The Singaporean champagne collector with 3,000 bottles for friends and family
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The Singaporean champagne collector with 3,000 bottles for friends and family
Nicola Lee's cellar is more than but a repository of rare bubbly – information technology's besides a storehouse of memories of her late begetter, who was a wine enthusiast.
Nicola Lee enjoying champagne with her friends. (Photo: Threesixzero Productions)
27 Apr 2022 10:54AM (Updated: 04 Jul 2022 ten:03AM)
"Whenever I enter my cellar, there's always a keen sense of comfort and joy, but likewise a bit of stress because I know how messy my cellar is, and I know I have to tidy it up," said champagne collector Nicola Lee.
While she's unable to pin down the exact corporeality of champagne she owns, she estimates that it's in excess of three,000 bottles, "definitely more than enough to enjoy with friends and family".
More than simply quantity, Lee is well-versed in the finer nuances of champagne, such every bit its history and provenance.
"I suppose my most prized bottle is a Dom Perignon 1947, and the last bottle I'd desire to drink, a Bollinger 1945," she said.
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Lee went on to indicate out subtle differences among diverse bottles of Krug champagne in her collection: "What's very interesting is that we notice the change in the canteen shape. This is Krug from 1975, and today this is what the bottle looks like, so y'all tin see it's really quite a alter in style. A particular house would have a bottle designed a particular way, and over the years they would have changed it. That'south interesting to collect."
Lee started collecting champagne in the tardily 1990s, after her begetter passed away.
"My passion for champagne was sparked off by my begetter, who was a wine collector. A very addicted memory I accept of him, was the two of us having oyster omelette, together with a drinking glass of champagne," she shared.
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Subsequently his decease, she opened his cellar and plant some old bottles of champagne.
"I tried them, because I thought maybe they were already over the hill. But I was surprised at how beautifully they drank. And I was very attracted to the brioche, the nutty aromas, and that really started me taking a detail interest in champagne."
Even dorsum and so, Lee was no stranger to wine appreciation. She won the SHATEC-Glen Ellen scholarship in 1992, no mean feat as she was the simply woman and the youngest finalist among the five applicants. The scholarship gave her the opportunity to go to California to acquire more nigh wine.
"I was very fortunate because both my parents were very supportive of my interest to get to SHATEC at that time," she recounted, "And [SHATEC] fuelled my interest in vino as a beverage, and in wine knowledge."
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Lee spent 8 years in the hotel industry, and another seven, teaching hotel management to tertiary students. She is now a managing managing director at a holding investment visitor.
For the past iv years, Lee has also been a judge at the Ruinart Sommelier Challenge, a worldwide contest, and the only i in Singapore focusing on champagne.
"Champagne is a living affair, and really, the play a joke on is knowing when to serve it. The best mode to relish a special bottle is always with expert friends," Lee said.
"People don't realise champagne can age, it tin still surprise you," she said. "Sometimes you open a bottle that yous think is by its best, and actually, it gives a lot of joy. You never know; each bottle is different. Each bottle will never be the same."
Over and to a higher place the gustatory pleasures and conviviality frequently associated with popping open a canteen of bubbly, Lee also feels it speaks to her emotions.
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"When y'all accept a favourite champagne, there'due south ever something linked to sentiment. For me, it would be something that my male parent liked, or a bottle that I shared with him," she said.
Adapted from the series Remarkable Living. Spotter full episodes on CNA, every Sunday at 7pm.
Access is a partnership between CNA Luxury and Singapore Tatler .
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