Champagne Travelogue 2025, Oahu Edition

[Warren_Taranow]

We’re off again, as always to the Islands, but this time it’s Oahu. Since retiring from my orthopedic practice, we accepted a temporary position for three and a half weeks, cat sitting in a beautiful Balinese-style home in the Northwest hills. As per my usual travel routine, I packed Champagne along with a little red and white Burgundy. Bottle size and weight played an unusually big role in the final cut. Krug, Vilmart, Comtes and other heavy hitters didn’t make it due to the size of the bottles. PYCM was the one exception I allowed myself, though I still don’t understand why his bottles are so damned big. I even had to pull the 2008 Bollinger Grande Année to keep the bag under 50 pounds.

I brought my mountain bike gear, and friends of our hosts are lined up to show me some local trails, including a Christmas night ride with lights. We’re planning daily beach walks and finally visiting Pearl Harbor, which neither of us has ever done. Since we’re staying in a home, we’ll likely cook more than eat out. Stay tuned. I’ll try to post anything of interest along the way.

[Philip_Laub]

Just had the Bolly '08 Grand Annee last week. In a good spot, and very tasty.

[Ted_R]

Sir. It appears that you need another VineGardeValise.

[Warren_Taranow]

We spent our first night in Honolulu, then made it to our friends’ home yesterday. I came down with a cold, the first time I’ve been sick in years, so I wore a mask to avoid inoculating them before their trip. My friend cooked a delicious agedashi tofu and served poke as an appetizer, followed by a Nobu style black cod for dinner. I opened a 2006 Charles Heidsieck Champagne Blanc des Millénaires
Take this note with a grain of salt, because I have a cold and I had packed this bottle in my luggage the other day. I liked it, but not as much as the last one I opened about a year ago. It’s dense, powerful, and flavorful, but for me it has lost some of the energy, vibrance, and freshness it once had.

I noticed a similar evolution with the 1995. I loved those soon after release, and I remember others responding to my enthusiastic notes by saying it was “good but not great.” I disagreed and bought cases of it. I loved the ’95s until a couple of years ago, when I suddenly didn’t. They still had the power, but something essential had faded.

This 2006 reminds me of that experience. It’s gone a bit tropical, and the apple notes have matured. I love old Champagne, but there may be something about this particular cuvée that loses an element I value, even though the same shift doesn’t bother me in other Champagnes.

[KhaN]

Hope you feel better now. I noticed that whenever I have a cold, my tastebuds and olfactory receptors get nerfed and only work at 70% of their normal capacity. Maybe the cold dampened the experience.

[TGibson]

If it’s of interest, the Pipe Pro surfing contest on from Dec 10-20th. Conditions are not great today but Mon-Thurs next week is looking like a nice window for it to run.

[Warren_Taranow]

Thanks Tony. Our calendar is wide open. We’re staying north of Kailua, 30 miles from Pipeline. We’ll go check it out next week.

[Warren_Taranow]

We had great weather today and walked several miles on one of my favorite beaches, Kailua, on the east side of Oahu. The sand is flat, soft, and firm, the water is clear, and the out-and-back walk is just under four miles with great swimming along the way. Other than the southernmost end, it’s relatively empty even this time of year because there are no hotels and very few Airbnbs.

Tonight we dined at a wonderful eight-seat omakase restaurant in Honolulu, @SUSHI on Ala Moana Boulevard, run by Chef Atsushi Kumagai. Thirteen courses, all excellent. I photographed a few.

I didn’t pair the meal with beer or sake and struggled to choose a Champagne from my stash, but I think we did really well with the NV Egly-Ouriet VP, disgorged in July 2022 and based on the 2014 vintage, spending 84 months on the lees. Red berries and blood orange, with zest, toastiness, and great texture and persistence.

[Warren_Taranow]

Not many photos yet, for a few reasons. I’ve had the flu, which is fortunately almost resolved, and we’ve had a deluge of rain. Luckily, we’re staying in a beautiful spot in the eastern hills of the island, and we’ve been perfectly content staying around the grounds, reading, practicing yoga, and relaxing. I’ve also spent too much time here and on Instagram and other online distractions, which isn’t a bad way to spend part of a vacation.

Last night we had a really nice meal at Goen in Kailua, one of Roy Yamaguchi’s restaurants. I brought a bottle of NV Ployez-Jacquemart Champagne Cuvée Granite 90ème Anniversaire. Another great bottle of this one-off commemorative cuvée, based on the 2013 vintage with reserve wines going back a dozen years to 1976. Fresh, complex, beautifully textured. I’ve really fallen for this house, and I’m happy I cellar a bit of this bottling. I wish I could post a video of the deluge we watched from the covered section of their outdoor deck. We had a mad, sodden dash to the car at the end of the meal.

Today, we might head to the North Shore for Florence Pipe Pro Surfing at Banzai Pipeline, weather permitting.

[Warren_Taranow]

Yesterday we visited Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial for the first time. It really brought the tragedy and history home in a personal way. I’ve read about that day in countless articles and novels (Herman Wouk among many others) but being there made it far more immediate and personal.

In the evening we spent time with some new friends who have known the folks whose house we’re watching for years. I brought a 2011 Larmandier-Bernier VV du Levant. I open this wine often and post about it frequently, so I risk sounding like a broken record (a phrase that definitely dates me). It’s a beautiful Blanc de Blancs that transcends the vintage’s reputation and remains one of my favorite wines.

Our hosts cut their vinous teeth in Southern California in the 70’s. After we finished the Champagne, he generously opened a 2019 Blankiet Estate Proprietary Red Wine Paradise Hills Vineyard. What a contrast. Big, dense, and lush, with sweet pipe tobacco and cassis. Not a style I typically open, but it was beautifully flavored and scented, and great to try.

