Salt cod croquettes and zero dosage champagne

Even after all this time we still don’t often think of champagne in the context of a meal but a brilliant Champagne Leclerc Briant dinner I went to last week at Berry Bros & Rudd underlined that we might be missing a trick.

Both the first and main courses went perfectly with the champagnes with which they were paired - the complex, honeyed 2015 Les Basses Prières with an equally rich dish of roast partridge with wild mushroom ravioli and the 2015 La Croisette Brut Zéro with a delicate dish of salt cod croquettes and courgette ‘flavours’ or, perhaps more accurately textures, as they were griddled, puréed and, I think, steamed.

The reason I picked this dish out of the two is that, the deep fried element aside, it was a more unusual combination and because it would have been challenging for most champagnes. The slight saltiness of the cod, which was also served as whole pieces, would have accentuated their sweetness - but this was so ethereal, so clean, and precise it was the perfect match.

It has to be said the champagnes, which I wasn’t familiar with, are wonderful in their own right. The vines are cultivated biodynamically but the winemaker Hervé Justin follows biodynamic practices in the winery too. You can read more about them here.

See also the best wine matches with salt cod

I attended the dinner as a guest of Berry Bros & Rudd

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