I drank some Piper Heidsick (sp?) brut and liked it. I started drinking it from a champagne flute and basically only tasted it and didn't really smell it. My next glass was poured into a large mouthed wine glass and I noticed a very strong scent; I almost think it smelled like vanilla! What scents does champagne have?
Piper Heidsieck makes several champagnes, and I don't know which one you had. Their nonvintage brut is the one most often seen. It is a rather full wine that is, I believe, made from the black grapes Pinot Noir and Pinor Meunier and does not contain Chardonnay. I notice a yeasty or fresh bread character in it, and some clean fruit that is somewhat citrus like. There is a bit of vanilla-like character. Many wines have a hint of vanilla, and this often comes from some of the species of oak that are often used for casks to ferment and age the wine. Some wines, however, never see any oak.I would not worry too much about exact descriptions about how wine smells or tastes. Very often the taste or smell you get is not exactly like anything else. It may remind one person of one thing and another person of something else - one may think blackberry, mixed dark fruits, cassis, etc. but the wine does not taste or smell exactly like any of these.
Thanks, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't nuts for thinking I smelled vanilla.
Heidsieck.
Not at all. And, btw, you discovered a truth I am preaching for years: A good wine glass is sooo much better for champagne than a flute ...
M.
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