Category: Timeless Champagnes

Bubbly’s take…

Our first Champagne of 2022! This is a marvellous sparkling rosé, which you definitely won’t want to waste on a New Year’s Eve. The Billacart-Salmon bursts from bottle to flute with a lively froth and in a welcoming shade of ripe peach.

This Champagne brings a complex but well-balanced flavour to the palate. It is dry but certainly not acrid. It is a pleasure to drink yet not easily taken for granted. It is an enchanting though also versatile wine.

Would go well with…

Seafood – we’re thinking lobster linguine! It would be equally decadent with some nice soft cheeses. Alternatively, if you’re after a jazzy apéritif then the Billacart-Salmon is also a winner!

Where to buy…

Vivino

Bubbly’s take…

We think this Champagne is a real winner! We discovered this by happenstance one Friday night in Sainsbury’s. This wine comes out of the bottle with a lovely platinum shade, with a very slight hint of rosé. It is a three-grape variety made from Chardonnary, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. With a light yet floral bouquet, and rich in flavours of well-ripened apples, we found this Champagne to be very animated and easy to enjoy.

When appropriately chilled, the Carré-Perseval is sublime and we believe it would make an excellent (and also very well-priced) choice for summer garden parties! We were so surprised by the quality, versality and value this remarkable wine offers that we had to award it the Joker – a wildcard find!

Would go well with…

We enjoyed this Champagne with a vegetarian pizza but we think it would also make a very pleasing apéritif.

Where to buy…

Sainsbury’s

Bubbly’s take…

We loved this Champagne! This one comes from a relatively young and family-run vineyard, which cultivates a floroushing variety of Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes. We think they’ve made a classic. The Baron Albert comes out of the bottle with a pale and inviting shade. We feel this is a drier Champagne but with indulgent flavours of citrus fruits and apples. That said, this wine is certainly not too tart and it has some depth to it – even after the first flute, we found it blossomed with other characterful notes.

In our opinion, this Champagne is everything one comes to expect from a bottle of bubbles. It is clean, crisp and refreshing, it has dry and thought-provoking flavours, and it is free of any impure or bitter aftertaste. Being very reasonably priced, we feel the Baron Albert combines a superb ‘all-rounder’ Champagne with excellent value.

Would go well with…

We enjoyed this with home-made vegetarian pizza and we thought it made for a great pairing. We also had this with Pad Thai and vegetable tempura, and found it provided for a solid reconciliation of different sweet, spiced and savoury flavours.

Where to buy…

Le Bon Vin

Bubbly’s take…

This was a refreshing find. The Denis Chaput pours with a soft fizz. It is a remarkably wholesome sparkling, with a reassuringly dry taste. That being said, it’s certainly not a bitter wine and we found a remarkable flavour of fresh apples.

Would go well with…

This is a pleasant ‘go-to’ Champagne so we think it is a fairly flexible wine. However, we remember uncorking this with a takeaway and it held its own alongside a mild curry and vegetable pakora!

Where to buy…

Naked Wines

Bubbly’s take…

This Brut is both a wonderful Champagne and a wonderful Rosé! We received this at Christmas in one of those big, elaborate boxes hence we had high expectations, particulary as the esteemed Moët & Chandon house now counts Louis Vutton amongst its corporate siblings. What really surprised us about this wine is it presents a great pairing of a sublime Rosé with a crisp Champagne. We’ve found few wines that can reconcile a wholesome Rosé with a dry sparkling. It’s a characterful and charming Champagne, and one we’re eager to try again soon.

Would go well with…

Canapés, cheese, shortbread, petit fours and other nice nibbles.

Where to buy…

The Drink Shop

Bubbly’s take…

This is a pleasant Champagne that offers remarkibly good value. We were really pleased to learn that the Heidsieck House recognises the intimate and timeless connection between good Champagne and great food. With a full and hearty palate of fruit, we think this Brut craves food. It comes out of the bottle with an enticing and golden shade that is sure to catch the eye. The Blue Top is an excellent choice if you’re after an engaging Cuvée that won’t break the bank.

Would go well with…

Fragrant pasta dishes. We enjoyed a couple of glasses of the Blue Top with some lovely Tuscan sausage pasta, pairing well with the dish’s fragrant flavours (of lemon and mustard).

Where to buy…

Tesco