Mumm launches Grand Cru

Published: 23 July, 2008

Champagne GH Mumm launched its long-awaited NV Grand Cru cuve onto the UK market at Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's in London on 10 June.

The event, hosted by Mumm's Cellar Master Dominique Demarville, began with an impressive tasting of 2004 grand cru vins clairs, and continued with a five-course lunch created by Gordon Ramsay and resident head chef Mark Sargeant, designed to show the wine's versatility with a wide range of foods.

Demarville conceived the idea for the new cuve when he succeeded as Cellar Master at Mumm in 1998. The wine is blended from the five famous grands crus which have always been at the heart of Mumm's NV Cordon Rouge and in which the house owns some of its own vines - A, Bouzy and Verzenay for Pinot Noir, Avize and Cramant for Chardonnay. The first UK release is based on the 2001 vintage, with 26% of reserve wines, the overall composition being 37% Verzenay, 27% Cramant (these two will normally predominate), 15% Avize, 10.5% A and 10.5% Bouzy. The vin de liqueur is 1998 Cramant, aged two years on its lees, and the dosage a low (Extra Brut) 6 grams/litre.

The wine's gastronomic potential' was cited by Demarville as the reason for introducing bottling and disgorgement dates on the back label, an innovation that was welcomed by Ramsay's head sommelier Ronan Sayburn MS.

The wine will be available by the glass exclusively at Ramsay's six London restaurants over the summer, and in Waitrose from the autumn at 30.99.

Ramsay's affiliation with the wine is well deserved recognition of the improvements Demarville has made at Mumm, and the new cuve is fully up to the high standards now expected.

Printer friendly version