A good excuse for a bottle of fizz

Today marks six years since my partner moved to England. I wanted to open something good, but I fear I have fallen slightly below par.

Champagne Brut Chardonnay 1998, Pol Roger

This has a very pure nose of lemon fruit with a hint of minerality. That, sadly, is pretty much it; it really lacks complexity. The palate also has good lemon fruit, some minerality and a hint of weight, but is really quite linear and direct. The acid is too fierce and there is not enough of anything else to balance it out. The mousse is also not as fine as one might hope for from a Pol Roger wine. It is a refreshing drink, with enough fruit and minerality to help one plough through the bottle, but it is sadly not up to the Pol standard. At least it is better than the straight [link2post id=”1252″]vintage 1998[/link2post], but I think the 1236″]Gratien NV Blanc des Blancs I had recently is considerably better than this. It was a lot cheaper, too.