Welcome to my round-up of 27 Champagnes and sparkling wines for the 2024 festive season. It's always a pleasure to publish this – an appropriate glass in hand, of course.
There's something for everyone, from party goer to Champagne aficionado, and for every occasion, from 'Hey, it's Friday, let's break open the fizz' to opening the presents on Christmas morning, celebrating New Year's Eve and diving deep into 2025.
There are a few that I have recommended before, but I've prioritised producers, cuvées and vintages that I haven't featured previously, which means, for example, that I haven’t included the very good Le Mesnil Blanc de Blancs (Waitrose, £39.99, same price as it was a year ago, unlike many Champagnes). I have also limited myself to no more than two from any producer.
They are listed in ascending order of price with no separation this year between Champagnes and other sparkling wines (let’s see how you like it).
If comparing prices between retailers, remember that as well as differences in delivery charges and multibuy discounts the same Champagne will be sold by some shops in a gift box, which ups the price.
Finally, I’m delighted to say that there is an offer specially for readers of this guide on Bon Coeur Fine Wines’ limited-edition Jacques Bon Coeur Cuvée Ambre Blanc de Blancs 2017 Champagne. I hasten to add that there’s nothing in it for me except the pleasure of knowing that readers are getting special treatment.
Let’s go!
Tesco Finest Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore Brut, Italy
I’m not going to pretend I drink Prosecco, but this one from the superior Valdobbiadene subregion has a drier, more refined pear and lemon sherbet flavour than the average. 11%
Tesco £10
Tesco Finest Premier Cru Brut Champagne, France
This also comes in a full bottle (£25) but half bottles of Champagne are the perfect size when there are just two of you. An appealing combination of light hazelnut and brioche – indicating proper ageing – with soft citrusy fruit. 12.5%
£13 half-bottle (37.5cl), Tesco
Adnams Maison Antech Crémant de Limoux 2022, Languedoc, France
Fine, frothy mousse with blossomy apple and peach fruit and just a hint of panettone. This airy, enjoyably off-dry blend of Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc (70:30) is new to Adnams and made for them by Limoux sparkling wine specialists Antech. 12%.
£14.99, Adnams
Prince Alexandre Crémant de Loire, France
A similar blend to the Limoux (above) except that there’s 10% less Chardonnay to allow for 10% Cabernet Franc. Light and springy with pear, green apple and almond nuttiness. 12.5%.
£14.99, Waitrose
Alain Voge Les Bulles d’Alain Saint-Péray 2016, Rhône, France
It’s good to see sparkling Saint-Péray having a bit of a moment. This one is 100% Marsanne from limestone soils and was aged on lees for 4 years, giving nutty complexity to the rich core of fruit (quince, apricot, apples-in-the-attic), dried herb and hay notes. Characterful and very good value. 13%.
£24, The Wine Society
Waitrose Brut Champagne, France
Nutty and fruity with not an edge to be found, this is an accessible, well-made Champagne. The blend of 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay with up to 40% reserve wines was aged on lees for three years. Residual sugar 9g/l. Good value.
£24.99, Waitrose
Albert Lebrun Premier Cru Brut Champagne, France
An approachable, crowd-pleasing blend of 68% Chardonnay and 32% Pinot Noir aged for three years on lees. Apple, biscuit and brioche notes showing attractive evolution. Residual sugar 10g/l. Very good value.
£26, or £140 for 6 (£23.33 per bottle), The Wine Society
Domaine Rémy Nodin Ernest Mousseux Brut Nature, Saint-Péray, Rhône, France
A bone-dry bottle-fermented blend of 80% Marsanne and 20% Roussanne aged on lees for 9 months. Nutty and lemony with a savoury, slightly Marmitey, smoky backbone. 13%.
£29.95, Yapp Brothers
Ferrari Perlé, Trentodoc, Trentino, Italy
If you can’t afford the car, what about this classy Blanc de Blancs instead? And if you can afford the car, it’s an appropriately sleek, chic sparkling wine to drink at your destination. Made entirely from Chardonnay by the classic method (like Champagne), including four years on lees, it has a fine, cushiony mousse and an alluring flavour of frangipane, crystallised citrus, dried fruit and spiced nuts. 12.5%.
£39.50 (mix six), Noble Green Wines
Henriot Blanc de Blancs Champagne, France
Stylish Blanc de Blancs largely from Grand and Premier Cru vineyards and at least 30% reserve wines. The base wine is 2015 and, aged on its lees for at least 3 years, it has enticing patisserie, lightly toasty and creamy aromas with sweet peach, fresh citrus and soft, chalky mineral notes. Dosage 7g/l. 12%.
