Fleurs de Ruinart at the Langham

13^th May 2013

Catherine Bennett

Catherine Bennett

13 May 2013

Champagne is one of those drinks that somehow makes everything seem right with the world. On Thursday evening, the Langham previewed the wonderfully soothing properties of the Ruinart Blanc de Blancs vintage, which is currently celebrating a collaboration with the florist Adrian Ghione. 

The Langham is the perfect venue for the pop-up flower boutique and champagne bar, which will be on site until 21^st June. Palm Court, the quintessential London afternoon tea destination, was teeming with the beautiful, white avalanche roses that make up the bouquets created specifically for the brand. The miniature bouquets garnishing every table are a mixture of these signature roses, white bouvardia, jasmine and green trachelium, providing a delicate fragrance to match the eight principal aromas of the Ruinart Blanc de Blancs. No detail was left unattended. Similarly, waiters bearing the iconic bell-shape of the Ruinart bottle diligently served the guests, topping their glasses up throughout the night. Perhaps too diligent: so frequently did the gallant waiters hover nearby with those suggestive smiles – “More, Sir? Madam? Could I tempt you? Just a drop?” – that there was a danger of never leaving, unless by rolling down the stairs.

The champagne itself is made from Chardonnay grapes and is pleasingly dry, with a lightness on the palate. It was paired with canapés such as sesame cornets of smoked salmon, pickled ginger and cream cheese that melted on the tongue, and small, lightly battered spicy prawns alongside delicate layers of foie gras with notes of peach. The food is designed to complement the fruit flavours in the champagne’s cuvée and the hotel has introduced a new menu for this purpose, which can be tried from 6pm every evening in the Fleurs de Ruinart Champagne Bar.

In fact, when it came to the canapés, we were the waiters’ best customers: a painstakingly polite server tried to smother a smirk as we willingly took all that we were offered. And why not soak up the atmosphere (and alcohol)? It’s not every evening after work that you get to step back in time to the old-world grandeur of the Langham Hotel, complete with pianist in the corner and waistcoated bar staff thrusting platters of canapés at you at five-minute intervals.

Perfectly timed to ride the wave of Gatsby-style decadence and nostalgia, this collaboration offers an elegant evening out for luxe-seekers in the capital.

Catherine Bennett
Photo: Courtesy of Ruinart

Fleurs de Ruinart is open at the Langham Hotel, 1C Portland Place, Regent Street, London, GB W1B 1JA until 21^st June. To book a table, call 020 7973 7510 or visit here. For further information about Blanc de Blancs visit here.