Jan 2, 2014, 3:25 pm
Last edit by: KARFA
This thread is archived - there is a 2015 BA Champagne and Wine Thread here.
Some procedure as last year. This thread is dedicated to the discussion of Champagne (and Wine) served on board BA and in the lounges worldwide.
Current champagne offerings for the most frequented locations:
First cabin Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle
LHR Concorde Room Bollinger Rose and Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle
LHR Galleries First lounges / LGW First lounge Taittinger Rose and Taittinger Prelude/Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle depends on the day/Castelnau
Club World cabin Taittinger NV/Castelnau Brut Rose NV/Boizel Grand Vintage 2004
LHR Galleries Club lounges / LGW Terraces lounge ??? (Likely the Taittinger or Castelnau)
Club Europe cabin Heidsieck Brut Monopole Blue Top NV
Reds:
First cabin Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste 2001, Pauillac Bordeaux, France
2nd option not confirmed
3rd option not confirmed
LHR Concorde Room Chateau Grand Puy-Lacoste 2001, Cru Classe Pauillac and 3-4 more
LHR Galleries First / LGW First lounge Chateau Batailley 2006 Pauillac, Hamilton Russel Pinot Noir SA, Chateau Du Tertre 2007 Cru Classe Margaux, Merry Edwards Pinot.
LHR Galleries Club lounges / LGW Terraces lounge Ch. Haut Selve 2009; Ch. Lamothe Cissac 2010; Merry Edwards Pinot Noir 2010; Cycles Gladiator Pinot Noir 2012; Chono Pinot Noir 2012
Club World cabin Brio de Cantenac Brown 2005; Teusner "The Independent" Shiraz Mataro 2011, Barossa Valley, South Australia; Chateau Marzy 2008, Pomerol, Bordeaux; Château La Claymore 2009, Lussac Saint-Emilion, Bordeaux; Meiomi Pinot Noir 2012, Santa Barbara/Sonoma/Monterey, California
Club Europe cabin Undrinkable generic French red non vintage non AC (Does anybody drink anything else than the Champagne!?)
Whites:
First Cabin Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Le Champ Gain 2007, Vincent Girardin, Burgundy, France
Le Soula Blanc 2007, VDP Des Cotes Catalanes, France
McWilliams Lovedale Semillon 2005, Hunter Valley, Australia
Chablis Grand Cru Bougros 2009, Domaine William Fčvre, France
Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi DOC 2011, Stefano Antonucci, Italy
Ponzi Pinot Gris 2012, Willamette Valley, USA
LHR Concorde Room Brocard Chablis Premiere Cru, Viognier 2009, Sancerre??
LHR Galleries First lounges / LGW First lounge Brocard Chablis Premiere Cru, Saint-Aubin Premier Cru Les Cortons 2011, Casa Maria Sauv Blanc 2011 Chile, Vessiguad Pouilly Fuisse 2011.
LHR Galleries Club lounges / LGW Terraces lounge Elizabeth Spencer Sauv Blanc 2012; Esser Chardonnay 2011; Cycles Gladiator Pinot Grigio 2012; The Tin Mine "Zevenwacht" 2012; Kleine Zalze 2012; Mullineux 2012
Club World cabin Chateau de Chantegrive 2011, Graves, Bordeaux; Yalumba Viognier 2011, Eden Valley South Australia; Pouilly-Fumé 2012, Château Favray, Loire Valley; Cline Viognier 2012, North Coast, California
Club Europe cabin ???
Spirit selection available in LHR Galleries First lounges:
Some procedure as last year. This thread is dedicated to the discussion of Champagne (and Wine) served on board BA and in the lounges worldwide.
