Another new year is upon us and we know we’re going to toast to 2010 like there’s no tomorrow with copious amounts of champagne. But how do we cope with the not-so-merry day after?

Here’s sharing a great tip from a good friend (and major partier) – Enjoy your bubbly with cheese, that way, your body will be well-nourished, you’ll have an amazing wine and food match plus your morning-after will be much more bearable!

But which cheeses best complements the effervescence of Champagne?

It’s a well-known fact that goat cheese is a good match for Champagne. The cheese’s tangy sharpness and pungent aromas contrast well with Champagne’s citrus flavours whilst the wine’s lean acidity stands up to a Chevre’s sharpness and the fruit compliments the savoury flavours. The result - goat cheese accentuates the smooth textures in the Champagne, while allowing the more mellow, secondary flavours in the wine to develop on the finish. Even if the pungent nature of most goat cheese doesn’t appeal to everyone, when served with stronger Champagnes (an older Vintage would do nicely), most guest will be happy indeed!

But are all Champagne and cheese pairings created equal? Short answer…No.

Recently, I attended a champagne and cheese pairing arranged by Kenneth Au, Sommelier at St. Julien restaurant. Didier Mariotti, Chef de Cave of G.H. Mumm was also in town and agreed to take part in a tasting at the La Fromagerie cheese store. Three major, big-brand champagnes – Mumm, Veuve Clicquot and Moët & Chandon – were chosen for the pairing. A handful of Singapore Sommeliers from various restaurants were summoned and definitive pairing answers sought.

Yet to attempt cheese/champagne matches, one must first understand the styles and tastes of each Champagne house, plus have an idea of the textures and flavours the different cheeses will offer.

The Champagnes

Champagne houses all develop signature champagne styles. Many factors like the blending the base still wine and the addition of a Champagne house’s individual ‘dosage’ recipe impact the flavour of the finished wine. Here are notes on the style differences between the three champagnes we tasted.

House of Mumm

• Cordon Rouge – This non-vintage wine has aromas of ripe, white stone fruits and floral notes with a hint of sweetness. On the palate it is dominated by citrus flavours and quite pure in taste.
• Cuvée R. Lalou 1998 (50% Pinot Noir, 50% Chardonnay) Sweet nose with dried fruit, bonbons, nougat, white and yellow stone fruits and a hint of toffee yet it drinks with a dry, satin-like texture and has a long finish. Pure, subtle and elegant.
• Mumm Rosé - Pinot Noir (60%, Pinot Meunier 18%, Chardonnay 22%) Nose is dominated by red fruit, raspberries, and rose petals with a soft-textured, velvety palate.

House of Veuve Clicquot

• Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label  - Clean, crisp champagne with butter, toast, caramel, and nut aromas and offers broad flavours.
• La Grande Dame 98 (64% Pinot Noir and 36% Chardonnay) Citrus, ripe fruit, spice, nuts, brioche, and a brisk mousse – the style is somewhat in-between the Cuvée R Lalou and Dom Pérignon (e.g. between subtle and masculine).

House of Moët & Chandon

• Moët & Chandon Brut Imperial – Dried fruit, yeasty and bready notes. Light bitterness and broad expansive flavours.
• Dom Pérignon 2000 (55% Chardonnay and 45% Pinot Noir) Wood, dried fruit, biscuit, caramel, butter and tobacco aromas with leather and toast. Rich palate that is quite masculine.
• Moet & Chandon Brut Rosé (50-60 % Pinot Noir and 15-20 % Chardonnay) Strawberries, cherries lively, grilled notes, forward weighty with rasping texture.

The Cheeses

Chaource – This is a nutty cheese and although soft and creamy, its nutty taste is reminiscent of some semi-hard cheeses. However Chaource has also fruity and mushroom overtones and a melt in your mouth texture.

Brillat-Savarin – With a bright rind and a flesh that is probably the creamiest of the soft French cheeses this cheese has a milky- buttery flavour and creamy texture. Truly a decadent cheese.

Langres – This cheese has a washed orange exterior rind and a soft, creamy and ripe interior with intense flavours that are a bit spicy and have a taste of sour milk.

Pairing Theory

To assess the marriages of cheese and Champagne, one must consider many factors. First, champagnes and cheeses come in a variety of aromas and flavours and textures of champagnes can differ because of the type of bubbles, whether fine, big, aggressive, mousse-like, etc. Champagne styles are also characterized as mineral-like, fruity, dry or sweet, just to name a few. Similarly, cheese can range from strong-flavoured to subtle, creamy or crumbly and can also taste fruity, milky, spicy, floral, etc. just like wine.

So what kind of pairing knowledge is required to achieve good matches? Luckily, there is some research conducted by the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne (CIVC) which suggests the following pairings:

Camembert and non-vintage (NV) champagne;
Maroilles and a champagne rosé;
Fourme d’Ambert (cow’s blue) and a demi-sec champagne;
Comté cheese and a vintage champagne. I recalled previous heavenly matrimonials that were somewhat similar.

My own experiences brought some empirical knowledge to the process.  I once had a flaky, salty parmesan with a NV (good match of salt vs. mineral acidity), and a strong Blue cheese with a doux champagne (not too bad a match of strong flavours as well as a contrast of salty cheese vs. sweet champagne).

After extensive cheese and champagne encounters I find that the easiest match is one based on similiarities – fruity cheeses with fruity and expressive champagnes that offer structure (e.g. rosé) or strong tasting cheeses with more complex vintage champagnes.

But that is not to discount the possibility that contrasts can offer. Salty cheeses and sweet champagnes set off each other beautifully. And regardless of which theory (same or different)  you’re following I find that the bubbles of champagne often exert a scrubbing sensation that cleanses the palate and makes it ready for yet another bite of whatever type of cheese.

We applied the above theories and experiences to arrive at a suitable match for the Brillat-Savarin: the NV wines of Veuve Clicquot Yellow label, Mumm Cordon Rouge and Moët & Chandon Brut Imperial. Much as our theory supported, the bubbles and the tangy acids in the champagne cut through the butter fat of the cheese but each style of the champagnes interacted with the Brillat-Savarin differently. If the nutty overtones of the Veuve Clicquot added a pleasant, lingering flavour to the creamy tasting cheese, the light sweetness in the Mumm toned down the saltiness whilst the mouth-filling roundness of the Moët brought a silkier, textural quality to the match.

The next cheese, a Chaource (the Champagne region’s own cheese) definitely called out for the rosé champagnes. Made with Pinot Noir and/or Pinot Meunier, the pink champagnes showed ripe, red-fruited flavours which contrasted the mushroom nuances of the cheese. The structure of both rosé champagnes held a match to the strong acidity in the cheese too.

As for the Langres, only a champagne loaded with character and complexity could overcome and compliment the strong flavours of this cheese. The three prestige cuvées of La Grande Dame, Cuvée R. Lalou and the Dom Pérignon were well up to the task.

So now you know it – New Year's parties won’t ring in the New Year without Champagne but to keep the party going, bring on the cheese! Your guests will be thanking you for it…not only on the evening itself, but the next day too!

By Ed Soon - a.k.a. Broad Nose