Eric Bordelet Poiré Granit, Normandy, France 2018 (from £18.99, the Solent Cellar, Hedonism, the Butchery Ltd E1 and SE23) For years, I only drank cider when in a crêpe restaurant. This was much the same ‘when in Rome’ logic that had me only drinking sake when I had sushi, or jasmine tea in Chinatown. Such has been the boom in craft cider in recent years, however, that favourites have been taking slots once allocated to wine. A style such as Oliver’s Bottle Conditioned Cider (£7.80, 75cl) for example, is every bit as intriguingly multi-layered as a bottle-fermented sparkling wine (if, at 5.3% abv, much lower in alcohol). On Tuesday, though, that original crêpe-cider association will come into its own – or, at least, a perry-pancake combination in the form of Normandy cider master Eric Bordelet’s exquisitely, pretty, racy creation from centuries-old pear orchards.
GD Vajra Moscato d’Asti, Piedmont, Italy 2019 (from £13.50, Vinvm, the Fine Wine Company, Toscanaccio) If I were to take the crêpe-with-cider thing to its extreme on Shrove Tuesday, I’d pour a Breton cider alongside piles of pancakes with lemon and sugar. Something like Cidre Kerisac Doux NV (from £5.25, 75cl, Joseph Barnes Wines, Drinkswell), a gorgeously apple-fleshy style from orchards just north of Nantes with an easygoing sweetness and just 2.5% abv (the fermentation is stopped before all the sugar is turned to alcohol). I’d be just as happy, however, with a drink produced in a similar mode from grapes. Moscato d’Asti is an easy-to-make, easy-to-drink sideline for winemakers in Piedmont whose day job it is to produce some of the world’s most serious reds in Barolo or Barbaresco. GD Vajra’s version is one of the best: a joy-of-spring riot of floral scents and sweet foaminess.
Veuve-Clicquot Demi Sec, Champagne, France NV (from £40.99, Majestic, Ocado) Another sweeter style of sparkling wine that would work well (à la sweet cider) with pancakes heaped with sugar or even richer, creamier toppings such as dulce de leche or cream and berry compote, are those labelled as ‘demi-sec’. In Champagne, demi-sec (32g to 50g of sugar per litre compared to the brut style’s maximum of 12g) has fallen from fashion. The trend has been to go without the addition (known as dosage) of sugar before bottling in ‘zero dosage’ and ‘brut zero’ cuvées, a far cry from the 19th century when champagne was invariably sweet. But a few houses keep the tradition alive: Veuve Clicquot’s is the easiest to find, and the extra sweetness really plays up those typical champagne flavours that bring to mind the patisserie shop: brioche, custard, and crystallised fruit.
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