Current champagne offerings for the most frequented locations:
First cabin Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle
LHR Concorde Room Bollinger Rose and Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle
LHR Galleries First lounges / LGW First lounge Taittinger Rose and Taittinger Prelude/Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle depends on the day/Castelnau
Club World cabin Taittinger NV/Castelnau Brut Rose NV/Boizel Grand Vintage 2004
LHR Galleries Club lounges / LGW Terraces lounge ??? (Likely the Taittinger or Castelnau)
Club Europe cabin Heidsieck Brut Monopole Blue Top NV
Reds:
First cabin Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste 2001, Pauillac Bordeaux, France
2nd option not confirmed
3rd option not confirmed
LHR Concorde Room Chateau Grand Puy-Lacoste 2001, Cru Classe Pauillac and 3-4 more
LHR Galleries First / LGW First lounge Chateau Batailley 2006 Pauillac, Hamilton Russel Pinot Noir SA, Chateau Du Tertre 2007 Cru Classe Margaux, Merry Edwards Pinot.
LHR Galleries Club lounges / LGW Terraces lounge Ch. Haut Selve 2009; Ch. Lamothe Cissac 2010; Merry Edwards Pinot Noir 2010; Cycles Gladiator Pinot Noir 2012; Chono Pinot Noir 2012
Club World cabin Brio de Cantenac Brown 2005; Teusner "The Independent" Shiraz Mataro 2011, Barossa Valley, South Australia; Chateau Marzy 2008, Pomerol, Bordeaux; Château La Claymore 2009, Lussac Saint-Emilion, Bordeaux; Meiomi Pinot Noir 2012, Santa Barbara/Sonoma/Monterey, California
Club Europe cabin Undrinkable generic French red non vintage non AC (Does anybody drink anything else than the Champagne!?)
Whites:
First Cabin Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Le Champ Gain 2007, Vincent Girardin, Burgundy, France
Le Soula Blanc 2007, VDP Des Cotes Catalanes, France
McWilliams Lovedale Semillon 2005, Hunter Valley, Australia
Chablis Grand Cru Bougros 2009, Domaine William Fčvre, France
Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi DOC 2011, Stefano Antonucci, Italy
Ponzi Pinot Gris 2012, Willamette Valley, USA
LHR Concorde Room Brocard Chablis Premiere Cru, Viognier 2009, Sancerre??
LHR Galleries First lounges / LGW First lounge Brocard Chablis Premiere Cru, Saint-Aubin Premier Cru Les Cortons 2011, Casa Maria Sauv Blanc 2011 Chile, Vessiguad Pouilly Fuisse 2011.
LHR Galleries Club lounges / LGW Terraces lounge Elizabeth Spencer Sauv Blanc 2012; Esser Chardonnay 2011; Cycles Gladiator Pinot Grigio 2012; The Tin Mine "Zevenwacht" 2012; Kleine Zalze 2012; Mullineux 2012
Club World cabin Chateau de Chantegrive 2011, Graves, Bordeaux; Yalumba Viognier 2011, Eden Valley South Australia; Pouilly-Fumé 2012, Château Favray, Loire Valley; Cline Viognier 2012, North Coast, California
Club Europe cabin ???
Spirit selection available in LHR Galleries First lounges:
- Bacardi 8
- Bacardi Superior
- Bailey's
- Baron Otard XO
- Bombay Sapphire
- Bushmills
- Chase Vodka
- Ciroc (vodka)
- Cointreau
- Drambuie
- Drambuie 15
- Gentleman Jack
- Glenlivet 15
- Glenlivet 18
- Gordon's
- Grey Goose
- Grey Goose Le Citron
- Imperia Vodka
- Jameson
- Johnnie Walker Blue
- Johnnie Walker Red
- José Cuervo Especial Reposado
- Kahlúa
- La Concha (sherry)
- Martini Bianco
- Martini Extra Dry
- Martini Rosso
- Olmeca Gold
- Smirnoff Red
- Southern Comfort
- Tanqueray No. Ten
- Warre's 1999 (port)
- Woodford Reserve
- Zacapa XO (only in T5)
The 2014 BA Champagne & Wine Thread
May 30, 2014, 2:52 am
#136
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I find that there are three places to judge price.
