine from previous two vintages. In the overall landscape – even in such competitive Champagne times – I’d reckon $65 is very good value for what’s in the bottle here.“
Profile
“Super fine, super intensity. All crusty bread and biscuits, lemons and pears – and both Granny Smith and red apples. Both plush and piercing at once. Bit of aldehyde action but when in balance, I rarely mind that. Almost a brineyness here. It’s a beauty. A definite buy recommendation.”
So said Wine Front’s Campbell Mattinson. Our buyers were well excited about this one too, having tried it at a Fourny lunch at Aria a little while back. Given the opportunity to share this highly regarded grower Champagne with you Mofos, they snapped it up.
Focussing on the truth of their Vertus vineyards (with an average of over 45 years vine age – very mature for Champagne) and minimal winemaking intervention, as well as bottling under the more reliable DAIM cork (as opposed to the fickle natural product) the Fourny brothers Emmanuel and Charles-Henry’s driving goal is to be able to host tastings in Australia and for them to say “your wines are wonderful!”
Mission accomplished, boys
Full price $65.00 from winery on 12 December 2016.
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It’s cool, we get it, you want to know absolutely everything about this wine. Well here you go, go nuts.
Specs
- Region
- Champagne
- Vintage
- NV
- Cellaring
- 2023
- Preservatives
- Sulphites
- Alcohol by Vol.
- 12.0%
- Closure
- Cork
- Bottle Vol
- 750mL
- Blend Info
- 80% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Noir
- Serving Temp.
- 8.0°C
Producer
Veuve Fourny & Fils
With five generations of family winemaking and 158 years of Champagne production in their historr, Veuve Fourny & Fils is truly a superior French producer. A Premier Cru winery celebrated for their expressive and elegant Champagnes, Veuve Fourny & Fils is currently in the hands of brothers, Charles and Emmanuel Fourny who took over the family house in 1993. The passionate siblings are focused on quality - crafting pure, expressive and complex "tailor made" cuvées that showcase the magnificence of their Vertus terroir. Utilising vineyards which were grafted by their grandfather Albert in 1930 via massale selection, this Champagne house has a powerful advantage that ensures their wines are marked with complexity and regularity, which no doubt will be appreciated and treasured for many, many more years to come.
Region
Champagne
Champagne is not generic sparkling wine, it's a region. There I said it. Get it right people. The reason the French get their lingerie in a twizzle when we call Trilogy 'Champoyne' is the history, the money and the angst that have all gone into making Champagne what it is today: a bureaucratic, strictly controlled, marketing-driven behemoth, that still manages to pump out some of the world's finest and most consistent wines. Adding bubbles to wine was a masterstroke of genius, and makes wine from marginal regions not only palatable, but unique and eminently desirable. But it's the way the grapes are grown, the land they're grown in, and the way the bubbles are generated that makes traditional method sparkling (which all Champagne is) special. There will always be alternatives, but none have the history and marketing power of the luxury Champagne powerhouses. You're not buying wine; you're buying a brand name. And that's ok.
The rules are there ain’t no rules, but here are some foods we think will work pretty well with this wine...
Goes with
Salt & pepper squid
Ingredients
- 3 (about 600g) large cleaned squid hoods
- 1L (4 cups) vegetable oil
- 40g (1/4 cup) plain flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground white pepper
- 1 tsp Chinese five-spice
- 1/2 tsp chilli powder
- Lemon wedges and soy sauce with
- sliced fresh red chilli, to serve
Directions
- Use a sharp knife to cut through 1 side of each squid hood lengthways. Open out flat with inside surface facing up and score surface diagonally. Cut into 3.5cm squares and pat dry with paper towel.
- Heat the oil in a large wok over medium heat until it reaches 190°C on a confectionary/oil thermometer. (Or, add a 5cm cube of bread to the oil - it should turn light golden in 10 seconds.)
- Meanwhile, combine the flour, salt, pepper, Chinese five-spice and chilli in a medium bowl. Add the squid and toss gently to coat.
- Remove half of the squid from the flour mixture and shake off any excess. Add to the oil and cook, turning with a slotted metal spoon, for 2 minutes or until the squid just turns golden and curls. Use the slotted spoon to transfer the squid to a large plate lined with paper towel to drain. Reheat the oil in the wok to 190°C. Repeat with the remaining squid.
- Serve immediately with the lemon wedges and chilli soy sauce.
The wines we remember are about the moments. The people, the places. That’s life. Here are some ideas...