Bubbles of expectation
By Huon Hooke | smh.com.au | 03 February
Here's to you...
With its heady scent and alluring chemical properties, that most famous of fizzies is the master of seduction.
It's almost a cliche that champagne is the wine of seduction. And, no, put away that Great Western - not just any old fizz will do the job. It must be le vrai champagne, which comes only from the Champagne region in north-eastern France.
Even Anita Bowen, maker of gutsy Barossa shiraz under the Balthazar label, agrees. She is a former sex therapist whose wines project imagery of concubines and Ishtar, the goddess of love and war. Heady stuff. Emboldened by the approach of Valentine's Day, this columnist asked her about wine and seduction.
While Bowen doesn't believe in aphrodisiacs, she acknowledges the high zinc content of some foods, such as oysters, is supposed to increase sexual desire. As for drinks, her first choice of a seduction wine is champagne.
"Champagne has taken on a special meaning in terms of celebration," she says. "A little bit of alcohol tends to remove inhibitions - and one thing leads to another. People tend to become more intimate than they would without it.
"With champagne, perhaps the meaning is more important than the wine."
Seduction is more about "two people who like each other and who find themselves in the right time and place, enjoying what they're eating and drinking . . . "
Big, bold, high-alcohol Barossa Valley shiraz may seem like the antithesis of delicate champagne. Is it a sexy wine?
"For some, it may be. An aphrodisiac could be defined as anything that makes people more sexually aware and drinking wine is a sensual thing to do. All the senses are involved, including sight and sound - the sound of the cork popping alone can excite people."
What would she serve on Valentine's Day? "It's very important to know what they [the object of your desire] like and enjoy, and make sure to have some of that. Don't assume what works for you also works for them . . . With my husband [fellow winemaker Randolph Bowen], champagne is good to whet the palate and personally I'd like a good condrieu, then a nice little pinot noir from Burgundy and then probably a sweetie at the end.
"But moderation is the key to alcohol and sexuality: a little can whet your desire but too much can kill off the capability to perform [even Shakespeare observed this]."
Balthazar, incidentally, makes a rich and robust Barossa shiraz as well as a very worthy viognier, the latter under the Ishtar label. But no sparkling wine . . . yet.
Max Lake, the Hunter Valley winemaker who's written a number of books on wine, food, smell and taste, has a lot to say about champagne. He writes that the aromas imparted to Champagne by its all-important maturation, with its decomposing yeast lees, have similarities to human pheromones. One of these is an aldehyde known as IBA (isobutyraldehyde), which is similar to the funky, yeasty smell that arises from Spanish fino sherries - and probably chardonnays that have been subjected to long-term barrel ageing on lees with batonnage (stirring).
In Scents And Sensuality (1989), Lake says IBA is also present in bean sprouts but the person to claim a romantic conquest using bean sprouts is likely to be the first. Lake goes on to make a link between the sweaty tones of some young white wines and pheromones; also the truffley complexities of some oak-aged red wines to androstenone, the male pheromone.
The evidence seems too overwhelming to ignore: champagne is a turn-on.
In the interests of a successful Valentine's Day, here are some exciting varieties. And if they seem expensive, that's because the best of anything always is, alas.
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Krug Brut Vintage 1998 $480: Medium-full brassy yellow colour; loads of character, with scents of toasted bread, roasted nuts, nougat, dry biscuits and coconutty aldehydes galore. Very full-bodied, profound palate, concentrated and rich. A wine of charisma! It needs food (quail?) and is not for everyone. 97/100
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Perrier-Jouet Belle Epoque Rose Brut 2002 $290-$310: Light salmon-pink colour with some onion-skin developed hues. Complex, mellow, aged bouquet with strawberry, nougat, earth and cherry aromas. A gorgeous drink. 96/100
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Louis Roederer Brut Vintage 2002 $110-$130: Real aged character here: toasty-bready, nutty, cracked-yeast and refined fruit. Tremendous intensity and great length, with a very clean, dry finish. 97/100
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Lanson Gold Label Brut 1996 $85: Full yellow colour; very complex, nicely developed bouquet of creamed nuts, roasted hazelnut, fresh baked bread and a sneaky lick of honey. Very crisp, high-acid palate. Wonderful intensity and drive. Surely the best value of all 1996 vintage champagnes. Oysters here! 95/100
First published by Smh.com.au on February 03 2009
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