1. The place where the wine is made. And in that case, price may or may not usually correlate to taste. Supply and demand has a bigger effect.
2. You can look at the price in a faraway foreign land, like the US$20 price for Argentinian wine. There the price is more of a function of the supply chain and how it operates for a particular batch of wine. There are many people and organisations involved in moving the price up or down.
3. And lastly you can judge by price at a high end gourmet restaurant. There you may see a better price to taste correlation.
As always marketing has a big effect on price. As someone who lives in France, I'm often shocked at the prices of French wines at restaurants outside of Europe, knowing that I pay about 90% less here in France. And here I can find great wines for less than 10 bucks that few people outside of this region have ever heard of.
1. The place where the wine is made. And in that case, price may or may not usually correlate to taste. Supply and demand has a bigger effect.
2. You can look at the price in a faraway foreign land, like the US$20 price for Argentinian wine. There the price is more of a function of the supply chain and how it operates for a particular batch of wine. There are many people and organisations involved in moving the price up or down.
3. And lastly you can judge by price at a high end gourmet restaurant. There you may see a better price to taste correlation.
As always marketing has a big effect on price. As someone who lives in France, I'm often shocked at the prices of French wines at restaurants outside of Europe, knowing that I pay about 90% less here in France. And here I can find great wines for less than 10 bucks that few people outside of this region have ever heard of.
May 30, 2014, 3:08 am
#137
Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club, easyJet and Ryanair
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That may well be true stimpy, but my question was specific to the post I responded to. Petrus said a particular wine offered was 'very good', nologic replied simply saying 'That's a $20 wine' (implying it was cheap). Why would price matter? Either the wine is very good or it isn't, price doesn't come in to it.
Dom Perignon is Ł120 a bottle, I hate it! I'm happy with a Ł20/Ł30 bottle of 'very good' champagne over the DP any day. Surely it's all about the quality of the wine, not the price of it?
Dom Perignon is Ł120 a bottle, I hate it! I'm happy with a Ł20/Ł30 bottle of 'very good' champagne over the DP any day. Surely it's all about the quality of the wine, not the price of it?
May 30, 2014, 3:38 am
#138
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Have the small champagne glasses have made a permanent return to GF? On my last 6/8 visits over the last three weeks there were no larger flutes visible anywhere, even in the back where they sometimes hide.
May 30, 2014, 3:41 am
#139
formerly rxfleming
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I saw many people using the Red Wine glasses instead in the F Lounge last week to fill with champagne.
May 30, 2014, 4:02 am
#140
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That may well be true stimpy, but my question was specific to the post I responded to. Petrus said a particular wine offered was 'very good', nologic replied simply saying 'That's a $20 wine' (implying it was cheap). Why would price matter? Either the wine is very good or it isn't, price doesn't come in to it.
May 30, 2014, 4:42 am
#141
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
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Similar experiences - I haven't been able to see larger flutes for a while either. I asked last Saturday and was told the smaller glasses were all that were available. Hmmm. I'll be at LGW tomorrow so I'm hoping the larger flutes are available!
I saw many people using the Red Wine glasses instead in the F Lounge last week to fill with champagne.
I saw many people using the Red Wine glasses instead in the F Lounge last week to fill with champagne.
May 30, 2014, 4:59 am
#142
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I just don't understand what the need to replace the larger flutes was - apart from some stupid penny pinching idea to reduce the amount of champagne drunk. What has happened to all the larger glasses? Up until my last visit the larger ones were still there if you looked, but last week when I was there only the smaller ones were available
May 30, 2014, 5:03 am
#143
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Right, you asked a question and I gave a response to your question as to the subject of price and wine. The middle one would apply in this case. I would expect a different price in Argentina and a different, surely higher, price in a good restaurant. There is a correlation between price and taste, but price isn't the only factor.
