AYALA LE BLANC DE BLANCS – This year more than ever, August, is a time to treat yourself – and what better way than with a special meal out.
In partnership with Champagne Ayala, the following restaurants have created their own special menu or specific pairing where their kitchen’s food is being matched with the beautifully elegant and highly versatile Ayala 2014 Le Blanc de Blancs.
The Blanc de Blancs is a gorgeously food-friendly wine that epitomises Champagne Ayala’s pure, elegant style. Only made in the best years and in limited quantities, this wine is made exclusively from Grand and Première Cru vineyards from the Côtes des Blancs, the best terroir for Chardonnay in the Champagne region. The wine is precise, contemporary and vivacious, with fresh aromas of yuzu and ginger balanced by creamy scents of fresh butter, vanilla and brioche with a salty tang on the finish.
The breadth of aromas and bright, fresh style make the Blanc de Blancs incredibly versatile with food, as we can see from the range of dishes recommended by their partner restaurants!
Ayala’s Chef de Cave, Caroline Latrive’s has own top pairing, which is pan-seared scallops with yuzu.
Photo: Bob Bob Ricard dish
LONDON RESTAURANTS
“I feel like I’m in Gatsby’s dining room”, notes one fan of this stylish place where glitzy, over-the-top fun is the name of the game. Cloistered booths provide the showcase for the foodie offering of sumptuous, classical dishes and Francophile wines, supported by effortless service. Ideal for a lost afternoon indulging in the Ayala August Menu.
Perfect Match with Ayala Le Blanc de Blancs: turbot coulibiac with Champagne sauce (Russian speciality of turbot fillet and hand-dived scallop mousse wrapped in puff pastry, served with champagne beurre blanc
Where: 1 Upper James Street, W1F 9DF
This bright and breezy restaurant looking across to the Tate Modern is more exposed to the Thames than any other restaurant in the City, which means there’s no better place for a sun-drenched August lunch than here. High Timber’s Cape connection is writ large on the wine list but food is a broad church from fashionable salads to great steaks via plenty of luxury items. Grab a seat on the terrace and enjoy the August Ayala Menu.
Perfect Match with Ayala Le Blanc de Blancs: tbc
Where: Paul's Walk, 8 High Timber Street, EC4V 3PA
This is the London staging post of the internationally revered Anne Sophie Pic, whose cooking is packed with inventiveness, precision and delicious complexity in what will be a truly special, if pricy, treat. It’s a swanky setting but the whole experience is multi-layered and luxurious, aided by friendly, very knowledgeable staff and matched by a heavy-weight wine list. Try the Champagne Ayala August Menu to keep matters simple but sublime.
Perfect Match with Ayala Le Blanc de Blancs: tbc
Where: Four Seasons Hotel London at Ten Trinity Square, Tower Hill, EC3N 4AJ
This new place pitches itself as a proper restaurant – oysters, meltingly tender lamb shoulder or simply great cheeses – though the indie oenophile side of things is never far away, with a well-priced ‘collector’s list’ complemented by a good selection of wines by the glass or carafe. The modish, soft-toned wine bar interior dominated by a striking central bar is a delightfully airy space in summer, and appreciated by the clued-up Londoners who already congregate here.
Perfect Match with Ayala Le Blanc de Blancs: tbc
Where: 300 Kings Road SW3 5UH
OUT OF LONDON RESTAURANTS
In a beautiful cobbled quayside overlooking the harbour, the building may be 17th-century but the interior is modish, tricked out in neutral tones, enlivended with vibrant paintings & white leather chairs. Ramon Farthing’s confident, complex, Michelin-starred cooking, with flawless combinations and showy presentation, puts a contemporary spin onto the classical French repertoire, perfectly exemplified by this Ayala August Menu.
Perfect Match with Ayala Le Blanc de Blancs: tbc
Where: 47 South Street The Quay Emsworth, Emsworth, Hampshire PO10 7EG