It goes without saying that it's always a pleasure to publish my annual round-up of Champagnes to meet the varied needs of the festive season. This year the bottles start at an undiscounted £13.99 and end with an indulgent magnum at £260 and the styles range from from Blanc de Blancs to Blanc de Noirs to rosé and from vintage to non-vintage to multi-vintage (the new buzzword). If you're looking for ultimate bottles, you should also consider three that I reviewed here during t

It's not the ten years on lees – the 2005 rosé had 11 years – or the 2mm smaller diameter bottle neck "to tighten the ageing" that chef de caves Cyril Brun calls a mini revolution, it's the dosage of the Rosé Millésimé 2008. At 7g/l, it's the lowest ever at Charles Heidsieck, lower even than for the 2008 white. Is the Champagne house that has never been afraid of dosage finally bowing to the fashion for low-dosage? Apparently not. Explaining how he made the choice, Cyril Bru