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Interview with Chef Zanoni
Chef Zanoni, how did you discover the world of Champagne and the House Philipponnat?
I came upon this universe when I was a boy: in Italy, we have always been big ambassadors – and big consumers – of Champagne! In “the boot”, Champagne is synonymous with celebration and grandeur. It’s a product with a solar rhythm that rhymes with heritage, passing from one year to the next. I discovered Philipponnat Champagne in Italy: in the ‘80s, it was the Champagne of choice of the Agnelli family, a great family from the northern part of the country and owners of the Fiat group! I celebrated my 20th birthday in London with my first experience of tasting the House’s cuvées.
You create food and wine pairings with Philipponnat Champagnes. Could you tell us more about that?
The House’s Champagnes pair equally well with the products of the sea as with those of the earth. On 28 November, in my workshop, we created a fitting onion squash crème (earth) cut with smoked eel (sea). To accompany this dish, we served a Royale Réserve Non Dosé: the finesse of the bubbles livens these noble, delicate products. Next, we served a 1522 Extra-Brut from 2018. It’s an incredible Champagne! A Grand Cru from the House’s most sublime parcels. The other thing I love is the mastery and that perfect Pinot Noir presence, which provides a rich wine that pairs perfectly with the dish. We also created a second dish, home-made cacio e pepe orecchiette with mushrooms. For this dish, I love to enjoy a 2018 Extra-Brut Blanc de Noirs. 100% Pinot Noir, an incredible bouquet… Wow! You can really smell the terroir. It’s an extraordinary expression of the varietal: you get the truffle, you get its powerful, earthy side, and you get the vine. With such a fresh, mineral character, you need a flavourful dish, quite fatty, even creamy.
All that with a little olive oil, home-made focaccia, and lots of love… and everything will work out!
Does it ever occur to you to create sweet pairings?
It’s always a bit more complicated to create pairings with desserts. Here, we love to pair our white chocolate panna cotta and vanilla, pear and chartreuse compote with a glass of 2016 Sublime Réserve. Rich in aroma, this slightly sweet cuvée allows a perfect balance to be struck between the sweetness of the dessert and the delicacy of the Champagne. It’s sublime!
And what Philipponnat cuvée would you draw inspiration from for a food and wine pairing to enhance end-of-year festivities?
I love Philipponnat’s Long Vieillissement cuvées. On the palate, they are a story: you truly taste a person’s memories, the mentality of an age. I am fortunate to have a few bottles in my cellar, like the 1997 Clos des Goisses L.V. which I will savour with my wife. It’s a Champagne made for sharing, with everything older wines have to offer: magnificence, softness and harmony. The bubbles are fine, the wine very mineral, with notes of brioche, even toasted brioche. You really smell the bread, and that gourmet aspect… I love it! And I would serve it quite simply with a small plate of aperitivo. With a Champagne this complex and delicious, the food must be simple: it’s a pairing that is there to elevate the wine. If you want a more elaborate dish, you need a simpler Champagne. If the wine and the food are both extraordinary, it’s disconcerting because you don’t know what to focus on.
And what about you? What pairings will you create at home for Christmas?
If you really want to know, the very same 1997 Clos des Goisses L.V., with little seared scallops, just simply done in a pan and with a homemade pumpkin purée and a little sage butter. With that, I feel like the king of the world!
