Christmas cheer from Vinosaurus
“It’s the most wonderful time of the year”. Andy Williams certainly thought so and his crooning classic lives on, long after his last bit of ‘mistletoeing’. So, there’ll be parties for hosting, and that hap-happiest season of all is, let’s face it, a lot hap-happier with a nice glass of champagne.
If wine bores like me have a ‘rush’, it’s around now as friends, relatives, work chums and, just occasionally, random strangers in the supermarket aisle, ask me where the best champagne deals are?
As a rule, I avoid any wine that announces itself as ‘half price’
Retailers go chestnuts around now, trying to lure us into their stores with enticing looking offers. Some of these are great, but BEWARE, others offer spurious savings. As a rule, I avoid any wine that announces itself as ‘half price’, unless it’s a brand I know. I also tend to steer clear of prosecco and cava at this time of the year, as it feels like we should be treating ourselves.
So where’s the cheer? Well, there are some great offers out there that are definitely worth slipping into your sleigh – most especially on champagne. Many of the great premium marques are discounted and there are some decent budget buys too.
My favourite, from the cheaper options, is Aldi’s Veuve Monsigny, made exclusively for the German discounter by Philizot et Fils. The price is never much more than £13, but at the moment it’s yours for £9.99. It’s dry and crisp, with a light apple bouquet, perfect for a party, but refined enough to serve with smoked salmon, before your Christmas dinner.
By contrast, Lidl’s offering at the same price-point, Comte de Seneval feels a bit dreary and Asda’s Pierre Darceys demonstrates that the name champagne is not, in itself, a guarantee of quality.
A notch up, look out for the big supermarket own brands – none of which is bad. My favourite would be Tesco’s Premier Cru (meaning grapes from the better vineyards), which feels delicate and refined and belies its current £16 offer price.
The champagne mid-market is as crowded as the tills in Ikea at the moment, but offers considerably more cheer. In that space, look out for Duval Leroy Premier Cru, which is bursting with delicious biscuity freshness, currently £17,99 at Waitrose and, if you buy six, Majestic too.
And then there are the ‘daddies’ – those classic brands, of which my favourites are probably Laurent Perrier, currently £26.99 at Majestic, again for six (that could be six of anything, Majestic’s prices are needlessly confusing), and the very classy Taittinger, normally around £35 a bottle, but my research suggests it’s currently £28 at Asda.
Champagne still has the edge when it comes to prestige
Champagne still has the edge when it comes to prestige, but that is changing fast as English sparkling wines (produced in the same traditional method as champagne) win more acclaim.
Nyetimber, Ridgeview and Jenkyn Place all offer genuinely attractive options, at around the same price point, and Aldi even has an English sparkler from Denbies at £14.99 (which I confess I am yet to taste). How long then, before Champagne’s festive dominance of the premium market is a tale of “Christmases long, long ago”?