If there's one fruit that represents spring to perfection, it's the strawberry! This sweet little red fruit is best served with a dry or semi-dry champagne, to maintain the harmony between the two. For example, we'd go for Besserat de Bellefon's "Cuvée des moines sec", which is gourmand and charming, or Philipponnat's "Sublime réserve 2008", which retains the characteristic roundness of old Chardonnays despite being 12 years old. A rosé champagne is also a perfect choice, like this Rosé extra from Maison Jean-Noël Haton. The palate is precise, textured by a beautiful Pinot Noir grain, balanced by a silky freshness, ideal with our lovely round spring fruit.
May is apple season again. What could be better than to accompany an extra-brut champagne with an apple tart, a little cinnamon and a squeeze of lemon? It's simple, light and a champagne will enhance the fruitiness of the whole. We thought of La cuvée Extra-Brut de la Maison Irroy, precise and gourmet!
Half-fruit, half-vegetable, the tomato is distinguished by its acidity, and it arrives on our plates in late April, early May.A blanc de blancs or chardonnay-dominant Champagne, or a young non-vintage brut, seems the most appropriate. Three-star chef Alain Passard of Paris's L' Arpège restaurant suggests a rather daring pairing with carpaccio-prepared heart of beef or Crimean black tomatoes, accompanied by Michel Drappier's 80% Pinot Noir " Carte d'Or " cuvée. This cuvée has a frank, lively attack, with notes of dried fruit and ripe fruit that will give the tomato a real kick!
On the vegetable side, carrots are always present on market stalls in May. There's nothing better than a carrot purée (with snacked scallops, for example) and a rosé champagne with a hint of pinot, the lightly tinted red grape that goes so well with it.
Philippe Mille, the double Michelin-starred chef at Le Parc, the gourmet restaurant at Domaine des Crayères in Reims, recommends a seasonal cauliflower cream, lightly smoked with a barely cooked knife, to be paired with champagne from Roederer, mainly the Cuvée Cristal, "to keep the iodine in your mouth".
