Christmas is all about bubbles, this year both family and fizz. We can’t help thinking that the stimulating, appetite-inducing effects of Champagne are going to be in great demand this year, as families adapt to a Christmas under novel conditions and bid farewell to a year to forget. Given what we’ve all been through, something special to drink seems particularly apt, both in defiance of what’s gone but also in celebration of better times ahead. These six Champagnes have all been featured recently by Jancis and Jamie Goode . They are the sorts of bottles to sooth the soul and inspire conversation. Most would make for excellent drinking at the end of the year while Goisses 2011, Goisses Rose 2009 and Les Cintres 2010 will be arriving in January - just the things to see us through what might be the darkest months yet…
Pierre Paillard, Les Parcelles XV Grand Cru Bouzy Extra Brut NV (In stock)
Read More"This is based on the 2015 vintage, and it's from the Grand Cru village of Bouzy in the Montagne des Reims. 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay, disgorged in October 2019, with a dosage of 1.8g/litre.
This is a really lovely wine, with a lovely fruit quality. It starts off with mandarin and lemons, then there's a lovely midpalate of pear, apple and cherry, with some texture and ripeness, but it's reined in beautifully by keen acidity and a spicy flourish on the finish. This may be low dosage, but there's a real fruitiness and it offsets the acidity really nicely. Power, concentration, ripe fruit and balance are the hallmarks here. Has a long finish: quite beautiful. 94/100." - Jamie Goode
“Deep bronze colour. Surely lots of oak here? Rich on the nose. Almost sweet, which makes the Extra Brut all the more remarkable. Pretty full-on mousse. This is almost more like a pale red burgundy that happens to have bubbles. It has a suggestion of Pinot Gris perfume about it too. Quite a statement! And not a silly price for the distinctive character it offers. A labour of love? Not dense, though, so I wouldn't age this. GV. 17/20” - Jancis Robinson MW
Pascal Doquet, Arpege, Blanc de Blancs, Extra Brut Premier Cru NV (In stock)
"Justerini & Brooks are good at seeking out keenly priced estate-grown champagnes. This is made from 100 percent organically certified Chardonnay and is a blend of 2010 and 2011 wines, so is admirably mature for the price. It tastes like the produce of a vineyard rather than of a blending bench and is none theworse for it. An amazing price for such a mature wine”. - Jancis Robinson MW, Financial Times
Philipponnat, Cuvée 1522, 2012 (In stock)
70% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay. Disgorged February 2020. Dosage 4.5 g/l. 10,206 bottles. Mainly Aÿ, Chouilly and Oger.
“I tasted a range of Philipponnat wines recently and was blown away by their sheer quality and distinction. This particular one seemed the best value and is named for the year in which the family were first documented as vine growers….This is a Pinot Noir-dominated blend from some of Champagne’s finest vineyards and tastes as fine and beautifully balanced as many champagnes that are quite a bit more expensive. It should age well too. Sumptuous nose suggests maturity though not age. Lightly savoury oak influence and really very fine indeed. Great balance. This tastes as fine and beautifully balanced as many champagnes that cost more. Clean and neat and obviously capable of further development. GV 17.5/20” Jancis Robinson MW
Philipponnat, Clos des Goisses 2011 (Arriving January)
“100% Pinot Noir. Disgorged March 2020. Dosage 4.5 g/l.
Bright copper colour. Very savoury, dense, dry nose. Tight bead and more than a little pungency on the finish. So long and intense. Still quite tightly packed in, so that the finish is positively electric! This is stunning with some vibrant green-vegetation notes. Note the much higher alcohol than is usual for champagne. This just goes on and on and is all youthful pleasure. So many waves of rich minerality. Up there with the best. 13% 18.5+/20” Jancis Robinson MW
Philipponnat, Clos des Goisses, Juste Rosé (Arriving January)
“64% Pinot Noir, 36% Chardonnay from the house's famous, steep, revered single-vineyard. Disgorged March 2020. Dosage 4.5 g/l. 2,508 bottles.
Quite difficult to tell this rosé from a white, but then it is only 'just rosé'. Very pale bronze. The same ultra-pretty nose as the Cuvée 1522 rosé, but more intense and with a bit more grip and density on the palate. What a stunning wine – and with quite a future too. Very long and beautifully balanced on a tightrope. This wine caresses the palate. How lovely to find such a gentle wine with such a low dosage. Vibrates on the extremely long finish. 18.5/20” Jancis Robinson MW
Philipponnat, Les Cintres 2010 (Arriving January)
“All-Pinot wine made from 2006 onwards from a special plot within Clos de Goisses. Disgorged March 2020. Dosage 4.5 g/l. This does smell like red burgundy! So rich-yet-dry. On the peacock's-tail finish the subtle Pinot shades come and go. This is worth concentrating on – a champagne for a fine dinner surely? Like the rest of the family this is beautifully balanced and has so much richness initially and yet finishes dry and appetising. Is this the best 2010 champagne produced? 12%. 19/20” - Jancis Robinson MW