One of the more engaging aspect of wine is its history – the history of how wine is made, the history of who makes it and the connections made in the process. The backstory of a wine can make it so much more than just a bottle of fermented grape juice. Only a little background reading was required to discover the interesting history of the Champagne house Louis Pommery as well as its historic and current connections to England.
In 1856 Alexandre Louis Pommery, a wool trader, and Narcisse Greno partnered to create Pommery et Greno. It was only two years later that Alexander died leaving his wife, Madame Pommery (Jeanne Alexandrine Louise Mélin), with a nearly-grown son and an infant daughter named Louise. Putting the formal education she received as a young woman to good use, Madame Pommery assumed control of the growing Champagne house upon her husband’s death. It was only an exemption in 19th Century Napoleonic Code that allowed widows to own businesses in France at a time when women could not do so without permission from her father or husband. You can read more about other famous Champagne widows in this BBC article.
Madame Pommery’s three great contributions to Champagne were the 18 kilometers of caves dug under Reims, the enormous estate buildings above ground constructed in the English gothic style and the introduction of Brut, a dry style of champagne, when the predominant style was very sweet. That wine, Pommery Nature 1874, became especially popular in England. “Celebrating Madame Pommery” on The Bubbles Review blog shares more details of Madam Pommery’s extraordinary life and the many contributions she made to Pommery and the Champagne region.
So, it is interesting to me that Louis Pommery has become “the first Champagne house to put its name on a bottle of English Sparkling” according to a post on the Great British Wine blog after Madam Pommery first furthered that business connection back in the 19th century. Per the post, Pommery’s Pinglestone Estate is located in the Hampshire town of Alresford. According to About Alresford, “Arlesford, (pronounced Allsford) is a beautiful Georgian Town which for many centuries was a prosperous wool town.” There’s another dot to connect.
Let’s Taste
We received this wine as a tasting sample.
Louis Pommery NV England Brut — pale yellow with energetic, small bubbles and toasty, citrusy aromas. Flavors are fresh and lively with hints of just-ripe pear and citrus with vaguely floral notes all supported by fresh acidity. The bubbles are mouth filling. 12.5% ABV. SRP $39.99
According to the back label of the wine bottle: “Louis Pommery England is the creation of Pinglestone Estate, Hampshire, where the planting of a 100-acre vineyard started in 2017.” The blend is predominantly Chardonnay, with a large amount of Pinot Noir and a little Pinot Meunier. The wine, of course, is made in the traditional method, with the second, bubble-inducing fermentation in the bottle, just as in Champagne.
This is a lovely wine that is fresh and clean with bright flavors and a dry finish. It’s lovely to sip on its own, but we especially enjoyed it with Smoked Salmon Paté and Pickled Cucumber, a recipe by Ray McVinnie (You will find the recipe on Ray’s Instagram account, @raymcvinnie). If you’ve seen Ray’s posts you know his signature style is to raise his distinctive eyebrows as he tastes his creations at the end of his videos. Well, my eyebrows, which are nearly as distinctive, raised notably when I tasted the salmon paté and Louis Pommery England Brut pairing. So delicious.
If you read through to the end of The Bubbles Review post you know that Madame Pommery died in 1890 and that her daughter Louise ran the house with her husband Prince Guy de Polignac after her mother’s death. The Polignac family ran Pommery until 1979. Vranken-Pommery Monopole Group are the current owners.
Thanks to IT Public Relations for organizing our tasting.
Cheers!
