Optimistic about Freixenet Again

This past week felt busier than it probably was. We had Shane's kids over the weekend, and then Sunday night we took the boys (Emma stayed with her mom) up to Mont Tremblant for a quick ski day. We came home Tuesday, and then visited the farm Wednesday night. But the weekend was low key, the ski trip was low key (except for the travel), and the visit at the farm was low key... So I'm not sure where my head got to that made it feel hectic and rushed. 

Also, I won a donut on my tea the other day... right after we started our Primal Diet thing again (low carbs, low grains, high fat and protein)... Rats. But we're excited about going Primal. We've had success on it in the past, and we've kind let ourselves get on the cruddy food train recently... okay, since the summer... okay, since last winter... We're both down in weight already, on day 3. If you're curious or want to be inspired, go here: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/

In any case, the hectic or not so hectic week made Champagne Thursday that much more relaxed and earned. 

March 3, 2016 (Happy Birthday Jake!)

This week we went into Champagne Thursday with a mission. We wanted to prove to ourselves that last week wasn't a fluke after being primed for a beefy bubbly. No, we didn't get the Freixenet Gold again, good heavens no. We got the Freixenet Cordon Negro. We've had this one in the past and quite liked it but that was before the incident... So after last week, we were a little nervous.

We shouldn't have been. We popped the cork on this one (with great effort actually, this one did not want to budge), and we were not overwhelmed with beefy aromas. Thank God. Instead we got ripened fruit scents. 

In the glass, it has lots of bubbles, mmm. It has a sweet flavour, although it's not a sweet bubbly. We got more fruity notes on the nose: it's very ripe sweet fruit... you know when it's almost gone off, but you get it just in time? It's just extra sweet?

On the nose it's tough to determine which fruit it is that is about to go bad, but on the palate it is a little more distinguishable... I got notes of tart/sour pineapple (it smells over ripe and tastes under ripe, if that makes sense...). Shane said it was kind of like the Tropical Five-Alive. I also got a honey flavour. Not a syrup or thick mouth feel, just a bit of honey flavour. 

After a couple glasses it started to get less sweet in flavour and went more towards the tart/sour end of the spectrum. This might be because it was warming up a touch and so it was opening up? Or it might have just been our imaginations... Who knows? 

Verdict: Yup, this is a nice, dependable bottle. Consistent flavours and a good price.

That's about it for me. We're planning on spending the weekend in the kitchen, so I'll let you know how that goes next week! 

 ~S

• Brand: Freixenet
• Type of Grape: Macabeo, Xarel·lo and Parellada (same as the gold)
• Sweetness: 11g/L
• Price: $13.95
• Tasting Notes: Sweet fruity scents in a tart tropical fruity bubbly. Would pair nicely with an Asian noodle dish (might be because I'm craving that?)