May 30, 2014, 5:05 am
#144
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That may well be true stimpy, but my question was specific to the post I responded to. Petrus said a particular wine offered was 'very good', nologic replied simply saying 'That's a $20 wine' (implying it was cheap). Why would price matter? Either the wine is very good or it isn't, price doesn't come in to it.
Dom Perignon is Ł120 a bottle, I hate it! I'm happy with a Ł20/Ł30 bottle of 'very good' champagne over the DP any day. Surely it's all about the quality of the wine, not the price of it?
Dom Perignon is Ł120 a bottle, I hate it! I'm happy with a Ł20/Ł30 bottle of 'very good' champagne over the DP any day. Surely it's all about the quality of the wine, not the price of it?
That said, again, I personally think that GF lacks someone capable of suggesting wine selections ie what to take out of the cellar at a given point in time. There would be plenty of possible ways of doing it from "balance" to "themes" but right now it just feels incoherent unless I am missing something obvious (but I haven't seen anyone finding a logic on this thread which includes a number of obvious wine lovers). It is just a shame as it does not make the most of the wines BA has.
Oh, and I personally share your lack of enthusiasm towards Dom Perignon. I wouldn't say that I hate it but I find it very underwhelming. Same goes for the JW Blue, for which I imagine people must care about cost as I don't really what else about it could possibly impress.
May 30, 2014, 5:43 am
#145
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It was to nologic my comment was made, I wasn't asking you to state the obvious when it comes to "buying" wines. In the context of this topic, price is irrelevant - it doesn't matter how much it costs in Argentina or Le Gavroche or Oddbins or how much BA pays for it - the point is Petrus mentioned the wine in question was 'very good' surely that the wine is 'very good' is all that matters? What relevance does price have when it comes to the wines provided? The wine is either good or it isn't - the cost of supplying/buying it is irrelevant.
And as I stated price does have relevance, even if price isn't the only relevant factor. As you know, taste is up to the person tasting the wine. Petrus likes it yet I thought it wasn't nearly as good as what I tried several years ago from the same label. And more to the point of this thread, I've had much better wines in GF in the past. I think most of us can agree to that.
May 30, 2014, 6:12 am
#146
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Thank you for the condescending English lesson. The concept of a rhetorical question escapes you?
May 30, 2014, 1:42 pm
#147
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I actually think that the current inflation to have permanently larger glasses of everything is very much driven by the restaurant industray (12.5 ml of wine in a small glass looks full, in a huge glass looks tiny meaning you can serve people more, more often and make them drink/order more bottles). Traditionally, different shapes and sizes of glasses have been associated with different wine types, and I find the small flutes just fine. I was also annoyed to see lots of people wasting, ie leaving the large flutes nearly full when suddenly realising that their flight would soon board. So personally, if it reduces waste, I certainly don't mind.
May 30, 2014, 1:58 pm
#148
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I actually think that the current inflation to have permanently larger glasses of everything is very much driven by the restaurant industray (12.5 ml of wine in a small glass looks full, in a huge glass looks tiny meaning you can serve people more, more often and make them drink/order more bottles). Traditionally, different shapes and sizes of glasses have been associated with different wine types, and I find the small flutes just fine. I was also annoyed to see lots of people wasting, ie leaving the large flutes nearly full when suddenly realising that their flight would soon board. So personally, if it reduces waste, I certainly don't mind.
May 30, 2014, 3:44 pm
#149
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I do not like the J type champagne flutes - small and not of the same quality crystal. I made this comment on the ipad in the GF last week.
I had my champagne in a wine glass instead.
I had my champagne in a wine glass instead.
Jun 3, 2014, 11:18 pm
#150
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Oooh, after almost giving up hope of a good red Bordeaux in T5 Flounge, the breakfast wine today was 2007 Chateau du Tertre, Margaux.
Drank very well with the black pudding.
Drank very well with the black pudding.