Anyone know their Champagne?

[Doordine]

I'd like to get a really delicious bottle of Champagne in for Christmas. But I would also like to do so as cheaply as possible.

So are brands like Bollinger, Tattinger, VC, LP, Moet the only ones worth getting? Or can you get a bottle that tastes good for £20-£30?

I second Pol Roger. We also like Perrier Jouet which is £30. We actually prefer English Sparkling, Nyetimber is a good option and is about the same price. Recently seen it on sale for £26.

I second Cava.

Have a look at Marks & Spencer champagnes, they have a few in your price range under £30. They are all good quality and excellent value.
Also, consider cremants, for reasonably priced bubbles.

The Harvey Nichols own-label champagnes are good, especially the rose.

The Aldi one mentioned above is a good take-off of Bollinger, and very drinkable.

If you’re in Booths country I’d recommend their own label

There’s an Asda extra special one (vintage and non), that I really rate. I drink a lot of sparkling and this is far and away my favourite of the cheaper. I think it’s about £22 a bottle.

I love Veuve Cliquot too. Which gives Morrison’s Adrienne Chopin highest marks - £18 a bottle. It gets 82%from them. Sainsbury’s Landric champagne gets 78% at £25 a bottle. Tesco finest gets 73% as does the aforementioned Veuve Clicquot .

We buy cremant from Waitrose. They are all lovely and very much better than than the aldi version (although I buy this for everyday drinking).

Regarding champagne if we have the funds then we go for billecarte salmon which we served freely at our wedding and is my favourite champagne ever.

We had a share of a bottle of £500 Cristal and frankly it was no better than the Billecarte!

To be honest OP I've given up on Champagne.

I find it ridiculously overpriced/overhyped.

I now only buy vintage Prosecco/Cava or English sparkling wine and because of the price difference can afford to splash out on really good ones (that are still cheaper than many standard Champagnes such as Moët) and they are really lovely.

I've been lucky enough to try some top champagne in my time but it's still just fizzy wine and there are better alternatives out there for the money - you really are paying for the name "champagne" and not the quality of the product.

Best advice is to google vintage Prosecco/Cava/English sparking and you'll get loads of recommendations and hopefully one that's easy for you to buy.

Veuve Cliquot
Blanc de Noir or Cremant de Loire from Sainsburys
Regularly get good marks in blind taste tests in Which? etc

Berry Brothers own label, available online and excellent quality and value.

For an English alternative you could try Hattingley Valley

I would say you could get a really good English sparkling wine on offer for about £30. Look at Camel Valley, Chapel Down. Really I think that the cheaper champagne is best avoided, I’ve also tried a few cremants, as they are always recommended but I’ve not found one I like. Personally I would always look out for veuve clicquot, roederer, or Laurent P on offer, also if you go somewhere like Costco I think they sometimes have them in stock. But really I have found anything that normally costs under £35 a bit disappointing and I’d rather have e.g a sparkling Pinot Noir which is about £15. Good luck. It’s always fun trying.

Prosecco, cava and English sparkling are all completely different wines (the latter admittedly closely related).

There’s nothing wrong with saying you prefer prosecco but that’s genuinely just your preference. I generally don’t enjoy prosecco - I have formal education in wine so I’ve certainly tasted enough to know it’s not my thing. It doesn’t, however, make prosecco overhyped or overrated, just my opinion. There are wonderful champagnes out there to be had at different price points & I find it deeply snobbish when people proclaim otherwise.

Unless you need the name champagne get a French Limoux/cremant- a French sparkling. £12-15 a bottle and better than many many champagnes.

Waitrose have some good ones

Champagnes and sparkling wines are like any white wine, you won't like them all and they are very different.

For example I like wines that are very pale in the glass generally. I hate Bollinger.

I personally don't rate the English sparkling- ok but not worth more than a French cremant and they cost more.

@jcurve

Prosecco, cava and English sparkling are all completely different wines (the latter admittedly closely related).

There’s nothing wrong with saying you prefer prosecco but that’s genuinely just your preference. I generally don’t enjoy prosecco - I have formal education in wine so I’ve certainly tasted enough to know it’s not my thing. It doesn’t, however, make prosecco overhyped or overrated, just my opinion. There are wonderful champagnes out there to be had at different price points & I find it deeply snobbish when people proclaim otherwise.

I agree that there are some lovely champagnes on the market.

I also agree that Prosecco/Cava/English are different products.

However, just as you don't like Prosecco, I similarly don't rate Champagne in the sense that for my taste I find I can get better quality for less expensive buy avoiding the "champagne" brand.

I don't see how that's remotely snobbish (rather that's an accusation that could be levelled at your post).

At the end of the day it's highly subjective because we all have different taste preferences.

I've had supposedly wonderful wines chosen for me by professionals that I've been far from blown away by, some I disliked and some I thought were sublime.

My point is that if you like sparkling wine, it's worth thinking outside the box of Champagne because others, like myself may find they prefer the alternatives.

@CupboardMonster

Also a good call on Aldi crémant du Jura, I'd buy it above a lot of cheapo badly made unbalanced champagne offerings.

Creamy di Jura are usually nice and harder to find, good with fish. Fortnum and Masons sell one usually

I will have a look at Aldi.

I’m a little secret lover of champagne!! I visit the area (well normal circumstances) at least once a year!! 😃 Local champagne is the best but rarely available here as they keep it for local consumption!!

Ultimate favourite is Ruinart - it’s kept in France on the whole due to its deliciousness!! But on the cheaper end I’d say try and find Ayala, Duval Leroy or Heidesdeck for something cheaper...the Grand Cru (big names) just have the premium vineyards in the region. Pommery is a lovely tasting champagne - the Pop one - in particular that blends big name with good value. M&S champagne is absolutely great value and good taste!!

If you want to get value for your bottle I’d absolutely recommend Graham Beck Brut and Rose - it’s South African and made exactly as champagne is but in SA so can’t call it such!! If you want French a Burgundy Cremant will be lovely and very much tasty for a good price.

Enjoy whatever you find!! I always find Majestic really good if you have one local 🥂

Coop champagne has already been mentioned. It’s won awards and is made by Piper Heidsieck. I’m going to give it a go this year, but also going to look out some of the cremant suggestions on here, thanks!

Yes, pol roger is lovely.
Sainsburys own label is very good too!

@Svelteinmydreams

Not champagne, but English sparkling Chapel Down Rose which I got in Waitrose. Sainsbury’s also stock it and often have special offers.

Yes - or Nyetimber. Another gorgeous English sparkling wine!

Yes nyetimber also make some lovely sparkling wines, especially their pink sparkling wine

Hijacking the thread slightly, what would people recommend if the only thing I want champagne for is to make bucks fizz?

I am far from a snob but I do have a solid wine education (WSET and FWS). Whilst there might be some lovely cheap champagnes there are also many that are bloody awful as the OP found. An excellent crémant or cava is a better option. Good English sparkling is champagne money, it reflects the cost of production in an industry that is comparatively in its infancy.
Prosecco is cheap for a reason, the only thing it has in common with champagne is bubbles. This doesn't make it bad but it is a different beast, it is a simple wine that has a different method of production and shows only primary fruit flavours. I have enjoyed prosecco for exactly what it is and I'm sure I will again.
As it is the OP has enough in the budget for a lovely champagne

I would go for Pol Roger or Nicolas de Feuillatte.