There were two bottles that sparked my curiosity, mainly because it would be too risky to store them for another prolonged period of time, and that I couldn’t bare the thought of losing them either! So the date was set, my 1982 Dom Pérignon and my 1988 Château Mouton Rothschild were to be enjoyed prior to me leaving the beautiful city of Sydney.

We brought them along to Lotusbar for pre-drinks, followed by a wonderful degustation dinner.

The 1982 Dom Pérignon still had a lovely array of bubbles gently sparkling through the crystal flute. A beautiful golden color dressed with nice honey scents on the nose. The flavors are just bursting with a great chardonnay fruit, fresh, lightly creamy and incredibly toasty with some sweet nutty fruit and butter. Balanced and beautiful like a ballet dancer tip toeing gracefully on our taste buds.

The 1988 Château Mouton Rothschild was another bottle that needed to journey out of the cellar before my departure. Much to my dismay, the cork was slightly soaked through, and slightly pushed out (probably due to a sudden change in temperature during the buying process) and I was rather worried about possibility of a corked Mouton. I even brought the battered bottle over to the Ultimo Wine Centre for Jon Osbeiston, W.D.(wine doctor) to diagnose with a 55% chance to live, due to the heat damage. The thought of keeping it cellared for my intended event in 2012 would just be foolish, so a date was set for the unveiling of the Mouton. It was a gamble, where the odds were only slightly working towards our favour, fingers were crossed and we hoped for the best.

Peggy Lee Dampney, Amanda Ibrahim

After an hour of decanting by Frank (the cork crumbled and needed to be strained out), the familiar and eager Bordeaux flavors came out in a bout of earthiness. This may not be a perfect wine, but the quality is undoubtedly elegant. It’s rich and fruity, with loads of currant, truffles, roasted herbs and cedar on the nose and palate. Full-bodied, with invisibly silky tannins and an a long finish. I could go on and on, as we savoured every drop and exchanged and challenged tasting notes around the table, just ask my knowledgeable friends! (One of them being the Queen of hospitality - Peggy Lee, I can’t imagine sharing something so special with anyone else.)

When paired with Dan Hong’s roasted duck, still plump and pink in the centre, accompanied with beetroot, purple kale, olive and orange jus, it was a match made in heaven.

A toast to new beginnings! Stay tuned while I settle into the city that never sleeps – New York here I come.

Armand de Brignac is the name of a Champagne brand produced by Champagne Cattier, and sold in opaque metallic bottles.

You may recognise Cattier as one of the most affordable French champagnes you can purchase from Vintage Cellars in Australia, but for the premium Brut Gold, just a total of 8 people are involved in making Armand de Brignac. The Cattier family have possessed vineyards in Champagne since 1763.

Or was its sucess due to the accidental endorsement by Jay Z?

Since Jay-Z’s spat with Frederic Rouzaud (managing director of Louis Roederer, which produces Cristal), the rapper vowed to boycott all Roederer’s products after reportedly accusing Mr Rouzaud of racism for saying that he “cannot forbid” hip hop stars from buying his champagne.

David Beckham and George Clooney are also among those won over to Armand de Brignac, which is referred to by drinkers as “Ace of Spades” after the image on its label.

The bottle’s ostentatious design also adds to the “bling” nature of the rap world, with it’s opaque gold bottle and pewter label and the engraved Ace of spades.

Brut Gold is comprised of 40% chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir, and 20% Pinot Meunier. Complex and full-bodied, with light floral notes, a racy fruit charcater, with subtle brioche accents, and a long creamy finish.

The Brut Gold (Ace of Spades) was first launched in 2006, with the Rose and Blanc de Blancs following in 2008.

Becasse

While others are committed to “dry-July”, it’s actually my favorite month for drinking as it is laden with Champagne events. Last year, it was the fantastic events during Dom Perignon week, and this year didn’t fail to disappoint.

The Comité Champagne, together with Vogue Entertaining + Travel collaboratively held a dinner at Becasse, where Justin North created a modern French menu to match my favorite liquid indulgence – French Champagne.

Bollinger’s Australian brand manager, Paul Boothby mentioned that Australia still remains as one of the top 10 countries for Champagne consumption, with 3 Million bottles sold last year (that’s 140,000 bottles consumed more than other countries such as China), and that makes us a very strong Champagne market (with good taste!).

The selection for the night included some beautiful vintages, but we shouldn’t let them steal the show, as the NV’s are usually the harder blends to make. A good vintage comes around five times a decade, and 20% of it goes into the blends to make the non-vintage. The difficulty in creating a consistent flavour and quality in the NV release is far higher.

Justin North has put together a harmonious menu where each course complements and brings out the elegant characteristics of each type of Champagne. Due to the “micro climates” within each appellation, the different terrior and temperatures give each champagne its own unique characteristics, much like different regions for wine.

