Under the blossoms,
if only this could stay
just as it is.
— Issa
A colleague mentioned Twin Peaks this week.
The next evening, I found myself back in the Pacific Northwest.
The same Douglas firs.
The same slow camera movements.
The same haunting keyboard theme.
I wasn't watching because I'd forgotten it.
I was watching because I hadn't.
A few days later it was "Stay on These Roads" by A-ha.
Then The Wise Heart found its way back to my nightstand.
I still love discovering something new.
Some things deserve a lifetime of returning.
The Quiet Detail
This spring, a Dungeness crab feed called for two Champagnes.
Philipponnat Royale Réserve Non Dosé.
Laherte Frères Ultradition Extra Brut.
Fresh crab.
Drawn butter.
A squeeze of lemon.
Nothing else.
The meal didn't feel simple.
It felt complete.
Philipponnat came first.
Linear.
The lemon on the crab and the lemon in the glass made the same point twice.
Laherte came second.
Rounder.
White flowers.
Warm bread.
Then citrus arriving late.
It didn't need the crab to prove anything.
It already had.
Neither wine tasted unfinished.
Neither tasted like it was still deciding what to be.
Bottles of the Week
Philipponnat Royale Réserve Non Dosé
65% Pinot Noir · 30% Chardonnay · 5% Pinot Meunier
No dosage.
Laherte Frères Ultradition Extra Brut
60% Meunier · 30% Chardonnay · 10% Pinot Noir
4.5 g/L dosage.
What to Notice
Neither wine announces its dosage.
Philipponnat stays quieter.
Chalk.
Pear skin.
Laherte is broader.
Warm bread.
Citrus arriving late.
Neither feels unfinished.
Each feels complete on its own terms.
Where to Find It
Philipponnat Royale Réserve Non Dosé
Wine-Searcher · approximately $50–75
Laherte Frères Ultradition Extra Brut
Wine-Searcher · approximately $45–65
Also occasionally available through K&L Wine Merchants.
Neither is trying to prove that less is better.
Only that every choice should earn its place.
A Short Detour
A few mornings after returning home from Europe, we had breakfast in the garden.
My youngest complained that the birds were too loud.
So we stopped.
We listened.
A minute later she wasn't complaining anymore.
She was pointing them out.
One after another.
Without realizing it, I had stopped eating.
Until the next bottle,
Manj
P.S. What have you returned to recently that had more to say than you remembered?
Short Champagne notes on Instagram: @le_dosage