[Warren_Taranow]

Yesterday we drove to the North Shore, stopping along the way for a walk on a beautiful, empty beach. The waves were far too big to swim safely, though still a bit smaller than what’s typical for this time of year.

Last night we were invited to dinner by new friends who know the folks we’re house-sitting for. I brought a gem from the cellar that paired perfectly with the home-cooked meal. Dauvissat is the king of La Forêst, and 2014 is an especially strong vintage for this cuvée. Loads of oyster shell, salt spray, and energy, with acidity that cut right through the mushroom cream sauce of the entrée. A great day and evening.

[Brian_Gilp]

@Warren_Taranow

Yesterday we visited Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial for the first time. It really brought the tragedy and history home in a personal way. I’ve read about that day in countless articles and novels (Herman Wouk among many others) but being there made it far more immediate and personal.

When you noted previously that you planned to go, I tried to respond but found it too hard for me to put into words what I wanted to say. Your summary is quite better than anything I could come up with in 10 times the amount of words.

I love the North Shore. One of the few true happy places where I immediately felt at ease. I haven’t been in way too many years and fear for how it has changed. The empty beach gives me hope that it is close to what I fell in love with all those years ago.

[Warren_Taranow]

We’ve had a lot of rainy days on this trip, more than on any trip I can remember. Still, it’s been a pleasure to be up in the hills in a tropical rainforest, wet weather and all. We’ve done a lot of reading, taken advantage of the beaches when there’s a break in the weather, and continued to eat very well.

Two nights ago, we attended a great jazz concert. Our new friend Allen plays saxophone in Noel Okimoto’s Ohana Jazz Night, a monthly show, with Tommy James on piano, and excellent vibes, drums and bass. We ordered really good Italian takeout and enjoyed a wonderful evening of music.

Yesterday was mostly torrential rain, so I nearly finished the new Dan Brown novel. In the evening, we had dinner at La Mer in the Halekulani Hotel. It’s one of the best restaurants around here, with an incredible wine list. There are also several bottles not listed on the already extensive menu, including older Salon, Selosse, and Burgundies.

I brought a 2009 Pol Roger Champagne Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill. Corkage was a reasonable fifty dollars. My first impression was, “Wow, this is a huge wine. Maybe too big.” As the evening went on and the courses unfolded, we both grew to love it. It’s always a broad shouldered Champagne, and a vintage like 2009 amplifies everything. I usually start Champagne fairly cold and let it warm naturally over the course of the night, but in this case I asked them to keep it chilled to rein things in just a bit.

One of the servers let me sample a wine he recommended with the duck breast. A Sardinian Grenache. 2022 Giovanni Montisci Cannonau di Sardegna Barrosu. Really a wonderful wine. Delicious strawberry and violets, but what hooked me were the herbal aromas. It took me a while to pinpoint what I was smelling, but once my mind arrived at fresh oregano, thyme and bay leaf, those scents became unmistakable. Lovely wine.

[JustinP]

@Warren_Taranow

Herman Wouk among many others

Winds of War and War and Remembrance are just so, so underappreciated. Wonderful novels.

[Phil_T_r_o_t_t_e_r]

@Warren_Taranow

2011 Larmandier-Bernier VV du Levant

I’m on that band wagon Warren!

[Warren_Taranow]

Phil
I’m glad to hear that. I fear folks on the Champagne thread might roll their eyes and think “here he goes again” each time I post a glowing note on it.
Cheers,
Warren

[WilliamS]

Never! If a wine is good, and consistently so, then it is worth reiterating!

[Warren_Taranow]

The rains finally eased and we made it back to the beach. Since it was Sunday, we chose Bellows AFB Beach, which is open to the public only on weekends and holidays. It’s a huge, beautiful stretch of sand between Kailua and Waimanalo. Like Kailua, the sand is soft yet firm, making it great for walking, and the waves are better for body surfing.

We walked about three miles round trip and swam at the far end, then headed to Foodland for their excellent poke. If you doubt that a grocery store can have great poke, you should have seen the line of locals we waited in behind.

We had reservations elsewhere, but local friends talked us into switching to Umi in Honolulu. I’m very glad we took their advice. It’s one of the best restaurants we’ve been to and easily one of the best wine cellars in Hawaii. Only about 20 to 30 percent of the wines are listed.

We met Vikram, the owner, and his wife. They’re both lovely people and deeply into wine. They host many wine dinners, both for private groups and for wineries and regions from around the world. Some of these events sound so compelling that I may plan a future trip around one of them.

The food leans toward high end seafood. We started with excellent caviar alongside our Champagne.
I brought an excellent bottle. Corkage was $50.

2009 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut

While this wine has never shut down, it’s clearly getting better with time in the bottle. What was once a profile dominated by lemon has now been joined by luscious orange and pear notes. Perfectly balanced, Roederer handled the warm vintage beautifully. One of my top bottles of the trip.

I had an outstanding abalone dish, a scallop carpaccio with cucumber that was remarkable, a brilliant lobster course, and then braised Wagyu cheeks. Desserts were equally impressive. Marybeth, with her shellfish allergy, loved the curry. A must visit if you’re on Oahu.
If you’re interested in talking with Vikram about hosting an event, bringing wine to the restaurant, or simply planning a meal there, feel free to PM me and I’ll be happy to share his contact information.

I was tempted to try the Hennessy Paradis but had to drive.

Here are some bottles from a recent tasting he hosted.

[Mike_Evans]

I like that a 1976 Joguet Chinon VV was deemed worthy to include with the much more prestigious bottles.

[David_Bu3ker]

Glad to see your Cristal note as there was some in dad’s cellar.