Canape

Amuse bouche

Escabeche of scampi with gazpacho granita
NV Moët & Chandon Rosé, Epernay

Entree

Raviolo of spanner crab with Champagne cabbage and lemongrass velouté
NV Ruinart Blanc de Blancs, Reims

Middle Course

Fricassée of calf’s tongue, marron and scallop, Jerusalem artichoke
1996 Champagne Lanson Gold Label

Main

Roast Breast and crispy spiced leg of quail with parsnips and dried cranberry jus
NV Larmandier-Bernier Brut Rosé de Saignée, Vertus

Dessert

Citrus tart with strawberry and vanilla yogurt sorbet
1999 Veuve Clicquot Rich, Reims

And to highlight one of my favorite vintages: 1996

Champagne (1996 Lanson)

For an unknown reason, the 1996 vintages are both high in acid and in fruit ripeness, whereas normally, only one of those characteristics shine through. We were served the Lanson – and the best thing? It was poured from magnums, known to have the best volume to liquid ratio, and a gem for the cellar.

DOM PERIGNON WEEK 2008

EXPERIENCE MAGNIFICENCE

Dom Perignon Plenitude Experience

We are inviting you to experience the romance,

passion and luxury of the champagne that knows no compromise.

Accompanied by Dom Perignon’s Greg Williams, explore the three extraordinary expressions of Dom Perignon.

Dom Perignon Blanc, Dom Perignon Rose and Dom Perignon Œnothèque.

Enjoy these exceptional wines with expertly crafted delicacies which allow Dom Perignon

to express its seamless and sensual qualities.

This unique experience is available for 8 guests only

We did a series of three vintages:

Vintage 2000 – matched with Salmon Sashimi
Rosé Vintage 1998 – matched with acorn fed prosciutto
Œnothèque 1993 – matched with oysters in ginger and ponzu

The Œnothèque was beautifully complex, it is a volumptuous wine with a lingering creamy fullness. What makes it so special? Normal champagne vintages are only released after 7 years of aging. Though on top of that, a small portion of each vintage is kept on the lees even longer to continue the evolution and magnify its natural qualities. When a vintage is released for the second time, it merits the Œnothèque label. It indicates that a Dom Perignon vintage has reached either its second peak in maturity, with optimized intensity (15 to 20 years after harvest), or its third peak, with optimized complexity (after 30 years on the lees).

I’m officially Champagne’d out.

It was a beautiful start to the evening with a bottle of 1996 s de salon ‘blanc de blancs’ le mesnil, France

One of the most anticipated 1996 vintage Champagnes, finally arrived! It is made only in great vintages (the decade of the eighties only produced ‘82,’83,’85 and ‘88)  and only from grapes from one village, the grand cru of Mesnil. This village grows the most sought after Chardonnay in Champagne. Graphite, tobacco and coconut aromas and flavors wrap around the firm spine of this elegant, powerful Champagne. Lulls you midpalate, then comes back in a wave of vanilla on the finish. Salon’s production hovers around 8,000 six-bottle cases, so the wine is always hard to come by – and worth every penny. Thank you Peggy, Charlie, Rob C and Rob Y!

And for our est. tasting menu for the night, with matching wines:

tartare of blue fin tuna, cucumber, pink grapefruit, ponzu and white sesame oil
2000 dom perignon, epemay – france

tranche of duck foie gras, shaved pear, cresses, sauternes jelly, toasted brioche
2005 domaine marcel deiss gewOrtztraminer, alsace – france

raviolo of prawns on snow peas, lemongrass and shellfish vinaigrettes
2006 bodega castro martin rias baixas albarino, galicia – spain

steamed snapper fillet, grilled scallop, leek and asparagus, shaved manjimup truffle butter sauce
2005 kumeu river (mate’s vineyard’ chardonnay, auckland – new zealand

roasted, boned squab pigeon, broad beans and morels, pan juices

2004 domaine saint prefert chateauneuf du pape ‘reserve auguste favier’, theme valley – france

pan roasted lamb rib eye, jerusalem artichokes, green peas, potato galette, salad of herbs
2005 luce della vite `lucente’ – tuscany, italy

shaved pineapple, pine nut sorbet, lime and cardamon sauce

passion fruit soufflé

2006 jaboulet muscat de beaumes de venise, rhOne valley – france

vanilla latte cotto, queensland strawberries, spice wafer
2006 wellington iced riesling, south eastern coast – tasmania

Simply divine. I’m spoilt rotten!

…and tonight – Dom Perignon tasting!

Had a small drinks gathering at Sticky bar with a Campari theme, but it ended up being filled with vintage Champagne. I guess I’ll start DP week with a bang!

