CHAMPAGNE: ONE MONCUR Woollahra’s newest bar

August 10 2012 by Rebecca Varidel in Eating + drinking | 1 Comment

Finally – I’ve been to heaven! Sydney has a Champagne Bar!

Brothers Luke and Jeremy Browne along with business partner Anthony Rosen have been the driving force behind the reincarnation of the historic Phoenix Hotel building on leafy Moncur Street. The new bar takes many of its design features from the Phoenix’s rich art deco past and graphic designer Henrietta Reed has created a luxe aesthetic with some quirky champagne-inspired elements, including a graphic deco-inspired feature wall.

The wine list offers over 30 champagnes by the bottle, including classic grande marques (Champagne houses) and an impressive list of grower made champagnes. Recently I had a chance to meet the brothers and sommelier Tristan Tomlinson and share in our mutual enthusiasm for Champagne. (This of course meant tasting a few…) While there are there is also an elegant list of boutique Australian and French wines for those preferring something other then champagne, I’ll bet you know what was in my selection for the night. Yeup, you got it:

NV Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Brut
Montagne de Reims France

NV Rene Geoffroy Expression Brut
Cumieres France

NV Ruinart Blanc de Blanc
Reims France

NV Agrapart Terroirs Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru
Cote des Blanc, France

NV Paul Bara Grand Rose Grand Cru
Bouzy France

2002 Moet and Chandon Grand Vintage
Eperney France

The opportunity to taste six Champagnes brought new delights and old pleasures and confirmed my love of minerality and blanc de blanc Champagnes. I think I stand alone on this one, but the Ruinart Blanc de Blanc was my personal favourite of the night. Paul Bara was a new addition to the top notches of my Champagne list, as was the Agrapart. The knowledgeable team shared some interesting tit bits on Champagne history (and the bottles).