Champagne for the Christmas Holidays
The first glass on Champagne on Christmas Day is surely one of the festive season's great pleasures. Celebrating with family and friends and looking back over the year with a chilled glass of sparkling wine simply can't be beat. We've selected just a few of our favourite bottlings from our range of over 400 that we think would make the ideal aperitif or pair well with traditional Christmas fare.
For those who like a big bottle to kick off the celebrations there are a few featured below, but click here to view the rest of our range - we have over 100 different large formats in total - from magnum (two bottles) to nebuchadnezzar (20 bottles).
The calling card of Veuve Clicquot, Yellow Label is one of the most recognised Champagnes in the world. It is a blend of mostly Pinot Noir with the balance supplied by Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier.
"White fruits meet a subtle toastiness in this Pinot Noir-led classic"
It is silky and refined but with understated power and combines aromatic intensity with bags of freshness.
From the sublime 2002 vintage, Collard-Picard have blended 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir from their finest plots in the Côte des Blancs and Vallée de la Marne.
"A stunning vintage bottling from one of the greatest years in decades..."
Vinified and matured in oak barrels and aged under cork this is an exceptional and highly individual wine that will entice and delight Champagne aficionados with its power and finesse.
Though Cristal is coveted the world over, few know of the Champagne's ability to age; it's for that reason that Louis Roederer hides away a select number of bottles in its cellars for decades.
"Complex and intense while still fresh and elegant - a pure Hedonistic pleasure"
So was born Cristal Vinotheque - aged for 10 years on its lees and a further 10 in bottle before release, the 1999 vintage is considered outstanding, and only the third release of this special project. The rose is incredibly concentrated and rich, intense and powerful.
From cult producer, Jacques Selosse, Initial is a blend of three vintages of Chardonnay and is aged at least 2 years before release. The nose offers intense notes of apple and citrus, with a slightly oxidative, nutty hint.
"Bold and exciting with a distinctive nutty character and a beautifully weighty texture"
The palate is concentrated and defined with bruised apple and pithy citrus. It fans across the tongue with a softness but precision and finishes extremely long with a salty whisper right at the very end.
Bruno Paillard is an independent and family-owned Champagne house founded in 1981. Première Cuvée combines Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier with 20% fermented in barrel and the addition of up to 50% reserve wines.
"A wonderfully balanced, classically-styled Brut Champagne from one of our favourite growers"
With three years maturation on lees and extra low dosage, this is a complex but immensely elegant Champagne.
Released earlier this year, Winemaker Vincent Chaperon describes the Chardonnay in the 2010 Dom Perignon as the 'best ever'. Considered a challenging vintage by most, some were surprised a 2010 Dom Perignon was released.
"Citrussy and mineral with a beautiful note of creamy vanilla brioche - flamboyant yet fresh"
However, the 2010 is already drinking well, with balanced acidity, ripe fruit and well-integrated autolytic notes.
Eric and Martine Rodez are the eighth generation (and now with their son Mickael, the ninth) of winemakers who first started in 1757 in the Ambonnay Grand Cru of Champagne.
"Apricot, white flowers and yellow plums to the fore along with a touch of creaminess from ageing in small oak barrels"
The 2013 Beurys is 100% single vineyard Pinot Noir which has undergone 2.5 days of skin maceration, resulting in a dry rose champagne with a very low dosage (2.5g/l) and the beautiful integration of 5 years of cellar aging. Unfiltered and biodynamic.
Produced solely in the finest vintages, Cristal is the flagship of Louis Roederer. The 2012 is a blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay with rich and complex aromas of lemon zest, pollen, hazelnut and vanilla.
"The first ever 100% biodynamic release of Cristal - zesty and exotic with flourishes of flinty minerality"
The palate is concentrated and shows great tension and aromatic precision. Mouth-coating, silky and beautifully long.
A beautifully elegant Champagne made using 100% Chardonnay sourced from the Grand Cru villages of Avize, Oger and Cramant. The wine sees no oak during its 24 month maturation and is aged only in stainless steel and enamel vessels, meaning the finished Champagne retains a wonderfully delicate and pure fruit character.
"Clean, fresh, elegant - 100% Grand Cru Chardonnay"
A refreshing, clean sparkling wine with light bready notes, a crisp green apple character and delightful notes of white flower - serve as an aperitif.
The 2009 Les Blanches Voies is a blanc de blancs from grapes sourced from a 60-year-old Premier Cru parcel in Rilly-la-Montagne. It rests for 10 months in barrels, followed by 84 months on lees and is bottled with 4g/L dosage.
"Mind-blowing Chardonnay aged for over seven years before release"
This is a beautiful full-bodied, racy and immensely concentrated wine limited to just 2,900 bottles.
Perrier-Jouet's 2007 vintage of Belle Epoque is a blend of 50% Chardonnay, 46% Pinot Noir and 4% Pinot Meunier. The 2007 vintage was characterised by a mild winter and excellent conditions in the spring. The result is a balanced, bold Champagne with notes of ripe pear, bergamot, orange, lemon peel and white peach.
"Exotic fruit and elegant citrus notes marry beautifully on this iconic Prestige Cuvée"
Fruit forward, but with a touch of savoury white almond and yeastiness, this is a serious Champagne from an underrated vintage which is drinking beautifully now.