Want to make my day? Send me a birthday gift! Purchase something from my amazon wishlist and it goes straight to my home

Wines matched for the evening:
Duval-Leroy Brut Vintage 1996 – a beautiful champagne
Domaine Lucien et Andre Brunel 2003 Shiraz – with the veal

Fennel with capers and anchovies

2large fennel bulbs, green tops intact
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 anchovies
Handful of breadcrumbs, not too fine
Freshly cracked pepper
1/2 tbsp capers, rinsed well and patted dry
30g pecorino or parmesan cheese, shaved
1/4 cup young flat-leaf parsley
Salt and pepper

Trimfennel bulbs by discarding tough, external layers. Keep tender fronds fromheads and soak in cold water. Wash bulbs well and cut into thin slices top tobottom. Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil and plunge in fennelslices. Blanch for 2 minutes until tender. Drain and set aside to cool.Meanwhile, heat olive oil gently in a saucepan and add anchovies, stirringuntil dissolved. Add breadcrumbs and a pinch of pepper. Stir for a minute, adddrained fennel slices and mix well. Take from heat and add capers, fennel tops,cheese and parsley. Season with salt and pepper, mix well and transfer to aserving plate. Serves 4

NB: I added microherbs into the mix – and also a handful of unblanched (and thinly diced – on the younger parts of the bulb) fennel for more texture.

Twice-cooked veal shanks withmushrooms and sage

2large veal shanks, trimmed of external fat
1 onion, peeled and quartered
1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
1 stick celery, roughly chopped
200g button mushrooms
2 onions, peeled and finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and cut into chunks
50g butter
150ml cream
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
100g grated parmesan
Big handful fresh sage leaves
Salt and pepper

Placethe veal shanks in a stockpot with the onion, carrot and celery. Cover withwater and bring to the boil. Turn down to a simmer and keep simmering for 90-120 minutes until the meat is tender. Remove from the heat and cool theshanks in the liquid. Once cooled, drain liquid into a saucepan, removing anyfat on the surface, and discard vegetables. Turn the heat to high and reducethe liquid to about 400ml. Remove meat from shanks and cut into bite-sizedpieces (pic1). Fry mushrooms, onion, garlic in the butter until they have softened.Add the reduced stock and cream and simmer for 2 minutes (pic2). Pour the mushroommixture into an oven dish (pic3), with the meat scattered evenly throughout. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs, parmesan and sage on top (pic4) and bake at 170C for an hour (pic 5)
Serves 6.

The process:

Oh yes – that’s crumbed BONE MARROW! Dedicated to Derpderp and Bellisa. Oh it was sooo good.

I have to say, this is probably one of the best recipes ever! The prep time + cook time will take up half your Sunday (but I enjoy it!)

And along with my secret collection… the second reason why I’m flat broke.

On the same day I bought my gun, Angelina also revealed to the press about hers. Conincidence? I think not.
We were meant to be together!

Angelina Jolie brings out the big guns
Sunday, June 1st 2008, 11:34 AM

Angelina Jolie has a gun – and she’s not afraid to use it.

The pregnant mother of four told the U.K.’s Daily Mail that she owns guns similar to the ones she used in “Tomb Raider.” Jolie and partner Brad Pitt are not against having weapons in their house for security reasons, she says.

“If anybody comes into my home and tries to hurt my kids, I’ve no problem shooting them,” she said.

Jolie, 32, has starred as a heat-packing vixen in several action movies – two “Tomb Raider” films, “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” and the upcoming futuristic thriller, “Wanted.”

“I can handle myself,” she said. “There’s a side to me that people know is humanitarian, and there’s a side to me that’s a mommy. But there’s also the side that likes to get down and dirty and run and jump around and fire guns.”

Take notes, wannabe intruders.

Perhaps I will do a variation on the raw food diet along with a low carb intake. Now the challenge is for this to taste good!

today’s lunch: Baby cos lettuce, tuna, raw mushrooms, cucumber, tomato, handful of corn kernels, olives with balsamic vinegrette

Other ideas I’m currently thinking of:

Seared peppered tuna on a bed of wakame salad, ponzu dressing
Sashimi, sashimi, sashimi ($$$$$)
Vegetable sticks with organic hummus, paprika
Soft poached egg, asparagus, truffle oil, black pepper
Salmon carparccio, lemon oil, baby capers
Crab meat, mango and julienned cucumber salad
Edamame with sea salt and shichimi (Japanese 7 spice)
Shaved Turkey breast with… ???
Baby rucola, nashi and walnut salad with EVO and balsamic
Lightly grilled Shrimp with fresh tomato and basil salsa
Cold Tofu with paperthin daikon radish, soy and miso dressing
Sydney Rock Oysters with champagne vinegar

Borrrrring… but totally doable! What else tastes great with hardly any calories? It’s time to really discover the world of spices.

currently questionable foods:
Haloumi

One of Australia’s most celebrated chefs – most known for her amazing desserts and Asian inspired cooking, held a class at the Sydney Seafood School last week which I was very excited about. After an hour long demonstration on how to prepare each dish, we separated into groups of 5 to try and recreate everything she had taught us. She created 4 dishes which are designed to be paired with champagne. Perfect for summertime and the holiday season.

The Menu included:

And finishing everything off with a bottle of Heidsieck Champagne – Gold.

The whole process took well over 4 hours. I really miss my giant kitchen back in Darlinghurst! I have all the recipes, but I won’t type them out here. Click here if you want to download a PDF of my recipe sheet! (it even has notes on it)