This is a longer version of an article also published in the Financial Times.
As champagne shipments plummet and retailers use dramatically discounted champagne in a desperate attempt to lure shoppers, it is tempting to deliver merely a guide to promotions, but all too often it is the less exciting wines that attract the discounts. The wines below, some of them at specially reduced prices, have been chosen strictly on how they taste. The 2002 champagnes are looking particularly promising now while all but the finest 1999s can be a bit soft, in contrast to the much sterner 1998s. All these wines are 12-12.5% alcohol and you may have to buy a mixed dozen for some of these prices from independent merchants.
Antonin Truffer, Chardonnay Tradition NV Vin Mousseux
Good value for immediate drinking, fizzed in tank not bottle in Salon-de-Provence.
£7.22 J&B
Cuvée Royale Brut NV Crémant de Limoux
Lemony and light, based on Chardonnay with some Chenin Blanc and Pinot Noir. Well made even if not a classic taste profile. Very clean.
£7.99 Waitrose Wine Direct and 165 branches
Alamos, Extra Brut NV Mendoza
Attractively packaged, new Argentine made from the Champagne grapes. Not too sweet, a little astringent but not expensive. Worth thinking about for a large gathering. Made by the Charmat not the traditional method.
£8.81 Bibendum
Jean-Louis Denois, Chardonnay/Pinot Noir Brut NV Limoux
Light, with a clean and slightly rustic nose and some astringency on the finish. Very honest and good value. No one could object to this and there is none of the excessive dosage or greenness of very cheap champagne.
£9.95 Lea & Sandeman
Green Point Sparkling Rosé NV South Australia
Very pale pink. Broad with strawberry fruit on the nose. A little bit fat, but there is certainly over-delivery in terms of fruit definition. Quite soft but not heavy. Stoppered with a crown cap like a bottle of beer for fear of cork taint.
£11.98 ASDA
Esterlin NV Champagne
Pretty good for the money – certainly not stale fruit, nor aggressively tart nor too sweet. An absence of faults then.
£13.99 Majestic if two bottles are bought
Heidsieck Monopole Gold Top 2002 Champagne
Not the finest 2002 by any means but a very good price for a wine in which the quality of 2002 shines out.
£16.99 Majestic if two bottles are bought
ASDA Extra Special Vintage 2002 Champagne
Chanoine, sister company to Boizel, Philipponnat, De Venoge, Abel Lepitre and Alexandre Bonnet, made this. Real precision and freshness for the money and a touch of oak too. Good value.
£17.98 ASDA
Pierre Moncuit-Delos Grand Cru NV Champagne
Great value at this special offer price. Looks good too. Very pure and appetising with great balance – truly aperitif zesty champagne. Better than many famous names.
£19.95 H & H Bancroft
Legras, Blanc de Blancs Brut Grand Cru NV Champagne
Very fine with quite a developed nose. Relatively mellow for a Blanc de Blancs, but easy to drink in quantity. This even has a certain nuttiness. Excellent value at this mixed case price.
£19.95 Lea & Sandeman
Tesco Finest Vintage Champagne 2002 Champagne
In fact an all-Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs, and holding up well. Seize these 2002s while ye may. Not that complex but very well balanced and with much more depth than Tesco Premier Cru.
£19.97, 504 Tesco stores
Waitrose Blanc de Blancs NV Champagne
Very clean if light nose. Punchy and zesty with some depth. No hurry to drink this wine that is based mainly on the excellent 2002 vintage. Pretty good value from a specialist in own-label champagnes.
£19.99 Waitrose Wine Direct and 192 stores
H Blin 2002 Champagne
Further proof of 2002’s quality. (This co-op’s 1996 was exceptional too.) Very firm, well-integrated nose – convincing! Absolutely ready and open with good balance and completeness.
£19.99 Booths, £27.99 Oddbins
Henriot, Brut Souverain NV Champagne
Particularly bracing and interesting, on special offer.
£21.99 Nicolas
Taittinger, Brut Réserve NV Champagne
Intriguing nose with real depth. Lots of palate impact and a nice tight bead. Serious wine that would be good with food.
£21.99 Oddbins, and Majestic if two bottles are bought
Pol Roger, Brut Réserve NV Champagne
Irreproachable family house making some of the most reliable champagne of all.
£22.95 Roberson on special offer
Paul Goerg, Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru NV Champagne
From the impressive Vertus co-op. Delicate and refreshing even served quite warm (by mistake). Nice and complete as though there’s some decent age on this. Not long but beautifully balanced.
£23.99 Laithwaites
Larmandier-Bernier, Blanc de Blancs Brut Premier Cru NV Champagne
Delicate, flirtatious nose – very fresh indeed. A little appley and very lively. Lacy and transparent.
