Every Friday TheChampagneSommelier will ask 5 questions about 5 coeur de bouteille to friends and Champagne lovers from near and far. This week we had a bubbly chat with Swedish sommelier extraordinaire Michel Jamais.
Michel Jamais is one of the most established and well-known connoisseurs of noble drinks in Sweden. Since the beginning of the 1990s, he has inspired tens of thousands of interested people with knowledge and passionate passion through tastings, lectures, sommelier training, programs on radio and television, through books and articles in magazines and on the internet, through drink-related travel and acclaimed wine dinners.
Between 2000 and 2007, Michel led the training program for Sweden’s competing sommelier and in 2007 was able to crown that assignment by seeing Andreas Larsson as ‘The Best Sommelier in the World’, this after having helped coach several Swedish and Nordic champions. Michel was TheChampagneSommeliers coach during his years competing in sommelier competitions. It resulted in 12 silvers & 1 gold in national & international sommelie competitions.
Which Champagne would You treat your parents?
’They are not so picky when it come to wines, so I guess I don’t need to impress them. But I want to show them something deliscious so I would go for a more charming and easy drinking champagne from a well known house rather than a small but for them ”never heard of producer”. I’d take a vintage Moët & Chandon with a few years of age, most likely a 2005 or 2008 vintage. If my mother was still alive, I would choose a regular NV Veuve Clicquot, as far as I remember that was her champagne, the few times she had champagne.’
Which Champagne would You treat our lover?
’Rosé, without a doubt, and I would pick the most charming and seductive of them all, the 2010 Brut Rosé from Louis Roederer. I just love that champagne, it’s full of red apples, red berries, citrus and rose petals, it’s silky and somehow ”sweet” on the palate, yet so fresh. Did I say magnum?’
Which Champagne would You treat your boss?
‘I haven’t had a real boss for around 23 years, other than myself, so I think I would treat a fantastic partner in crime, one of my best clients. Isn’t that a fair option? In this case I would like to show her, him or them a truly great champagne with age and complexity. Why not 1988 Krug or 1964 Dom Pérignon for more serious and hard to find stuff or the younger and still almost youthful 1996 Dom Pérignon. But of course, there are other more small scale producers to choose from, why not David Laclapart or Agrapart?’
Which Champagne would You treat yourself?
’I remember a dinner at my house in 2008, when my friends without any coordination in selecting champagnes for this evening just happened to serve a trio of champagnes (blind, of course), at the same time I served another champagne blind. The crazy thing is that we all poured the Comtes de Champagne from Taittinger, one of my favorite champagnes of all times. But it was from four different vintages; 1966, 1976, 1986 and 1996. I think that’s the most outstanding coincidence, and it was a fabulous experience. Imagine if I could have those champagnes side by side again, that would be a great treat. Hit me!’
Which Champagne would You treat a dream guest, and why?
‘I’d like to change the question, I would rather choose a dream guest who would treat me with great champagnes, for pleasure and for me to learn more. So I wish Anselme Selosse would be my guest and I would leave it up to him (a day when he is very generous) to offer me a wide ranges of champagnes, from vin clairs to young champagnes and some older vintages as well.‘
