AH, the French Effortless denizens of style, withtheir je ne sais quoi and their shrugs and thei vie en rose and their Olivier Martinez. Every time we try to hate them for being so implausibly sophisticated, they placate us with another fine, vintage champagne.

Lowdown
Amy Cooper

AH, the French Effortless denizens of style, withtheir je ne sais quoi and their shrugs and thei vie en rose and their Olivier Martinez. Every time we try to hate them for being so implausibly sophisticated, they placate us with another fine, vintage champagne.

They don't just crate it up and ship it over, either. That would not be the French way. Instead, Moet & Chandon, sent their chef de cave (roughly translated, that's the "big boss of booze") Benoit Gouez, and the current World's Best Sommelier, Enrico Bernardo, to present us with their 1999 vintage in person.

Venure-wise big guns were required. HOtels, bars, boats?

Pah! The French 'ave seen it all before. Instead, the organisers chose antiques emporium The Country Trader: With its vast chambers, grand old furniture and elegant fripperies, the place was already boarderline Palace of Versailles. But once the decorators had finished it looked like Madame de Pompadour might be en reprose in one of the opulent beds. The dining room was pure rococo; dripping in chandeliers and crystal, pink and white flowers, and the 1999 blanc and rose served in glasses with no bases, just holders, like tulips in a vase.

Chef Christine Manfield had prepared dishes to "challenge the wine."

This, She explained, did not mean they would roll up their sleeves and ask the MOet to step outside; instead, her menu would enhance the champagne's subtler flavours.

The French describe wine as if it was a lover, with words such as "audace" and "panache" and "big. warm and soft". I could have listened to Mosieur Gouez - who reminded me of Jean-Michel Jarre,but sexier - talk about his Moets all night. They'd been dressed in a minute, pink-and-white detail but Alan Keyes, George Michael's stylist, and were so resplendent they made Moulin Rouge's costumes look like old trackies. With frescoes, mirrors, pillars, it was like being in a Fragonard painting.

Of course there were sequinned cancan dancers, accompanied by Sneaky Sound System, then inscrutably cool French DJ Tenzin and a string trio in full Marie Antoinette attire.

Hundreds more party guests - mainly gourmands and bon viveurs - arrived, dressed, as instructed, in Vintage Glamour. It was the court of Louis XVI alive in Sydney.

But were the French impressed? "It was a wonderful party," said Monsier Gouez, raising his glass. "The tasting is over. Now it's time to drink!" From a Frenchman brandishing a 1999 rose, there is no higher praise. Back