£24.50 Lea & Sandeman, £25.95 Vine Trail
R H Coutier, Brut Tradition Grand Cru NV Champagne
Ambonnay grower. Flirtatious, mellow nose with an impressively tiny bead and some biscuity age on it. Pretty good for the money and a lovely Victorian label. Quite long. Really good value.
£24.99 The Sampler
R Renaudin, Brut Rosé L’Espiègle NV Champagne 17 Drink 20
Really characterful, substantial but not sweet strawberry-coloured champagne from a grower in the appropriately name village of Moussy.
£25 Laithwaites
Larmandier-Bernier, Terre de Vertus Extra Brut Premier Cru NV Champagne
Tight knit and reserved on the nose. Very delicate and nervy. The bone dry (no dosage) finish is as cleansing and bracing as a winter’s walk on the beach.
£27.50 Lea & Sandeman, £29.50 Vine Trail
Ulysse Collin, Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut NV Champagne
Very rich start and then a lovely crisp, dry finish. Zesty and very complete from a disciple of Selosse (whose super-intellectual champagnes can be found at DeFine/www.definefoodandwine.com).
£27.95 Vine Trail
Hush Heath, Balfour Brut Rosé 2004 England
Fine and well balanced but too expensive.
£33 Bibendum
Egly-Ouriet, Tradition Brut Grand Cru NV Champagne
Quite evolved and full on the nose. Lovely gentle mousse from this respected grower. Pure and very long. Serious wine rather than simple champagne.
£33.95 Lea & Sandeman
R H Coutier, Grand Cru 1998 Champagne
Well-integrated, well-balanced pleasing nose. Lively and flirtatious grower’s champagne that would make a rewarding aperitif. The NV is better value.
£38.99 The Sampler
Henri Giraud, Cuvée François Hémart Grand Cru NV Champagne
This Ay-based producer makes really characterful wines. This is attention-grabbing, sophisticated and substantial. Called Hommage à François Hémart in the US.
£39.10 Berry Bros
Pol Roger 1999 Champagne
Lovely complexity on the nose – really interesting wine! Complete without being aggressive with a great finish. Long and very serious – not very 1999 in fact.
£40 H & H Bancroft and The Wine Society, £46.95 Jeroboams
Bollinger, Grande Année 1999 Champagne
Delicious, and much more open than vintage Bolly usually is at this stage.
£43.95 Magnum Fine Wines, £54 H & H Bancroft
Louis Roederer 2002 Champagne
Savoury toasty nose. Very long and dense. Serious, youthful stuff.
£48.99 Divine Fine Wines, £50 The Wine Society, £50.99 Advintage Wines
Bruno Paillard, Brut Assemblage 1999 Champagne
The 1999s are pretty early developers and this one is even more so than most. Full and decadent – big and bold. .
£50.25 Bibendum
P Lancelot-Royer, Cuvée des Chevaliers Blanc de Blancs Tirage 1984 Champagne
You don’t often see 1984 on a label nowadays... This is a blend of 1981, 1982 and 1983 vintages – total production 200 bottles. Tense and very grown up – an intellectual champagne, though the bottle and label don’t look as smart as the price.
£54.99 The Sampler
Bollinger Rosé NV Champagne
New product from Bollinger. Complex, flirtatious, tightly wound and generally pretty impressive – a memory of more prosperous days!
£59 Waitrose Wine Direct and 13 branches
Egly-Ouriet, Blanc de Noirs Vieilles Vignes Brut Grand Cru NV Champagne
Very substantial, complex nose with considerable development. A treat to be tasting really good Blanc de Noirs rather than a rustic Aube fizz chez a supermarket. I'd love to see this next to Bollinger… Really rewarding. Very long.
£69.50 Lea & Sandeman
Roses de Jeanne, Le Creux d’Enfer Rosé de Saignée 2004 Champagne
From a tiny vineyard, biodynamic, low pressure à la Selosse, total production less than 500 bottles. Very individual, like champenised lightly pressed wild strawberry juice though with a dry, extremely neat, persistent finish.
£99.99 The Sampler
Henri Giraud, Fût de Chêne Ay Grand Cru 1998 Champagne
Demanding and interesting with some definite oak influence. The softer and arguably more seductive 1999 is currently available in the US.
£127.20 Berry Bros
Krug Rosé NV Champagne
Attractive dense Pinot fruit on the nose. Very tight and lively – already drinking well. Extremely neat.This would make a stunning present. Halves available.
£189 Harper Wells, £195 Jeroboams, £220 Berry Bros
advintage-wines.co.uk
asda.co.uk
bancroftwines.com
bbr.com
bibendum-wine.co.uk
divinefinewines.co.uk
harperwells.com
jeroboams.co.uk
justerinis.com
laithwaites.co.uk
leaandsandeman.co.uk
magnum.co.uk
majestic.co.uk
nicolas.com
oddbins.com
robersonwinemerchant.co.uk
tesco.com
thesampler.co.uk
thewinesociety.com
vinetrail.co.uk
waitrose.com