So. For those who wanted to know what was good to drink at the Champagne Summit, here is an informal list. But first, a warning.

This next paragragh might create the impression that I’m a little eccentric. I am writing it, because I want to try to explain why I write notes and describe wine the way I do.

People that have really known me over the past 20 years in the wine trade will know that I never write complete tasting notes. Not for myself anyway. I have a pretty good memory for wine and as long as I have a couple of words to go on, I can remember everything that matters to me about the experience that I had with the wine in question. And that goes for every wine that I’ve ever had. You may be asking why? Why don’t I write more detail? Well, I suppose that I’m different to many. I do see the colour, acid, tannin, fragrance and all that nonsense, but I rather think that writing it down spoils the emotional response that I get from the wine. A bit like seeing the grand canyon through a viewfinder. I create a little memory out of each and every taste. This isn’t done by remembering the essential facts, but by remembering everything else. I can remember a wine that I tasted twenty years ago, and recreate that same taste in my mouth. The actual sensations. This is because for each one, I remember not exactly how the wine tasted, but how it made me feel, who I was with, what I was eating, and maybe even what was the weather like. Somehow I can always then fill in the rest. I take a good look at the label, then I take a good look at the wine. In the same way as I’d try to remember a picture of someone. So, for each wine, I am basically remembering two detailed shapes. That’s it. Was it long and flat? What colour was it? Was it fuzzy, soft, hard? Just like remembering the label. If I tried to remember if it had high tannin, low alcohol, deep garnet hues, French oak, etc… I mean ALL that, I’d never remember all the wines that I can.

In other words, my mind categorises wines as ‘makes me happy’ or 'fucking weird’, not 'alcoholic’ or 'tart’. I mean how fucking boring would that be?

I am constantly fascinated by how people actually see wine in their minds. Viscerally. Please let me know if you have thought about this. I am genuinely interested to know. Right, well this is probably the most self-absorbed and indulgent thing that I have ever written, but there it is. Hopefully I’ll only have to do it once.

In light of these facts, here is how I remembered the rest of the day. Here we go.

Down the right and side of the room were a few 'focus’ tables, selections of wines, categorised by style so that you could compare like for like, and do it without standing in front of the brand’s representative, or worse still, winemaker, and tell them that their wine wasn’t all that. That is a happy place. Down the left hand side were the brands’ own tables, with a selection of their offer. I did the focus tables first, so that if there were wines that I didn’t much like, I could say that I had already tried it, when later standing in front of the brand representative at their own table.

What were the best wines from the focus tables?

Laurent Perrier Brut. £36.99

It has a firm polish that gives a serious 'don’t fuck with me’ impression. Almost marble hard, but generous in size, almost like a 'super cava’. High pH, soapy characteristics, with a rich lilly, vanilla, and lemon scent. To be honest I was a lot more impressed than I was attracted to it. I wouldn’t buy it, but I know plenty who would. Horses for courses.

Taittinger Brut Réserve NV £37.99

Mmmm. I respect this Champagne house practically above any other. Unbelievably consistent. Don’t think I’ve ever tasted a less than delicious bottle in 15 years. There’s a bit of personal bias thrown in too, because I love the style so bloody much. Light, like poached meringue, with a deft, fine mousse. It seems young, like a playful teenager, dancing barefoot at a summer party. A soft almost see-through delicacy, like sheer stockings. Very moreish. Hard to just taste. Wants taking outside and drinking.

Moët et Chandon Imperial £32.49

I don’t remember a better balanced, vibrant and poised glass of this, the world’s favourite. For year’s I have been extoling its well judged middle-road brilliance, while always 'side-bar'ing a preference to drink something else. Yes, it’s easy. Yes it’s uncomplicated, but there’s enough swagger to justify the price, and it is the absolute choice for a cocktail bartender, because it IS so well-judged. Not too expressive, but not bland either. I found myself thinking that if I had my own bar, I would sell this by the glass, simply because it is perfect for champagne cocktails, thereby reducing expensive ullage to a mimimum.

Champagne Moutard Grande Cuvée NV £24.99

Well, hell’s bells, this is alright! Moutard has always had a bit of a reputation as the value conscious connoisseurs favourite. Hard not to see why. Supermarket price, but vigorous, creamy, and mouthfilling. There is a little bit of the punchy drunk underneath, with some interesting herbacous and grassy aromas, but this would be nicely talked back to the bar stool with a plate of good smoked salmon. Very nice indeed and full of character.

Laurent-Perrier Vintage 2002 £43.99

The best LP vintage I’ve had in a very long while. Not as 'In Your Face’ and bullish as the NV, and for a relatively minor price upgrade, flipping delicious. Will age on cork beautifully for at at least 5 years. Sleek, firm, minerally wine, with an unmistakeably modern style to it.

Taittinger Brut 2005 £51

Wow. Absolutely bloody delicious. Creamy, while breezy fresh, with hints of summer flowers, lemon curd and a juicy ginger-thin biscuit undertow, which tails off for ages. Smashing, but, as the price suggests, pay peanuts get monkeys.

Champagne Moutard 6 Cépages 2005 £38.99

A weird little fish this one, and as the name states, it’s made from 6 different grape varieties. No. Don’t expect me to tell you what they are. Don’t really care, but I love what they have done to the texture and shape of the wine. Like instruments in an orchestra, they have created extra textures and layers that weren’t there. It is tightly packed but substantial. Like a French scrum. When you put it in your mouth, its rich chewy flavours have sharp, penetrative bite, but also a momentum, a steady change of flavours. Powerful stuff. Not like a scrum then, like a bobsleigh team……

Champagne de Castelnau Vintage 2000 £30.99

If there was one discovery for me at this summit it’s this brand right here. Although this isn’t the finest, most silky champagne that I’ve ever tasted, it does truly punch above its weight. Tastes like a 2005, but has a youthful, adolescent power, as if it’s about to reach puberty and do something grown up. For the money, it’s a helluva lot of fizz. Tight, creamy, and biscuity, with an almost pomegranate-like tart freshness.

While I’m on the subject, Champagne de Castelnau is apparently the second largest co-operative in Champagne, grinding out 9 million quality conscious bottles a year. It was Keith Isaacs MW, and old acquaintance, who greeted me at their table. There was quite an array of wines on show. Granted, their regular non-vintage brut wasn’t my favourite, but four supermarkets can’t be wrong, as Castelnau is now making it for them. However, there were a few wines that really grabbed me….

Champagne de Castelnau Brut Rosé NV £28.99

The rosé is delicious, and bright, fizzing along like a bright pink firework. It is 25% Chardonnay, 24% Pinot Noir, and a whopping 51% Pinot Meunier, giving the core of this wine a quite wonderful cranberry and sour cherry lift. It as much more satisfying and complete than I was expecting, considering its competitive price.

Champagne de Castelnau Blanc de Blancs 1999 £31.99

A beautifully made and atypically soft, ripe, round and cuddly. The 1999 produced some terrific Chardonnay, and this well-priced, immediate, vital, biscuity winter aperitif shows it.

There was a table of their mixed variety vintage cuvées too, with the Chardonnay driven 2004 and 2002 most impressing me. Dosage is unashamedly high at around 11g/l, but that only adds to the appeal for me, as I am sure that they would be a hit with the casual, Champagne-by-the-glass drinker. And at a shade over £30 for a whole bottle, they’re a genuine bargain….

I’ll leave the posh stuff for the final part, where I will talk about the Moët et Chandon vertical that I went to taste in the first place, and some rather swanky bottles from Taittinger, Pommery and Laurent-Perrier that must, in the interests of doing a thorough job, be mentioned in dispatches……