Taming Champagne
For better bubbles, try a decanter dedicated to the sparkling stuff.
This decanter guarantees a chemical equilibrium to ensure that everyone savours only the most delectable notes in a bottle of wine.
SO, YOU HAVE the very best bubbly on hand, but don’t reach for the coupes just yet. A growing number of sommeliers and winemakers are now recommending that certain champagnes – particularly young vintages and wines made in the oxygen-starved ‘reductive’ method – be decanted first, to calm harsh effervescence and allow complex aromas to more fully express themselves.
We suggest giving your sparklers a 30- to 45-minute respite in the Boisset Passion Champagne Decanter (US$960), designed by proprietor JeanCharles Boisset and produced by Baccarat, which lets the wine breathe and smooths the rougher fizz, leaving only the most delicate bubbles behind.
The stemmed design is a throwback to the 18thcentury pedestal tradition, which dictated that “the wine should float above the table”, according to Boisset. The carafe is balanced between ornate, diamond-cut crystal at the base and a thoroughly modern – and strikingly raked – stopper atop a long, thin neck (the better to guarantee a gentle pour).
Boisset says his goal with the Passion Decanter was to magnify the entire sensory experience of champagne – a harmonious surprise, then, when you realise the bowl itself is a giant, smooth, elegant bubble.