This trying not to drink business is no fun. I blame it for the increasing gaps between posts. Oh the irony of toasting “your health”!

Still, I have managed to sample a few drops worth mentioning.

I have Mike S. to thank for the first (and thank you Mike for reading this blog). He pointed out that champagne for under $20 does exist – at Aldi. So I went and bought some.

I never got to drink the first bottle. I took it over to a friend’s place and he had some Piper open, so we drank that. I felt cheap bringing Aldi champagne (forgive me Stu) but having since tried it, I don’t feel as cheap.

It turns out this humble drop – I should call it by its name, Veuve Monsigny NV, has recently been named one of the best in the world after winning a Silver Outstanding medal at the International Wine and Spirits Challenge. Decanter Magazine described it as having “baked apple, brioche and peach flavours, with decent acidity and creamy weight thanks to extended ageing before release”.

Who am I to disagree? As I said, I don’t feel as cheap having tasted it – I’ve had worse champagne for much more. It’s clean, has some lees flavor (guess that’s the baked brioche) but I won’t be buying it again. No, I’ll be lashing out and spending $25 on Veuve Monsigny NV Premier Cru, which has much more to it, for a little bit more. When we got to the end of the bottle I was disappointed, which is always a good sign. Although maybe it’s also a bad sign.

On another occasion I found myself opening a bottle of Arras NV which is about the same price at Dan Murphy and also very good. Worth trying them together, me thinks.

Arras has set out to make world class bubbly using traditional champagne techniques. I’ve never had their really expensive wines – the EJ Carr LD 2003, with 12 years of tirage behind it will set you back $180 – but the fact they exist is testament to Mr Carr’s belief in doing things properly. The NV gets 3 years on the lees, it’s mainly pinot noir and scores 94 points, according to Dan Murphy. Tasting notes suggest lychee, buttered sautéed mushrooms, natural yoghurt and oyster. I’m quite thankful I couldn’t detect all those flavours.

Wine notes are amusing. My daughter gave me a great book for my last birthday – ‘Wine Folly, A visual guide to the world of wine’. It has flavor wheels that outline everything you should look for in a wine, listed by variety, and a lot of other useful information.

Listed as the dominant flavours for Cabernet Sauvignon are: Black cherry, Blackcurrant, red pepper, baking spices and cedar (for a moment I thought it said cheddar and I’m sure that would not be good). Some of the other 30 odd things to look for are: mint, eucalyptus, graphite, mocha and pipe tobacco. That being the case I’d recommend Taylor’s Jaraman Cabernet Sauvignon, with fruit from Coonawarra and Clare.

“aromas of dark cherry fruit along with subtle choc-mint and a hint of eucalypt. On the palate, this is a rich, full-bodied wine with intense flavours of cassis and blackberry fruit along with attractive oak characters of cigar box and tobacco leaf”

Halliday gave it 93 points and it is proof that commercially produced wines can offer great value. At 14.5% alcohol it was a touch on the spirited side for me.

Your health.