Jancis Robinson on the best bubbles for Christmas 2022

Champagne has become a thing to invest in. Prices have gone crazy, and some of the most famous names are in short supply. The warming climate means that champagnes described as Extra Brut no longer resemble paint stripper.

Nowadays, most that I encounter may not have had much sweetening “dosage” added when the bottle-aged wines are “disgorged” to have their final cork applied, but they tend to be well balanced.

England is producing some seriously exciting sparkling wine now, and those made on a single estate (the equivalent of grower champagnes) often have real individuality. But as you can see in my recommendations, the cheapest champagne is cheaper than England’s cheapest sparkling wine. Most of the least expensive alternatives are French Crémants, all made in the same way as champagne but with less expensive grapes, often varieties other than the classic Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier of Champagne and England.

A final word on Champagne: the late-picked 2013 vintage has produced some superb wine for long-term ageing but they are often too tightly wound for early pleasure. Dom Pérignon 2013, for instance, won’t be released until next year.

The wines below are listed in ascending order of price per centilitre. All wines are either 12% or 12.5%, unless stated otherwise.

Cave de Turckheim, Cuvée Brut NV Crémant d’Alsace
This satisfying blend of 80% Pinot Blanc and 20% Pinot Gris was aged in bottle on lees for at least 18 months. There’s some weight and spice on the palate without the wine being at all sweet. Good value even at the full price.
£9.99 reduced from £13.49 until November 29 Waitrose

Divin’Aude, Cuvée Royale NV Crémant de Limoux
A blend of 60% Chardonnay, 25% Chenin Blanc, 10% Mauzac and 5% Pinot Noir that tastes not unlike a fine Crémant de Loire (perhaps because of the Chenin influence), although it’s less tart. Good value, even if nothing like champagne. Twelve months lees ageing. Suitably dry.
£12.99 Waitrose

Calvet Rosé Brut NV Crémant de Bordeaux
Grapes that usually make red bordeaux are responsible for this extremely pale pink, almost white, fizz. Definitely more delicate and refreshing than the white NV version. Pretty satisfying for the money even if it’s not bone dry. Good, clean acidity.
£13 Ocado

La Baume Brut NV Crémant de Limoux
It smells as though there was quite a bit of lees ageing for this big, bold wine that’s just off dry. I wouldn’t age it much longer, but it offers a lot more flavour than many of its peers at this price.
£14 Ocado

Dopff & Irion, Blanc de Blancs Brut NV Crémant d’Alsace
Mostly Pinot Blanc and Auxerrois, made by the Pfaffenheim co-op that has taken over the house of Dopff & Irion. A little more complex than the above Turckheim example.
£16.80 Tanners

Leonardo Erazo, Liberamé Rosado 2021 Itata 11.5%
A pale salmon pink, artisanal blend of Cinsault and País grapes. Very fruity palate entry and excellent acidity. Good balance.
£19.90 The Sourcing Table

Jacques Boncoeur NV Champagne
From the co-op in Ville-sur-Arce in the Aube, it’s 84% Pinot Noir, 16% Chardonnay. This wine smells more mature (three years on lees) than you would expect for the price, even if not exactly complex. Great value.
£22 (reduced from £28.60 while stocks last) Bon Coeur Fine Wines

Jean de Foigny, Premier Cru Brut NV Champagne
The Wine Society’s basic blend from the Reims co-op. Half of the blend is made up of 2018 wines. Just the job, even if not for keeping.
£23.50 The Wine Society

Franz Künstler, Assmannshäuser Rosé Brut Nature 2018 Rheingau 13%
100 per cent Pinot Noir grown on steep vineyards on a bed of red slate overlooking the Rhine. Made by the traditional method, involving ageing the wine in bottle on its lees. Quite punchy and firm. Good value.
£24.50 The Wine Society

Arthur Metz, Grand Terroir Schiste Schieferberg Brut NV Crémant d’Alsace
A serious blend of Pinot Gris, Riesling and Pinot Noir grown on steep blue schist and given three to five years on lees. This is not trying to be champagne but is a valid style of its own. Truly like a well-made Alsace wine that sparkles.
£28 Wine Poole of Warwick

Langham, Corallian Classic Cuvée Extra Brut NV England
The price is kept below £30 because winemaker Tommy Grimshaw wants his mother to be able to afford it. Grimshaw is a fan of cult champagne producer Anselme Selosse and, like him, makes complex wine that happens to have bubbles. This is their Chardonnay-dominant blend, mainly 2019. Very youthful but not aggressively acidic.
£29.50 langhamwine.co.uk

Henriet-Bazin, Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru Brut NV Champagne
Not the tightest texture, in fact rather loose, but you can enjoy the heart and soul in this wine. I would happily go to a long reception where this was served. Need I say more?
£34.95 Mr Wheeler, £37.70 Haynes Hanson & Clark

Lancelot-Pienne, Accord Majeur Brut NV Champagne
Ambitious, interesting wine for the money. Mainly 2014 Pinot Meunier based on special vines selected by Gilles Lancelot’s grandfather.
£34.95 Lea & Sandeman

Guy Méa, La Tradition Premier Cru Brut NV Champagne
80 per cent Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay. Good development on the nose. Mellow and attractively balanced with some light nuttiness. Pretty good value.
£34.95 The Whisky Exchange, £35.99 Harrogate Fine Wine Co

