ask a sommelier
What are good vintages for Champagne?
— Dave Watson
Dear Dave, A“ good vintage” truly depends on what style you prefer, and if you plan on keeping it or drinking it. A Champagne consumer can actually choose among vintage( single vintage), non-vintage, and cuvée de prestige( a blend of premium vintages). Vintage Champagne tends to be a good buy because the quality is noticeably better than non-vintage, and the price is much lower than that of a cuvée de prestige Champagne.
Before 1985, most vintage Champagne contained 60 – 70 per cent Pinot Noir. Today, 100 per cent Chardonnay wines like Krug’ s Clos Du Mesnil( single vineyard), Billecart-Salmon’ s Clos Saint Hillaire( single vineyard), and Ployez- Jacquemart’ s L. D’ Harbonville are showing elegance and depth, with tremendous aging potential.
If you like rich, honeyed, and chewy, you have many options. How about a Krug 1937? A great vintage that is still drinking well is from the end of WWII: 1945. The standouts: Bollinger and Roederer( the first vintage of Cristal).
If you foray into our Champagne cellar at B & J, there is a vintage for everyone: 1998 Krug; Billecart- Salmon 1998 Cuvée Nicolas- François; Ployez-Jacquemart’ s 2002; and Louis Roederer’ s 2002 Cristal.
Like other cool climate regions, Champagne has been blessed with a run of good-to-exceptional vintages.
— Darren Raeside
Does having the word“ Reserve” on a label justify paying a higher price?
— Stephanie Moreau
Dear Stephanie, You are right to be sceptical. There are many wines with the term Reserva / Riserva / Reserve on the label leading the consumer to believe that the wine is somehow superior to its peers and warrants a higher price tag. In fact, very rarely is there any legal clout behind the term.
Reserva and Gran Reserva wines from Spain are required by law to guarantee consumers that minimum periods of cask and bottle aging have occurred. Italy also has some wines that must meet legal requirements in order to carry the Riserva designation. Barbaresco, Barolo, Brunello di Montalcino, Chianti Classico, and Vino Nobile de Montepulciano can be labelled Riserva and are aged longer than their non-Riserva counterparts. They typically have a slightly higher alcoholic strength than non-Riserva wines.
Theoretically, an Italian or Spanish producer would only choose to use his or her best grapes in these wines because poorer quality grapes would not benefit from extended aging. If you know the producer adheres to this philosophy, then paying a little more for the wine will net you a more serious, structured wine, often with longer aging potential.
The rest of the wine world has very few laws governing the use of this term. Producers outside of Italy and Spain can legally use terms such as Reserva indiscriminately, and some do. Banville & Jones staff will steer you towards producers from around the world who truly reserve such words for their best wines.
— Andrea Eby
How do I become a better taster, and get better at understanding what is on the nose and on the palate?
— Jamie Powney
Dear Jamie, The best advice would be PRAC- TICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE! Your sense of smell is important. Without aromas there can be no taste. Your nose knows.
First, you need to become more familiar with different aromas in order to expand your repertoire of wine descriptions. Explore your own spice cabinet. Go to the grocery store and smell the fruits and vegetables. Now find a way to harness these aromas and remember them. Sometimes an aroma can trigger a memory from the past: nutmeg and cinnamon in a Christmas cake, or freshly picked blueberries after a day in the woods. Whatever you smell in a wine can be as unique to you as your memories, within reason of course. There are specific aromas associated with specific grapes.
There are some simple rules you can follow in the Essential Wine Tasting Guide( on sale for only $ 5.00). This guide outlines everything from wine colour, to aromas, to tactile descriptors. When tasting wine, you can also describe the feel of the wine. Is the wine smooth and creamy or dry and chalky? Is the wine thin and puckering or rich and persistent? As far as tasting ability goes, we can only taste sweet, sour, or bitter. By combining the aromas and textures together you can give a fairly educated description.
Now, write it down. We cannot possibly remember everything, so this is where your wine journal comes in. Keep track of the wines you taste and look back to your notes for reference and comparison.
Further suggestions:
1. Sign up for some Banville & Jones wine education classes( see pages 48 and 49 for details).
2. Start your own Wine Club and meet on a regular basis.
3. Analyze“ one grape at a time.” Try wines with only one grape variety before jumping into blends.
— Karen Nissen
If you have questions for our Sommeliers, please submit them to www. banvilleandjones. com / cellar. aspx.
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