A few years ago now (and maybe a few more) when I proposed to my wife I decided that I should source a really good French Champagne and make sure that my wife was thoroughly enjoying it before proposing. My wife loves bubbles, she can’t get enough of it. So bubbles and their warming effect was always going to play on my side!
I sourced a bottle of Bollinger La Grande Année 1996. This Champagne only ever gets released in the best years and the 1996 Champagne vintage is regarded as outstanding and some people believe it to be the best since 1928… Champagne drinkers have the longest memories in the world!
It was actually my wife’s birthday which gave me the perfect cover to wake her up before sunrise on a crisp morning and drive her to the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean south of Bondi Beach in Sydney. I don’t think she was 100% thrilled about such an early rise on her birthday but went along with it for the unknown adventure. On driving down to the cliffs she said “Oh, you’re taking me to see a sunrise”. She had told me she’d never seen a sunrise before, although had still been awake many a times when the sun came up but that’s her story to tell, not mine.
So I had the perfect excuse to lay down a picnic blanket, pour us a glass of Bol each, and sit there sipping away as the sun rose, and healthy joggers ran by bemused by two drinkers outdoors that early in the morning. So just as the sun fully appeared I was lubricated enough to pull out the ring and pop the question… And…
So, how was the 1996 Bollinger? It was the best Champagne either of us had ever had and became the benchmark all others have been measured against and, for me, none have beaten. It had the perfect array of bubbles that sat beautifully at the top of the glass. And it was so tasty, very buttery and full of toasty flavours that lasted and lasted in the mouth. And the occasion added to just how good it was, of course. 😉
I recently picked up a couple of bottles of 1996 Boizel Champagne Joyau de France for about $60/bottle at auction. This was a bargain considering its currently being sold online for $235 and I’ve also seen it for $225. There were probably about a dozen lots of this up for auction but the price forced me to show restraint and just bid on two; destined for “special occasions”.
The other night my wife said that she really felt like a champagne, just because. Did it pass the special occasion test? Yep, my wife wanted a champagne and that was enough for me to pop the 1996 Boizel that had been screaming at me to try.
OMFG! It was such a different tasting champagne. Unique in the way you want a great new wine experience to be. It was definitely champagne but came across with its own new angle. It bubbled away with energetic beads and looked so tasty with its foaming mousse at the top. You could smell the toast, nuts and citrus popping out of the bubbles. And it went down so smoothly with flavours of bread and toast layered with a hazelnut spread sprinkled with citrus, and it just didn’t go away finally delivering some biscuits for dessert. Yum!
I’m kicking myself though that I didn’t shake the coin for another couple of bottles of this fine Champagne. Absolutely stunning, especially when the feel of a bargain adds to it. At least I have one more left though and surely that has to be for a special occasion, hasn’t it?
Was it as good as the 1996 Bol? Of course not. 😉
The following evening my wife was again in the mood for a Champagne. I wasn’t going to pop the second bottle already so I pulled out a Jansz NV Premium Cuvee from Tasmania. As usual, and as it was when I was on tour, it was a gorgeous non-vintage sparkling white. To be honest, it’s as good as any standard-line non-vintage French Champagne. Full of flavour and just a fun sparkling. And at about $27/bottle it’s way more than half as good as the 1996 Boizel.
There’s always a good reason to drink good wine, always. Heck, while we were drinking the Boizel was probably when our blog got its 1000th follower (thank you!). There, I plucked out another reason.
Oh, back to the proposal. Of course my wife said yes! She crumbled instantly. Ummm, I never had any doubt. I like a good Champagne too… 😉
The Wine Wankers 
Since Champagne must come from the Champagne region of France, can you recommend an alternative, affordable sparking wine for Christmas?
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If you can get Jansz or Chandon from The Yarra Valley in Aus over your way then you can’t go wrong. Then there are the “English sparkling wine producers”. Look ’em up! 😉
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Champagne most certainly works for me, too – anytime and for any reason!
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I concur! 😉
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The title of this entry is awesome! 🙂 I agree!
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🙂
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I always learn something when I read you guys. I am curious though, how do you find out what nuts are used in a wine? and how does that work exactly? The reason I ask is that I’m allergic to all tree nuts, soy, blueberries, apricots, and a slew of other things. BUT I like wine, I just kind end up staying with what does not throw me into an asthma attack, and I REALLY want to be able to TRY NEW things, with a much safer way in mind.
Do you think it’s something I would find on the wine makers website?
I’m kind of flying blind on this one…but it’s important to me. 🙂
LOVE LOVE LOVE the post…you’re such a romantic 😉
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If nuts dangle anywhere near my wine I aint drinking it! 😉 It should be on the label if the wine has been in contact with nuts in any shape or form.
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Jansz would have to be my very fave sparkling at the moment. A very enjoyable bottle of bubbles
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Yeah, totally!
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What a very sweet rendition of your proposal! Your Champagne story had me drooling though. 😉
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Thank you so much! 🙂
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If you want to try a champagne that’s a little different the Gosset Grand Millésime Etui is pretty much “up there” & at a reasonable price.
If you want an alternative to Champagne some of the Spanish cavas are getting rave reviews & of course there is always Prosecco for a cocktail, or just as it comes for a really fresh, hot day drink.
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Thanks for the tips and for checking us out! Oh, and I fixed “cavas” up for you, I know how frustrating auto-correct can be. Does it hinder more than it helps?
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I don’t drink anymore but in my younger days–in the Ice Age—I loved La Crema Christie–do they still produce that?
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Yes they do, it’s good stuff! Cheers!!
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Lovely story. 🙂
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Thanks Margaret! 🙂
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Being from Kentucky, I’m more of a Bourbon man, but I truly admire your love and appreciation for wine. Thanks for sharing! And so glad she said yes. An oceanside sunrise and picnic was evidently the right choice. 🙂
Cheers!
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Thanks man!
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No excuse needed for a good champagne…
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Correct! 😛
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How gorgeous you are, sourcing that good drop for your lucky wife :). How gorgeous.
I’m curious how you said it only ever gets released in the best years. The best years? How do you know which years are those. Do the grapes look different, or what. Just curious.
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Thank you! When my wife read this she said “well what about every day since then?” 😉
When the weather and rainfall has been spot on and when the quality of the juice is concentrated has and the right balance of acid and sugar, that’s the short version of how they know it is going to be a good year.
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[…] Do we really need a good reason to drink a posh champagne? (thewinewankers.com.au) […]
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There are a few things that can make an ordinary day extraordinary and champaign is certainly one of those things. Some great recommendations here.
Have you ever sampled the Cricova Red Champagne? (or sparkling wine as it had to rebrand itself after the EU moved in naming laws, although it is still produced in accordance with the classical French technology). It is a great choice for those who are not keen on dry wines (I don’t count myself amongst their number as the drier the better I say, but this particular sparkling wine almost changed my mind).
The one I tasted was of a Cabernet-Sauvignon variety. It was of a gorgeous crimson and smelt like summer (berries and fruits and even flowers in the bouquet).
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PS: Pardon the “champaign” in the first line! It was of course supposed to say “champagne” 🙂
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