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| Celebrating Champagne |
| By Radhika Puar |
| The association of Champagne with celebration has been so long that a celebration without champagne does not even count as one for many. In 2010, it was decided to celebrate champagne and raise a toast to Champagne – with champagne, of course. A Friday in the latter fortnight of October was selected as Champagne Day. |
| On the occasion of the sixth annual Champagne Day, Rajiv Singhal, Ambassador of Champagne to India, invited a select group to a coastal themed fine dining brunch at Amaranta – the signature restaurant at The Oberoi Gurgaon. This year was special, because UNESCO declared the hillsides, houses and cellars of champagne a "world heritage site", so there was more to celebrate. |
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The right temperature |
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| Mr. Singhal told us that the unique 10 champagne brunch, that we would be enjoying, was a regular offer by the hotel for its guests and for the first time in almost 10 years of promoting champagne, he had had to add nothing. He underlined that this was in line with the forward looking vision in the food and beverage services of The Oberoi Group for which the Champenoise conferred a Diploma of Honour on its President, Mr. Kapil Chopra. |
| The concept of this "brunch" was introduced by the hotel's Sommelier, Rakesh Awagadhe, as he presented the first flutes in his lair – the wine cellar. As we sat down in the restaurant, the "menu" was placed in front of us. |
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A spread of ten champagnes |
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| 10 champagnes were being presented that afternoon – a choice from G.H. Mumm Brut Cordon Rouge, Taittinger Reserve Brut, Lanson Brut, Drappier Carte d'Or Brut, Piper Heidsieck Brut, Veuve Clicquot Brut, Devaux Cuvee D Brut, Moët et Chandon Brut Imperial, Drappier Rosé and Lanson Rosé. In the age of iPad menus, the champagne selection was uniquely personally interactive. All labels were poured in the tagged flutes for us to taste and select what we would go with during the course of the meal. Mr. Singhal offered that we could choose all ten – as tempting as that may be – but I thought that too much choice would be confusing, so I chose: |
| GH Mumm Brut Cordon Rouge: A blend of the three grapes Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. Pale yellow with hints of oak and nuts, fresh fruit like peach and tropical fruits like lychee and pineapple, on the nose. Fresh and lean with a long creamy evolution. |
| Taittinger Reserve Brut: A blend of 40% Chardonnay and 60% Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. "Old gold" colour and open, floral and very expressive on the nose. Notes of white flowers, vanilla, stone fruit (like peach), and brioche. Very fresh, it had a slightly fattier texture because of the Chardonnay dominance. Creamy, soft and delicate palate. |
| Piper Heidsieck: A blend of majority Pinot Noir. Light bright yellow and very fruity on the nose with lots of apple and pear. Full bodied with a linear palate which reaffirms the yeast on the nose.
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| Moët et Chandon: A blend of 40% Pinot Noir, 40% Pinot Meunier and 20% Chardonnay. Light, bright gold colour with a distinctly mineral nose. Notes of green apple, white peach and a hint of poire William. A creamy palate with a very minerally finish.
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| Drappier Rosé: Totally Pinot Noir based with a lovely salmon pink colour elaborated by the Saignée method. Plenty of medium ripe red fruit, stone fruit, some strawberry, and minerality on the nose. Well structured that evolves to show some light tannins, and a lingering finish. |
| Personalised menus for each of us detailed the 5 course spread put together by Chef Manish. In deference to tradition, an assortment of breads and flavoured papads were laid out with pickles and powders. Much ignored and considered table appointments by many, I must say the prawn pickle with the papad was outstanding. I got some with the Drappier Rosé and thought that the combination was a must try. |
| We started off with a soup, and I went vegetarian – the tomato rasam (Andhra lentil crisp, charred pineapple salsa) poured from a French press. A consensus round the table placed Veuve Clicquot (not in my choices) as the one that matched flavours. |
| The appetizers came next. "Net Bread" with palli palayam chicken, lamb chukka, mustard steamed bekti and pepper fried prawn. Of these, I loved the chukka (a kebab of well marinated tender lamb) so much that I shamelessly order seconds! The chukka paired well with GH Mumm, mustard bekti with Taittinger, and the prawn with Moët. |
| The appetizers came next. "Net Bread" with palli palayam chicken, lamb chukka, mustard steamed bekti and pepper fried prawn. Of these, I loved the chukka (a kebab of well marinated tender lamb) so much that I shamelessly order seconds! The chukka paired well with GH Mumm, mustard bekti with Taittinger, and the prawn with Moët. |
| For the mains, I opted for the banana leaf wrapped lobster, venchina mamsam, and Kerala fish curry accompanied by ragi upma, bacon and coriander rice, and prawn rice. Exquisite and absolutely delicious were my thoughts for the spread. I enjoyed the mamsam with Drappier Rosé, lobster with GH Mumm and even Piper Heidsieck. The fish was pairing well with both Moët and GH Mumm. |
| Pre-dessert was an almond idli with sweet sambhar. The idli was nice and tasty, but the sweet sambhar I gave a miss. The table consensus still veered towards the Veuve Clicquot as the one to pair well with most of the plates, and I might recommend this option while enjoy your time at the Amaranta brunch. |
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Dessert platter or abstract art? |
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| The grand finale was dessert which was a nutmeg and black pepper Goan pudding, Elaneer payasam, and green apple jalebi. A delectable dessert platter inspired by an artists' canvas was also placed for sharing, but was so well presented that we could keep enjoying the feast for our eyes. I am glad we did partake, because the molecular gastronomy inspired rabri was presented as a little water balloon – scoop up to your mouth where it burst and all the sweet goodness and flavour of rabdi was released. The jalebi was crisp and crunchy on the outside while being soft with a tart flavour on the inside and a seamless match with the rabdi and Taittinger. I paired the Goan pudding with Drappier Rosé. I did not find a great match for the payasam. |
| A typically French 3 hour long brunch was peppered with incredible anecdotes around champagne. All of us at the table had been guests in the region, and we shared our experiences. I should re-iterate that this culinary journey (including the range of Champagne) are available regularly every Sunday as part of the "Amaranta Brunch" that is priced at a very attractive Rs. 3500 per person ++. |
| Accessibility is the key message, because any champagne lover can enjoy this feast with the widest possible Champagne spread. |
| Radhika Puar was a guest of the Comité Champagne for this brunch. |
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