André Robert, Rose des Vignes Extra Brut Champagne
Mainly 2018 Chardonnay, tinted with 10% Pinot Meunier with the majority fermented and aged in barrel. Quite rich on the nose with marzipan notes. A hint of something (attractively) brulée so although this is an Extra Brut it is not remotely austere.
£38 Secret Cellar of Tunbridge Wells

Langham Blanc de Blancs Brut 2018 England 11.5%
This was made by the previous winemaker Daniel Ham and then blended by Tommy Grimshaw. 70% was made in oak. It’s labelled Brut though it actually qualifies as an Extra Brut. Very firm and mineral, with a real spine. The sort of wine that would cure a sore throat.
£38.50 langhamwine.co.uk

Roebuck Estate Classic Cuvée 2016 England
Made from a “carefully curated blend” of 50% Chardonnay, 37% Pinot Noir and 13% Pinot Meunier — all grown on an estate near Petworth in Sussex planted in 2006 and 2007. Increasing mellowness on the palate as the wine sits in the glass. A bone-dry finish, so it’s not exactly a flattering wine. Bollinger style?
£38.75 Hennings Wine Merchants, roebuckestates.co.uk

R & L Legras Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Chouilly Brut NV Champagne
A well-balanced, rewarding, classic fine Chardonnay aperitif. It fills the mouth without any excess acidity. Not a bad price for the quality.
£39.95 Lea & Sandeman

Harrow & Hope Blanc de Blancs 2017 England
Late disgorged 100% Thames Valley Chardonnay that suggests this cuvée from Henry and Kaye Laithwaite really benefits from extra lees ageing. Lots of pure citrus (lime peel?) flavours. Very appetising.
£42 The Finest Bubble

Hundred Hills, Preamble No 2 2017 England
Apparently, this is the pouring aperitif at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons near this immaculate estate outside Oxford. The fruit spent all of 120 days on the vine before being picked. A slow burner.
£44.50 The Good Wine Shop, also Hedonism and Salusbury Winestore

Simpsons, Flint Fields Blanc de Noirs 2018 England
This surprisingly delicate wine from a Kent estate established by the owners of Domaine Sainte Rose in the Languedoc won the Best English Sparkling Wine trophy at the Champagne and Sparkling Wine World Championships 2022. 20% of the base wine was barrel aged and the blend spent 27 months on lees.
Around £45 Simpsons Wine, The Finest Bubble, Wine Republic

Simpsons, White Cliffs Blanc de Blancs 2018 England
100% Chardonnay. This was the second vintage of this wine and it was given the Simpsons’ longest-ever lees ageing at 36 months. 20% of the base wine was barrel aged. Very pure and pretty with depth and potential.
£45 simpsonswine.com

Louis Roederer Collection 243 NV Champagne
The third edition of this impeccable house’s new, numbered non-vintage blend. Based on 2018 and blended with oak aged wines from 2009, 2011 and all vintages from 2013 to 2017 inclusive that make up the perpetual reserve begun in 2012. Wonderfully complex aroma rises from the glass as soon as the wine is poured. This definitely deserves to be priced above regular non-vintage champagne. Halves can be useful!
£26.99 a half Uncorked, London

Legras & Haas, Chouilly Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Brut 2012 Champagne
A label founded by Nicolas Legras of R&L Legras and his wife Brigitte Haas. Not cheap but a bullseye expression of a Blanc de Blancs with some age on it.
£55, £111 per magnum Private Cellar

Lancelot-Pienne, Marie Lancelot Blanc de Blancs Cramant Grand Cru Extra Brut 2015 Champagne
Lots of excitement and tension in this one. Pure and dry with masses of energy, and very obviously a grower champagne with a certain austerity but with an undertow of real class.
£69.50 Lea & Sandeman

Pol Roger Blanc de Blancs 2012 Champagne
Intense, minerally nose with real attack. Tastes of salted lemons. Very tight-knit and zesty. An excellent aperitif style. Complete and tastes much drier than many Pol Roger blends.
£86.96 GP Brands

Bollinger RD 2007 Champagne
The extra-aged late release of Bollinger’s vintage-dated Grande Année cuvée. Rich and mushroomy in Bollinger style on the nose with a notably dry finish. Looking very good now.
£165 The Wine Society

Taittinger, Comtes de Champagne Rosé 2007 Champagne
Pale strawberry colour with an orange tinge (none of this Provençal pale nonsense). Lots of evolution and real bite on the end. No attempt at being smooth; this wants to finish dry, making a textural impact on the palate. Mixed-citrus-peel sensation. Extremely appetising and unusual. Food wine really and cheaper than the younger 2009!
£178 Berry Bros & Rudd

Laurent-Perrier, Grand Siècle No 23 NV Champagne
This iteration of Laurent-Perrier’s prestige cuvée, a blend of 2006, 2004 and 2002 given an amazing 14 years’ ageing in bottle, is still looking pretty beautiful. Explosive and minerally on the nose and more approachable than the Grand Siècle No 25 in bottle at this point. Maturing very nicely and, actually, good value relative to some prestige cuvées.
£360 a magnum Hedonism

Billecart-Salmon, Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon Rosé 2009 Champagne
Very pale, glowing salmon-orange colour. Luscious and seductive. Strawberry flavours but not sweet and simple at all. Creamy-smooth texture but with quite enough acidity, even in this ripe vintage, to keep this wine appetising and intriguing on the finish. A wine to serve at the table with a really luxurious meal.
£181.50 Lea & Sandeman

More stockists from Wine-searcher.com. Tasting notes on Purple Pages of JancisRobinson.com

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