Champagne Blend
Prices:
All the hallmarks of Grand Cru are here, with brioche and flowers on the nose and an elegant palate which marries notes of lemon grass, gingerbread and honeysuckle. The wine effortlessly combines structure and finesse, and reverberates with a really authoritative Grand Cru crescendo on the finish.
H/Bottle
£16.75
H/Bottle 12 x 37.5cl 29cs
Bottle
£28.50
Bottle 6 x 75cl 311cs
Magnum
£61.00
Magnum 3 x 150cl 367cs
D. Magnum
£150.00
D. Magnum 1 x 300cl 9cs
H/Bottle
£16.95
H/Bottle 24 x 37.5cl 3cs
Bottle
£28.95
Bottle 12 x 75cl 39cs
Katherine Dart MW - Wine Buyer
Bottle
£19.95
Bottle 6 x 75cl 18cs
Bottle
£19.95
Bottle 6 x 75cl 17cs
This is without doubt one of the finest, yet least known, Grande Marque Champagnes, made with mainly Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. This Champagne is lively, elegantly textured and fresh, with a very long finish.
H/Bottle
£22.00
Bottle
£39.95
Bottle 6 x 75cl 7cs
Magnum
£85.00
Magnum 3 x 150cl 5cs
Bottle
£25.95
Bottle 6 x 75cl 193cs
Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer
Bottle
£27.00
This is a classic apéritif Champagne. Deliciously light, crisp citrus and apple orchard flavours mingle with sundry red-berried fruit. It is beautifully plumped out in the middle, courtesy of Premier Cru Pinot Noir fruit from the evocatively named village of Dizy, ending with delicate toasty notes.
Bottle
£28.95
Bottle 6 x 75cl 7cs
Fruits of the 2011 harvest, with reserve sines added from 2010, this is a most impressive effort, its lees-ageing imparting gentle biscuity notes and adding weight and structure to the first impressions, which recall English orchard fruit, yellow fruits and quince.
Bottle
£29.95
Bottle 6 x 75cl 13cs
This sparkling wine has a fine mousse that enhances the toasty, almond and honey notes. The acidity is poised and provides the perfect foil to the baked apple and spice on the palate. Perfect served chilled as an apéritif, but also good with lighter starters, shellfish or poultry.
Bottle
£31.95
Bottle 6 x 75cl 9cs
The reputation of Bouzy resides in the quality and style of its Pinot Noirs, generally ripe, rich and very expressive. All three of these adjectives apply to this, the signature wine from Champagne Bara: a charming, forward Champagne, with a nose evocative of nectarine, plum and spice, then delicious flavours in the mouth which combine ripe fruity notes, a very fine mousse and an elegant, finely sculpted finish.
Juhlin's Champagne Guide, 2008
Bottle
£32.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 4cs
There are aromas of citrus, candied lemon and mandarin on the nose, with a hint of golden apple. The palate offers layers of complexity, combining fresh citrus fruit with notes of brioche and biscuit from extended lees-ageing. This is a very fine example of English sparkling wine.
Bottle
£32.95
Bottle
£36.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 87cs
Who better than Benoît Marguet, doyen of Ambonnay, to complete our UKC Grand Cru trilogy? Sourced from the finest Grand Cru villages, this is perfectly balanced and richly structured. It is an exuberant and beautifully fragrant wine, with red berries and other summer fruits dancing harmoniously on the palate.
Bottle
£36.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 57cs
The 2008 vintage was outstanding in Champagne and Mailly has crafted a typically complex wine, dominated by toasty and savoury Pinot Noir with the balancing Chardonnay providing just that; a joyful and harmonious balance. The wine’s fruit-stone core cedes to a long refreshing finish, while its impressive concentration bodes well for the future.
Bottle
£36.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 36cs
Magnum
£75.00
Magnum 3 x 150cl 3cs
A beautiful vivid pink with a bright red berry hue, it displays an array of wild strawberry aromas on the nose that lead to a generous, complex palate of buttered toast, ripe lemon and juicy hedgerow fruit.
Bottle
£36.50
Bottle 6 x 75cl 62cs
A beautiful vivid pink with a bright red berry hue, it displays an array of wild strawberry aromas on the nose that lead to a generous, complex palate of buttered toast, ripe lemon and juicy hedgerow fruit.
Bottle
£36.50
Bottle 6 x 75cl 4cs
Vinified in fût, this is a blend of 90 percent Pinot Noir and 10 percent Chardonnay. The wine has an astonishing purity of flavour, showing its full biodynamic pedigree and a real gout de terroir, its vinous quality in no way overshadowing the pinprick acuity of its attack. Notes of mandarin and quince are also evidenced. One for fruits de mer.
Bottle
£40.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 12cs
Richard Hemming MW - jancisrobinson.com, 2nd Feb 2017
Bottle
£40.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 40cs
Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer
Bottle
£42.00
A standard-bearer for the quality that England can achieve, this is a very assured wine, with a firm acidic spine, but also complexity and detail. Great focus and precision.
