Gruet and Billiot Champagne Tastings

This past weekend, sans Barry, we had another evening of champagne and oysters. The idea here is also to pair the champagne with something other than oysters to come up with the perfect bite. There are several suggestions at Epicurious for Champagnes and Sparkling Wines Perfect for Any Celebration. This evening, we were tasting a brut Réserve from H. Billiot Champagne along with New Mexico's méthode champenoise sparkling wine.
We thought that the H. Billiot Champagne was very tart and had a huge acidic component. It did pair with the oysters but may be not as well as with other champagnes that we tasted previously like the Champagnes Aubry and Pierre Péters. It is also a member of the Terry Theise Estate Selections imported by Michael Skurnik Wines.
The second sparkling wine that we tasted was from New Mexico. Our friend is from Albuquerque, New Mexico so we had this in his honor. According to a June 15, 2010 article called In Albuquerque, French-Style Wines That Sparkle,

published in The New York Times, siblings Nathalie and Laurent Gruet moved from the Champagne region to New Mexico, 27 years ago. The article tells a very interesting story about Nathalie, Laurent and their father's search for land, in the U.S. Eschewing the established wine growing region of California, their father settled on New Mexico, because he "...had a pioneer spirit, a spirit to start something totally oddball in the middle of nowhere." Our friend, Mary made the Epicurious recommended rabbit ragu to pair with the Gruet. The ragu was sitting on a bed of polenta and it was a delicious paring with the Gruet. The ragu is definitely on our list of "keeper recipes".