£39.99–£48.50 The Wine Press, de Burgh Wine, Cambrian Wines, Dulwich Vintners, Noble Green Wines, Beers of Europe, Hedonism, Harvey Nichols
Mumm RSRV Cuvée 4.5 Champagne, France
A blend pf 60:40 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from five Grands Crus, based on the 2015 vintage and aged on lees for 4 years. Power and flesh from the ripe 2015 Pinot is lifted by hire-wire tension and woven with salty sourdough toast, coffee bean and honeyed citrus. A Champagne that works well as an aperitif but also has the complexity and depth to go with food. Dosage 6g/l. 12%
£44.95, The Whisky Exchange
De Saint-Gall So Dark Grand Cru 2016 Champagne, France
New at Tesco, a Pinot Noir-dominant Grand Cru vintage Champagne – 75% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay – which, despite the strange, halloween-ish name, is very good. It’s also food-friendly and, although dry, is a generous style which will be enjoyed by people who find some Champagnes too austere. Rich brioche, roasted nut, sourdough and shortbread notes wrapped around plush peach and red apple fruit, lemon-zest acidity and a well-judged dosage of 7g/l.
£46, Tesco
Weyborne Estate Oriana 2019, England
A new star among classic-method English wines. The first commercial vintage from this West Sussex estate was a tad too dry for me. This, their second, is outstanding, with a very low dosage (2g/l ) perfectly judged for the glorious peach and lemon fruit, lanolin texture, toasted nut, vanilla and panettone notes and balancing acidity. Great length and elegance from a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier (60:30:10) aged on lees for 35 months. 12%
£48, weyborne.com
Jacques Bon Coeur Cuvée Ambre Blanc de Blancs 2017 Champagne, France
A limited edition all-Chardonnay Champagne named after the founder of Bon Coeur Fine Wine’s daughter Amber in celebration of her 18th birthday. I’d have been chuffed with the choice if I was her (and I expect she was). It's bright and eloquent with lemon verbena and apricot melting into almond croissant and vanilla brioche and a finish that has a subtly salty lift and isn't too dry. 12%
£48.76, reducing to a very special £35 when readers of this Festive Champagne Guide buy 6 bottles, Bon Coeur Fine Wines
Franck Bonville Unisson Blanc de Blancs 2017 Champagne, France
Elegantly toasty, biscuity, all-Chardonnay Champagne; a blend of 2017 and 2018 from Franck Bonville’s old-vine parcels in the Côtes des Blanc Grand Cru of Avize. Layered with creamy complexity, pear and lemon fruit and real length. Graceful and delicious. Disgorged in March 2023; Residual sugar 5g/l. 12.5%.
£49.95, Lea & Sandeman
Pommery Apanage 1874 Brut Champagne, France
A new Champagne from Pommery celebrating 150 years since Madame Pommery created the Brut non vintage, which is always good and widely available (£40–£50). Apanage is a distinctly fruity, smooth Brut, with peach, pear and strawberry notes, gentle buttery shortbread and hazelnut, then a twist of grapefruit peel and red apple on the finish. It’s a blend of all three main grape varieties based on the 2018 vintage with a little 2015 and 2012, including 16% of Pommery’s Réserve Perpetuelle. It was aged on lees for 4 years, has a dosage of 7g/l and is likely to appeal to people who tend to find Champagne austere. 12.5%
£58.99–£70, Selfridges, Soho Wine Supply, Harvey Nichols
Laurent-Perrier Héritage Champagne, France
L-P has used what it has learnt from producing Grand Siècle, its stellar luxury Champagne, to create this new cuvée – and the experience shows. As you would expect, it's not as complex as the longer matured and much more expensive Grand Siècle, but it has some of the same luxurious feel, elegance and precision, with notes of peach, lemon zest and honeyed nougat. It’s 55% Chardonnay and 45% Pinot Noir, half of it from Grand Cru vineyards, and is a blend of four vintages, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2019. Dosage 6g/l.
