I recently attended a dinner on board the Fingal, a unique luxury hotel managed by the trust that also runs the Royal Yacht Brittania and, like Brittania, moored on the dockside in Edinburgh’s port of Leith. The 23-roomed ex-lighthouse supply ship has had a multi-million pound refit, to create not only the cossetting luxury of the rooms and suites, but impressive public rooms including the deck-top Lighthouse Bar, with panoramic views of Leith and the waterfront.
Dinner was served in the dramatic ballroom, entered down a glamorous hollywood-style sweeping staircase, where the vintage wines of Champagne Moët & Chandon where served alonsgide dinner cooked by the on-board team. The food on the Fingal was excellent (as was breakfast next morning) and the entertainment provided by a very cool jazz trio provided the perfect background music.
Three vintages of the Grand Vintage Brut were served, 2008, 2009 and 2012, and the 2012 version of the Vintage Rosé too.
Vintage wines are made only in the best years in Champagne, the 2012 being the 74th Grand Vintage ever produced. The blend features the trio of Champagne grapes, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, aged for a minimum of five years, and with a relatively low dosage of just 5g/l.
The Rosé (2012 is the 43rd release) is lightly dominated by Pinot Noir, but again all three grapes are used with a healthy dose of Meuinier – 23% in the 2012). Like the Vintage Brut, the dosage is 5g/l and it is aged for a minimum of five years on the lees before release.