After the much-reported promise of a cut-price champagne and sparkling-wine bonanza this Christmas, and the reality check of my Top 100 last month when only two sparklers shone through in the lower tiers, I’m glad to be able to report some good news: the supermarkets, led by Morrisons, have at last come up trumps for the festive season.
I don’t know why, but drinking bad champagne and sparkling wine always makes me feel much worse than drinking bad still wine, so it’s best to rely on tried and tested bubbles. The best festive sparklers under £5 this season are Waitrose’s stylish La Rosca Cava Brut, down to £4.79 until January 5, and Codorniu’s delicious Extra Cuv?e Seleccionada Brut, down to £4.99 at Morrisons, and £5.49 at Majestic Wine if you buy two or more.
La Rosca, a soft, spicy Spanish cava, made by the same m?thode champenoise as champagne, is blessed with lots of ripe, yet surprisingly classy, lemony macabeo fruit to the fore. And the classier still Extra Cuv?e delivers some tasty, light, lively, floral, lemony festive pizzazz that will have you and your guests craving more.
If it has to be champagne (and no one likes a Scrooge at Christmas), the two big-name non-vintages that are reasonably priced this festive season are Lanson’s waxy, lemon brioche-stashed Black Label Brut and Piper Heidsieck’s soft, waxy, perfumed Brut.
The latter has popped up a notch in quality this festive season, a hard act given the large quantities made every year, while Lanson has slipped half a notch. No matter, Lanson is still a good ap?ritif and swanky festive party sparkler, best bought at Morrisons for £13.45 while stocks last; the Co-op, £18.66 until January 3; Tesco, £19.98 until December 13; Budgens, £21; and Waitrose, £22.39 until January 5.
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Piper’s gentler style is the bottle to buy when you have guests who find the lemony acidity of most champagnes too assertive. This time the Co-op is cheaper than anywhere else, at £17.99 until January 3, followed by Tesco, £19.96 until December 13; Sainsbury’s, £25.92; and Waitrose, £25.99. If nothing but the grandest name will do, be quick and see if Morrisons has any bottles left of Bollinger’s bold, meaty Special Cuv?e for £17.95 a pop.
I wouldn’t expect any more bargains to materialise over the next few weeks. Even if the supermarkets could negotiate more discounts, there’s not enough time for supplies to reach their warehouses and from there to find their way on to the shelves. Now is the time to act.
If you’re after vintage champagne — and, as it’s Christmas, why not — once again the best dated bottle is the delicious, lively, floral, waxy 2004 Heidsieck Gold Top Brut Champagne (Budgens, £18.99, and at Majestic Wine if you buy two bottles or more). It is a first-class champagne vintage, even better than this house’s previous year, 2002.
Remember though, the ’04 is still young, so it needs time to plump up and surpass the ’02. If you feel like laying down champagne for next Christmas, this is the one to buy.
Finally, if your Christmas celebration is strictly for two, the must-have vintage for you is Bollinger’s gorgeous, black grape-dominated 2000 Grande Ann?e. I’ve always been a big fan of the 2000 vintage and, with almost a decade in the cellar, this sublime bubbly now oozes beguiling, ripe, beefy, nutty fruit. It is a snip at Majestic, down £25 to £50 a throw, Lea & Sandeman (020-7 244 0522), £52.95, and The Wine Society (01438 740222), £59. Celebrate with this and you will have a wonderful time.
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2000 Bollinger Grande Ann?e, down from £75 to £50, Majestic
2004 Heidsieck Gold Top Brut, down from £39.99 to £18.99, Budgens
Bollinger Special Cuv?e, down from £35.99 to £17.95, Morrisons
Lanson Black Label Brut, down from £26.98 to £13.45, Morrisons
Piper Heidsieck Brut £26.99 to £17.99, Co-op
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Codorniu Brut, Extra Cuv?e Seleccionada. down from £11.99 to £4.99, Morrisons
La Rosca Cava Brut, down from £5.99 to £4.79, Waitrose