I went along to the first meeting of the Blackrock Castle Wine Club this evening.
Held in the atmospheric surroundings of Blackrock Castle, with wines supplied by Bubble Brothers
Our MCs for the evening were Billy Forrester, the guv’nor of Bubble Brothers and the charming Valerie, native of the Champagne region.
We opened with some talks from Valerie mixed with some videos that appear to have been produced in the 70s by the Champagne tourist board.
They were long on style (more realistically 70’s porno chic) and a little short on facts. Valerie more than made up for the information shortage with humorous and informative vignettes.
We then moved to the The Castle Bar and Trattoria where we tasted 6 Champagnes.
I thought that there were a couple of absolute crackers amongst them – my pick of the bunch is the Jean Claude Vallois Assemblage Noble Brut. The Andre Clouet vintage was a close second, and I’d be very happy with either in my glass.
There was a very jovial crowd, who were in great form and enthusiastic about the evening. I suspect they could squeeze one or two more in, so by all means contact Bubble Brothers and come along to the next one.
As always, I’ve scanned my notes from the evening for those who wish to decipher my handwriting.
The big numbers in circles are my personal ranking. Sorry Rosé, I just don’t get you.
Tags: blackrock castle, club, wine
Sounds like an interesting night, Brian. Excellent idea to have a champagne tasting after all who wants to splash out on an expensive bottle if they haven’t previously tried it and liked it?
A great start to the wine club and a full attendance by all accounts. Hopefully will manage to get to the next one.
Hi Catherine,
absolutely – champagne is a tough one to take a chance on.
It was my first time in Blackrock Castle, despite living across the river from it. It’s a great venue for this sort of event, plenty of atmosphere!
Hope to see ye at the next one. Languedoc wines btw.
Wow a full house. Must try and make the next one.
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