Paul-Etienne Saint Germain Champagne Grand Cru Blanc De Noirs 'Exception'

Very nice for a relatively modest NV. Demure mousse of small bubbles. Decent aroma I associate with BdN, toasty, breads and honeyed. Light to medium weight. Good acidity and balance. The flavor is good; you just wish there was more of it. It seems to be an NM champagne but the bottle does not carry that designation so the grapes could have been sourced from anywhere.

3rd tasting of this, see previous notes. Had with tomato broth, bacon and cheese. Unorthodox but seemed to work. A bit disappointed this time. Nice mousse and body but quite simple aroma and flavor, primarily yellow apples. Acidity more soft than i remembered and did at times struggle to keep up with the tomatoes. Finish could have been longer too, however not in any way an unpleasant experience overall and still very good value for money.

2nd tasting of this, this time with a somewhat unorthodox food pairing with roasted bell peppers and cock-a-leekie. The thick broth with chicken, leeks and prunes seems to work quite well with the heavy body of this Pinot Noir only wine. Dense body, soft mousse and a quite long finish. If paired congruently remember to serve this wine sufficiently chilled. As the champagne quickly warmed up the mousse dampened, the body became somewhat dominating and an ever so slight bitterness …

Wow! I dont have many notes to it as i am not completly sober. Light red berryes, apple, pears and young fruit. Very nice in the mouth and a really fine champagne

Stella's Birthday Dinner (Tosca Restaurant, Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Hong Kong) : Light almost silvery straw colour. Very fine mousse and very elegant and persistent streams of fast-moving tiny bubbles. The nose is gorgeous lifted high piano notes of Pinot with the slightest hint of toast and that seems very well rounded and at maturity. Palate is sharp and dry in a very refreshing and sophisticated poise with beautiful razor-sharp Pinot white fruit of Chinese pear, apricot and peach with attractively understated …