LIGHT BODY, BOLD FLAVOURS:
Moët & Chandon: Andy Warhol
Much as the name Moët is almost synonymous with champagne, the way the wines taste and feel is similarly quintessential: buoyant, bracing and toasty, beyond even the epitome of how we imagine champagne.
This “essentialism plus” is embodied in the work of 20th-century seer Warhol, who, with his technicolour silk screens of Prince, Marilyn Monroe or the Queen of England, transfigured human subjects into iconic images.
Charles Heidsieck: Mark Rothko
Perhaps because of its Champagne Charlie vibe, few people take Heidsieck as seriously as it deserves. The immediate impact of its Brut Réserve on first sniff is unrivalled among NV champagnes, with a luxuriant, smoky richness that masks a surprisingly elegant frame. Similarly, the walloping colour of Rothko’s paintings reveals subtle nuances upon longer contemplation. Pushing and pulling modulations of flavour and texture create dimension and depth not immediately appreciable.
Salon: Elizabeth Peyton
Another lodestar of the champagne firmament, this is a wine of seductive richness but apparent effortlessness, recalling the portraits Elizabeth Peyton builds out of concise, jewel-toned strokes. Having started as the private project of a wealthy furrier, Eugène-aimé Salon, Salon—there is only one wine—retains a handcrafted singularity that feels commensurate with Peyton’s lovingly brushed, intimate oils and watercolours.
Pierre Péters: Katsushika Hokusai
Grower Rodolphe Péters is a chardonnay specialist making some of the most cogent but complex estate-bottled wines in the region. His wines reflect the composition, economy of form and exquisite detailing of ukiyo-e woodblock prints. Hokusai’s 36 Views
of Mount Fuji, with their highly controlled sense of drama (and occasional eruptions), feel like spiritual siblings to Péters’ wines.