Champagne problems, solved
Champagne that's oh-so-delightful and won't break the bank? Yes please!
TASTE
5/10/20262 min read
There is a quiet kind of luxury in being handed something extraordinary and not being told to feel grateful for the price.
Solaire Resort Entertainment City understands this. In a first for any integrated resort in the Philippines, Solaire has introduced its own Grand Cru Champagne, crafted exclusively in partnership with Pierre Boever, a boutique champagne grower from one of France’s most coveted small estates, now available across all Solaire properties.
Pierre Boever is a family operation in the truest sense: a husband, wife, son, and five employees working three plots of land, every one classified Grand Cru. The designation is the highest classification in the Champagne region. Of more than 320 villages in Champagne, only 17 hold it, representing roughly 5% of the entire region’s vineyard area. Lower yields, careful grape selection and exceptional terroir produce wines known for their balance, structure, and depth.
The estate makes just 32,000 bottles a year. Solaire takes close to 5,000 of them.
There is no massive marketing machine here, no sprawling distribution network, no costs quietly passing hands before the bottle reaches you. Solaire sources directly, the same philosophy behind its wine program, which has long prioritized working with prominent producers to develop unique, exclusive offerings. The result is a bespoke cuvée that cannot be found anywhere else.
“By working directly with a boutique champagne grower, we are able to offer our guests a classified Grand Cru cuvée that is not widely available, ensuring both quality and exclusivity in every glass,” said Daniel Blais, director of beverage for Solaire properties.
That commitment to exclusivity doesn’t come at an exclusionary price. A bottle goes for P5,800. A glass, P1,100. Grand Cru Champagne, aged a minimum of five years, brought straight from vineyard to table. Blais puts it simply: “If I save money, you save money.”
The debut happened where it should, at Brunchissimo, Finestra’s Sunday spread, where Pierre Boever arrived cold and composed into a room already warm with good food and good company.
The first sip is the one that wins you over. Light without being thin, fresh without being sharp, with fine bubbles and a creamy finish that lingers. Bright citrus up front, a little biscuity depth from years of careful aging, and a crispness that keeps you reaching for the next glass.
It went well with everything on the table, but the standout was the seafood tower. Specifically, the oysters. Reader, please try this —pour a small splash of Pierre Boever directly into the shell before slurping it back. The champagne’s acidity lifts the brininess of the oyster into something close to perfect — cold, bright, oceanic and clean, a whole experience in one small shell.
A champagne this well-made doesn’t need a special occasion to justify itself. At Solaire, it flows freely at Sunday brunch, no upselling, no half-pours, no mental arithmetic required. Just an exceptional glass of something that took five years to become what it is, served the way it was always meant to be: generously, without fuss.
Champagne problems? Consider them solved.