Today, we were to have crab cakes for dinner (from a ton of fresh steamed-live crabs we couldn't finish the night before), and I figured a nice salad and some pan-seared salmon with dill would be nice additions. While at Säntis Filinvest this afternoon to pick up some fresh greens (a bag of mesclun and a bag of baby arugula) and salmon steaks, I figured I'd get a half bottle (375ml) of Taittinger Brut Réserve (equivalent to approximately US$29/half bottle) to go with dinner - just to give it another try, thinking this would most likely be from a different batch anyway.
Besides, I didn't feel like finishing an entire bottle of white tonight and I really dislike leaving bottles unfinished (like I did last night with the steamed crabs).
Taittinger Brut Réserve (375ml) - Clean, dry and focused white fruit, citrus apparent but doesn't jut out like before, no overt yeastiness; nice biscuit/brioche notes in the nose and past mid-mouth. Vagely/whitely floral. Good enough middle. Quite dry. Discreet mid-mouth froth from its fine mousse. Finishes cleanly with fresh lemon, not long - just medium - decent enough for a casual bubbly.
Just ok, pleasant enough all-around, but forgettable. That said, for a readily available half bottle for those nights I just want a little bit of bubbly, I'd buy this again.
As to the pairing, it (not surprisingly) clashed with my salad because of the arugula and did absolutely nothing for the salmon (which my wife and eldest son noted). With the crab cakes, it was a fair enough match.