Louis Roederer Brut Premier

Reims, France, RMB398, cork seal

Little Zhuhai is often lost; swamped by its more glamorous (Macau) and bigger (Shenzhen) neighbours. However one thing it definitely has going for it is well priced duty-free at the ferry pier; I picked this bottle up for a steal, along with some Wolfblass Grey Label for RMB168. If you need an excuse to open Champagne I used Sunday lunch with friends as justification to pop the cork.

Yellow, gold in colour Louis Roederer Brut Premier has plenty of fine bubbles. It really smells pretty tasty; it's fresh and alluring with a fruity hit of raspberries and a background aroma of fresh pretzel (dough, salt and yeast). It's a big drink with a rich, lush palate and intense mouth feel. There's a lovely strawberry flavour, something nutty and a hit of old-school, home-made lemonade. Champagne is always a pretty good way to kick off the afternoon and in this case a non-vintage bottle from Louis Roederer did the job rather nicely.

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