£60–£72, Claridges’ shop, Majestic, Laithwaites, Averys, Hedonism
Legras & Haas Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs 2015 Champagne, France
From a single Grand Cru, Chouilly in the Côtes des Blancs, this is a very polished all-Chardonnay Champagne, with lovely biscuit and walnut weight and refined sweet fruit. It was matured for 5 years on lees and bottled with a dosage of 6.8g/l. 12.5%
£61.50, Private Cellar
All Angels Classic Cuvée 2014 10 Year Anniversary Release, England
Showing beautifully developed richness and finesse after ageing on lees for 9 years: a harmony of warm sourdough, lemon curd, buttery puff pastry, a hint of cocoa powder, acacia honey, orange and lemon zest all wrapped in a satin texture. The blend, from All Angels' Berkshire vineyards, is half Chardonnay, 28% Pinot Noir and 11% each of Pinot Meunier and Pinot Gris. Dosage 6g/l. 12%
£65, allangels.com
Gosset Grande Millésime 2015 Champagne, France
Deep, dry, richly fruity and ripe around a backbone of laser-cut acidity. This is already complex and ready to drink, but is made to last. It’s 59% Pinot Noir and 41% Chardonnay from a year in which Pinot Noir excelled and it was aged on lees 5½ years. Disgorged in November 2021; residual sugar 6g/l. 12%. (Gosset’s non vintage Grande Réserve is also very good, £52–£54.99, The Wine Society, Waitrose).
£65, The Wine Society
Laurent-Perrier Brut Millésime 2015 Champagne, France
This is the latest vintage from a Champagne house that declares fewer vintages than most and never rushes them to market. Matured on its lees for more than 7 years, it’s the usual half and half blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from top Côtes des Blancs and Montagne de Reims villages. And, as usual, Laurent-Perrier has achieved both richness and delicacy – in 2015 laced with almond patisserie, mirabelle plum, zesty lemon curd, oyster-shell minerality, bready length and chiselled acidity. 12%
£68–£75, North & South Wines, Bon Coeur Fine Wines, Virgin Wines, Waitrose, Laithwaites, The Champagne Company, Champagne King
Mumm RSRV Rosé Foujita Champagne, France
A gorgeous, deep pink Champagne that would be comfortable with many savoury dishes, from salmon through to game birds. Bold, vinous and succulent with a billowy texture, strawberry and cassis , vanilla cream and shortcake notes and delicately mineral, lively freshness. The blend is 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay, all Grand Cru, with red wine from Ambonnay; 2012 is the base wine and it had just short of 6 years on lees. Dosage 6g/l. 12.5%
£69.75, The Whisky Exchange
Nyetimber Single Vineyard Tillington 2016, England
A new vintage of the Pinot Noir-led single-vineyard wine that Nyetimber only makes in selected years. The 2016 is 73% Pinot and 27% Chardonnay and was aged on lees for 6 years. It’s a wine of great elan – a harmony of creamy breadth, vivacity, energy and silk-satin suppleness woven with linden blossom, summer berries and biscuit notes. Dosage 9.8g/l. 12%
£110.00, nyetimber.com
De Saint-Gall Orpale Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru 2012 Champagne, France
This had a good start in life: Grand Cru Chardonnay from the outstanding 2012 vintage aged on lees for 10 years. And it’s paid off in aromas of spring blossom, grilled nuts, sourdough toast, patisserie and patisserie cream and a palate of salty preserved lemon, glazed apple tart, cinnamon toast, creamy texture and taut acidity. Quiet intensity with finesse and length. Dosage 5g/l. 12.5%
£110–£118, Banstead Vintners, Harris & Co, Noble Grape
Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 2015 Champagne, France
Almost a Blanc de Noirs – Pinot Noir with 10% Chardonnay – from eight Grands Crus in a fine, warm vintage that favoured Pinot Noir in particular. Generous and mouth-filling but with a spine of vibrant mineral tension underpinning tarte tatin, sweet citrus ripeness, a suggestion of pain d’épices and refreshing grapefruit peel. Ready now, but it will see out this decade. Dosage 6g/l. 12.5%
£143.95–£160, JPHA UK, House of Malt, Master of Malt, Royal Mile Whiskies, Hedonism, Averys, Tannico UK
Dom Pérignon Vintage 2013 Champagne, France
Great depth and intensity; rich and taut at the same time. Toasted sourdough and hazelnuts, nougat, orange, umami seaweed and an opulent, creamy texture pierced by salinity and riveting acidity. Very long. Expensive, yes, but it delivers – and will keep doing so into the next decade. The blend is 51% Pinot Noir and 49% Chardonnay and it was aged in the DP cellar for 8 years. Residual sugar 5g/l. 12.5%.
Widely available in independent merchants, £163.77–£200; £199.99, Waitrose
Cristal Rosé 2013 Champagne, France
Precision, intensity, richness and complexity within a sinewy frame of crystalline purity and rapier acidity. Notes of raspberry, spice, grilled almond and salted orange peel. Breathtaking, ethereal, this will live for decades. Drink with food or without. 12%
£549–£600, Mumbles Fine Wines, Highbury Vintners, Drinks Direct, de Burgh Wine, Hedonism
Comments