Volcanic Wine Awards | The Jancis Robinson Story

Champagne tip for British restaurant-goers

Wednesday 31 December 2003 • 1 min read
Harvey Nichols' eight restaurants around Britain will be selling 31 champagnes at retail not restaurant prices throughout January so, for example, last week's wine of the week Larmandier-Bernier, Blanc de Blancs NV Premier Cru, Vertus (see wine of the last week of 2003) will be sold at the table for just £23.50 rather than the usual £47.50 and Dom P 1995 will be £75 at the table rather than the usual restaurant price of £155.

This may be not totally unrelated to the fact that Harvey Nix, AbFab's favourite department store, has retained the same public relations company as the generic champagne promotion body. But for once there is nothing sinister here; just a good deal for wine drinkers.

Not sure about their attempts to compare the various styles of champagne with 'personalities' though. Is Gwyneth Paltrow with her 'pureness and clarity' really the personification of a Blanc de Blancs? (Blonde, yes). And I really don't want to have to think of 'suave, sophisticated,...most elegant' Sean Connery as 'the physical embodiment of a prestige cuvee champagne' every time I sip a glass of Krug, thank you.


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