With spring comes a Champagne Drappier dinner
Yes, Mabel Gray is expanding! And, why magnums are better.
Hello, friends!
The Mabel Gray team launched into 2024 with full force, as we announced our new wine cave expansion project via Instagram on December 31st. I am personally thrilled about this opportunity to host special events, private dinners, and tastings. The space is inspired by the wine caves of Europe, with an ode to underground cellars and les crayères (Roman chalk quarries) of Champagne. Think: dark, moody, inviting.
This new room is attached to Mabel, replacing our patio and offering overflow seating when not hosting special events. More reservation availability! Additional wine storage! Deeper engagement with the champagne list! My cup overfloweth. If all goes according to plan, we’ll be live come summer.
In the meantime, the Champagne events don’t stop! Mabel is hosting Champagne Drappier for a collaborative dinner on Sunday, April 7th. Monsieur Malo Le Mestre will visit from the Maison to enhance our understanding, and Chef James plans to design the menu as we taste through their cellar in Champagne later this month (!).
Champagne Society members have early access to this dinner! Book via Tock by following this link for a dining room table or this link for bar seats.
Drappier has been Mabel Gray’s long-time house champagne (starting with our first Sommelier, Rachel), and we’ve hosted Madame Charline Drappier in the past. On our 2023 Champagne trip, the family welcomed us at their Urville estate with unparalleled hospitality.
Multiple generations of Drappiers joined us around the table to enjoy a homecooked lunch prepared by matriarch, Sylvie. We were greeted with warm gougères, followed by a cabbage soup with delicate cubes of foie gras throughout. The entrée was a hearty boar stew made from a boar they hunted in their vineyards that week. Swoon.
Family-owned since 1808, their understanding of their southern terroir is evident in the glass. These are ripe, generous, balanced wines that require little dosage. It’s truly a pleasure to dream up dishes to complement their portfolio.
Interestingly, Champagne Drappier makes the largest bottle of champagne in the world1 (termed Melchizedekis), and many other formats for bottling. They pride themselves on producing large format bottles sans transversage (using 750mL bottles to transfer wine to a smaller or larger vessel). Magnums are thought to be the perfect bottle size for champagne. Why?
“A magnum [of champagne] is the perfect size for two people to have over lunch, especially if one of them doesn’t drink.” - Sir Winston Churchill
A magnum (1.5L) contains double the champagne of a 750mL bottle but has the same size neck and cork. This creates a better surface-wine-air ratio in the bottle, which slows down the aging of the wine comparatively. Less oxygen over time means a glass of brighter, livelier champagne once opened. Plus it looks cool at parties.
We opened a magnum of Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill 2008 at our Rare Champagne Tasting last month and it was positively singing. This bottle could age for another decade, developing complexity without sacrificing texture or acidity. The other wines we discussed were: Louis Roederer’s Cristal 2012, Larmandier-Bernier Terre de Vertus 2015, Jacques Selosse Initial NV, Dom Perignon’s Vintage 2013. All stunners in their own right.
As always, I’m very grateful for your support and this new community. We leave for Champagne in 3 weeks, and if you’d like to see updates from our trip, feel free to follow us here or here.
XO
Paulina
Janine Marsh, thegoodlifefrance.com