Every Friday TheChampagneSommelier will ask 5 questions about 5 coeur de bouteillesto friends and Champagne lovers from near and far. This Week we took a bubbly chat with English Champagne lover & wine writer Tom Hewson Merci Tom !
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
BIO
Tom Hewson
In short, I’m a certified bubblehead. I write about Champagne and global sparkling wine at https://sixatmospheres.substack.com/ and for the British MW Tim Atkin, who has published my reports on Champagne 2022/2023 and the burgeoning English wine production scene this year. I’m also a musician – I studied classical and jazz piano, and still play professionally, too. I’ve been lucky to spend almost a month in Champagne in 2022, seeing the harvest from budbreak to base wine in this speedy year! I’m always inspired and invigorated by any producer thinking deeply and with an open mind; I especially love being out in the vineyards themselves, seeing growers working to get the very best from their land.
Which Champagne would You treat your parents or in-laws?
‘My in-laws are Blanc de Blancs addicts, a bit like me (whereas my parents like richer, softer styles). They love Pierre Gimonnet, so I’d treat them to a magnum of 2008 Vielles Vignes de Chardonnay – it’s stunning.’
Which Champagne would You treat your lover?
‘My other half likes a bit of oomph. She always remembers a bottle of Bollinger Grande Année 1997 we shared when we moved into our first flat, so it has to be an R.D. – I really like the 2007.‘
Which Champagne would You treat your boss?
‘I don’t have a boss, exactly. If I did, though, bosses like to feel important. Nothing makes you feel important like Krug, so it would be a Grande Cuvée with a bit of age. ‘
Tom Hewson
Which Champagne would You treat yourself?
‘I’m a 1985 vintage, so that’s a good place to start. One I’ve always wanted to try is the Charles Heidsieck Champagne Charlie 1985. Jeroboams are £5,540 here in the UK if anyone would like to buy me a birthday present next year. ‘
Which Champagne would You treat a dream guest, and why?
‘My dream guest is the jazz composer Duke Ellington. If I can go back in time to fetch him, then perhaps I’m allowed to go back in time to fetch a bottle he might have enjoyed, too? Pol Roger 1934 (best make it a magnum at this age)?’
[ what piece of music would you listen to drinking wine with Your dream guest ?]
I’d listen to Duke’s ‘Oclupaca’. It’s a masterpiece of tension and release – just like the very best Champagnes.
