For this event, Sunny and Cecile and Carlos pulled out all the stops. What a lineup: five of the world’s most expensive NV champagnes paired with a zillion-course menu in one of Taipei’s leading Japanese restaurants… amazing production value, including the polished-copper ice-buckets and the brightly colored bottles, and it seemed that nearly everyone there was an old student of TWA, except for the Japanese chefs of course.

We tasted through almost the complete range of offerings from Armand de Brignac, everything except the ultra-rare Blanc de Noir, but who can complain? I doubt there is any of that one in Taiwan.

We began with the original Gold, a classic 3-way blend, brut, with extraordinary elegance that you will appreciate much more if you forget its price and enjoy its finesse. It has all the classic elements in very precise balance, just enough. We would be foolish not to acknowledge that a large part of Armand de Brignac’s appeal is its packaging and branding, but what’s inside the bottle has also proven itself in very serious blind tasting contests. I don’t get so many chances to taste this superlative wine, but there’s definitely nothing wrong with it and lots that’s right.

My favorite is still the Blanc de Blanc, with its steely minerality, but the Rosé was also a treat, showing character from skin contact, and the real highlight of the evening was the astonishingly brilliant pairing of their semi-sweet expression with uni and fatty tuna over just-right rice flavored with black sesame. My oh my but that was something, the way the umami in the uni spread through the sweet wine, so perfectly balanced and prolonged by the tuna, and the slightly vinegary rice just begging to be devoured.

Anyway, it’s late. I’ll try to write this up some more tomorrow….

Life in Taiwan during the pandemic has been full of emotional experiences with food, but Carlos Chen and the chefs at The Ukai Taipei accomplished something quite extraordinary with this performance, perfectly planned and beautifully executed.