“Four macaroons: pistachio, raspberry, coffee and vanilla with a wine menu please”. During autumn 2018, after arriving from Reims to Paris with Ferdinand, far too early for a meeting, we let ourselves be tempted for a T. time at Ladurée, a true institution of French gastronomy, known around the world for its macaroons. We sulked at the very pretty tea menu, and shamelessly ordered our four macaroons and the wine menu at 4:30 pm.     Unsurprisingly, many great brands feature by the Ladurée Champagne, in a brut and a rosé version, it couldn’t be more classic. But it also isn’t incredibly inspiring. This is when I started telling Ferdinand that up until the 60s, champagne was for the most part enjoyed with dessert, usually around a birthday or a tiered cake. At the time, it was therefore predominantly a sweet champagne “demi sec” that was served. Today, we are beginning to reorient towards drier champagnes, with little to no added sugars, such as our Millésimé 2009 Brut Nature.

So what champagne could perfectly highlight the taste of our macaroons without weighing down it’s meringue shell and beautiful ganaches?

    Our creative project was to regularly elaborate vintages whose styles could adapt to the taste of a permanently evolving world, and to truly bring our champagne to life. It was the beginning of a great adventure, creating our very first tailor-made vintage. We are convinced that the immense aromatic array of champagnes must allow for their tasting to be contextualised. There isn’t just one but many champagnes! The first step was to convince the Ladurée house, its president and teams, of the merits of such a collaboration, the symbiosis of our Champagne savoir-faire coupled with the quintessence of patisserie.

White or rosé champagne? Extra dry or demi sec? What type of ageing?

Nothing was left to coincidence. More than 14 samples originating from our own pre-selections were tasted collectively with the assortment of traditional Ladurée macaroons. Our choice was the Millésimé 2009 Extra Dry, at the antipode of our Millésimé 2009 Brut Nature. The same champagne but with two different pleasures. How does it taste ?     With a hint more sugar than the Brut Classique, the wine remains gourmet and elegant without falling into the trap of the sec and demi-sec that can become syrupy champagnes.

The richness and smoothness of the macaroons are highlighted by the freshness and minerality of the champagne.

Until now it was reserved for the Ladurée restaurants in Paris, but you can now enjoy this same delicious sensation by savouring our Millésimé 2009 Extra Dry “macaroon special” champagne with your sweet treats.