Business aviation continues to develop innovative services to augment their clients experiences. Serving the best fine wine at altitude, undoubtedly contributes to the enjoyment of the flight. It is proven that altitude and air compression and even the quality of the air acting as vehicle for flavour can physically effect our senses as well as the character of the wines themselves so it is important to choose a vintage, the experience of which is no less muted or impressive at 10,000ft

ConnectJets and WineChap hosted the first tasting of Champagne, white and red wines alongside a ‘WineChap’ selection, on a privately-owned Hawker 800XP  provided by ConnectJets , to explore the effects of altitude and air pressure and condition on olfactory and gustatory appreciation. 

....and here are the results

Oak:

The altitude or more likely air pressure and quality accentuated the oak influence in the wines: – For the Bollinger and Aliot this worked in their favour as the wines increased in structure without losing the rich autolytic character of the former or the ripe spicy fruit of the latter.  The Bordeaux however saw some of their fruit recede, especially after breathing for two hours, and on the second tasting at Altitude the Cantemerle was rather reedy and dried out, and the Pape Clement  showed a disassociation between its fruit core and the toasty French oak in which it had previously been wrapped.  The conclusion suggested is that new-oaked reds do not benefit from being overly aerated before consumption in this environment.

Fruit:

Starting from the premise that air is a conduit for aroma and flavor, and surmising therefore that the quality of this ‘vehicle’ would affect the ‘ride’ it was not surprising that conditions in a pressurized cabin deadened the palate somewhat, flattening flavours and masking the more subtle and secondary characteristics of the wines generally.  This was particularly evident with the lighter, more elegant wines:  The Gruner (which in fairness did not show particularly well on the ground either) struggled to make any impression in the air, and the Valmur’s clean austerity became rather punctilious at 9000ft.  The clear winner among the whites on this occasion was the Aliot, whose mid-palate weight and structural amplitude refused to be cowed by the conditions. 

There was slightly less consensus regarding the reds, due partly to the disparity between the length of time the wines had been open and breathing between the first and second flights.  However conclusions can be drawn from this also:  On Leg One we observed the compact, smoky and youthfully muscular Pape Clement working well but the Meritage shone also and continued to do on the return journey; its lesser complexity, and chunky, fruit-forward profile leaving it with less to lose at altitude.   The Chateauneuf fell somewhere between these two, putting in solid if journeyman performances on the ground and at altitude.  We can propose that more concentrated, fruit-centred wines do well in the air. A further surmise is that Bordeaux from particularly ripe, maturing vintages, achieving good integration of fruit and wood, but not so aged as to hold sediment in suspension (the likely result of vibrations caused by a plane’s movement) will be rewarding choices.  1995, 1996, 2000 and 2003 would be recommended vintages.

Bubbles:

Informed by findings published recently in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) that the bubbles in Champagne contain 30 times more flavor-enhancing chemicals than in the liquid, we were particularly interested to observe how differentiated air pressure at Altitude would affect our selection.  In each instance initially violent effervescence preceded a rapid dissipation of the mousse and it became clear that the richer, more characterful cuvees suffered less as more flavor was retained.

The Hiedsieck simply vanished in mid-air; the delicacy of the mouthfeel and elegant balance of fruit and floral components in the Armand de Brignac that made it the clear winner on the ground were slightly muted; the more robust Pinot Noir-dominated Bollinger performed sturdily, the bead persisting stubbornly, helping to retain the wine’s integrity.  When it is released we would like to try Armand de Brignac’s new Blanc de Noirs to further test theories of Pinot noir and oak at Altitude.  Certainly their Brut Gold was a vivifying drop whilst inverted – helping to refresh a throat dry from nerves!