Bottle
£42.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 6cs
Louis Roederer, a wonderful family-owned Champagne House founded in 1776, has a tremendous reputation for quality. It has remained an independent, family-owned company and is now managed by Frédéric Rouzaud, who represents the seventh generation of the lineage. Eighty percent of the firm's needs are supplied by their own, magnificent, 444 acres of vineyard holdings.
This wine is without doubt one of the very top non-vintage Champagnes. Its elegant complexities come from the barrel-ageing of a high proportion of the blend, together with at least four years' maturation in bottle before disgorging.
The quintessence of the House style, Brut Premier offers quality and glamour as well as excellent value. A structured, elegant wine, it is deliciously creamy with almond and toast characteristics alongside the complexity and roundness that are the hallmarks of this House.
Bottle
£42.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 197cs
This has a truly wide appeal and is perfect for lovers of exuberantly styled Champagnes. Feminine and fruity in its youth, it takes on a fuller flavour with age. The added reserve wines are specially selected to achieve the requisite elegance, balance and harmony. It’s perfect for the cellar as well as current drinking, which is an excellent excuse to buy more than one case!
Bottle
£42.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Magnum
£86.00
Magnum 3 x 150cl 5cs
Made from 40 percent Chardonnay and 60 percent Pinot Noir, R de Ruinart makes use of 40 percent reserve wine and is aged on its lees for three years. The wine is elegant with floral notes to the fore and hints of white peach and acacia on the palate. An excellent apéritif wine, this is a splendid introduction to the delights from this most ancient of Champagne Houses.
Bottle
£45.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 2cs
A blend par excellence; Special Cuvée is the purest expression of Bollinger's house style. Its biscuity nose is endowed with hints of white fruit and the rich, full-bodied palate is perfectly balanced by fresh acidity and a soft, delicate mousse. A stylish Champagne that is ideal to drink now or in the next two or three year.
Bottle
£45.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 207cs
Magnum
£100.00
Magnum 3 x 150cl 6cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
The key seems to be to stick with the winning formula, namely a third each of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, but to select from specific vineyards and to age it a little longer, thereby engendering a natural softening. Spicy, with notes of crushed apple, broiche and peach stones, this is a very successful wine. Suitably cerebral to accompany any lively debate over a plate of 12 Fine de Claire Oysters.
Bottle
£48.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bollinger is famed for its rich and savoury style of wines, dominated by Pinot Noir and underwritten by oak fermentation and extensive lees maturation. It seemed only a matter of time before the release of a non-vintage rosé and this wine has been well worth the wait.
Dry, powerful and very serious indeed, this highly polished rosé combines notes of plum, patisserie, cinnamon and spice. With structure and weight and harmony of vibrant flavours right across the palate, this is a delicious accompaniment that can match a variety of dishes.
Bottle
£50.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 8cs
Ruinart is a low-profile, yet select, Champagne house which is steeped in history. It was founded in 1729 by Nicolas Ruinart in the city of Reims, the year after a Royal Decree in 1728, whereby Louis XV gave his consent for sparkling wines to be shipped in baskets containing 50 to 100 bottles. This opened the gates of Europe to Champagne and thus makes Ruinart the oldest Champagne House.
Premier and Grand Cru sites only supply the grapes for this excellent rosé, which is made up of 45 percent Chardonnay and 55 percent Pinot Noir, with 18 percent of the latter added as red wine. A subtle nose of rosehip, spice and wild strawberry; on the palate the wine marries exuberant fruit with a richly velvety texture. Ruinart is famous for their Rosé; justly so it would seem.
Bottle
£55.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 3cs
Bottle
£55.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 2cs
Bottle
£56.20
Which grapes are included in the blend, and their proportion, is one of the key factors determining the style of most Champagnes. Three grapes are used - Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier.
26% of vineyards in Champagne are planted with Chardonnay and it performs best on the Côtes des Blancs and on the chalk slopes south of Epernay. It is relatively simple to grow, although it buds early and thus is susceptible to spring frosts. It produces lighter, fresher wines than those from Burgundy and gives finesse, fruit and elegance to the final blend. It is the sole grape in Blancs de Blancs, which are some of the richest long-lived Champagnes produced.
Pinot Noir accounts for nearly 40% of the plantings in Champagne and lies at the heart of most blends - it gives Champagne its body, structure, strength and grip. It is planted across Champagne and particularly so in the southern Aube district.
The final component is Pinot Meunier and this constitutes nearly 35% of the plantings. Its durability and resistance to spring frosts make the Marne Valley, a notorious frost pocket, its natural home. It ripens well in poor years and produces a soft, fruity style of wine that is ideal for blending with the more assertive flavours of Pinot Noir. Producers allege that Pinot Meunier lacks ageing potential, but this does not deter Krug from including around 15% of it in their final blends.