Nothing beats the crisp, unmistakable crack of a Champagne bottle being popped. It’s a sonic cue – a celebratory signal which has come to mark many of life’s biggest moments; weddings, anniversaries, promotions, births, new homes, and every minor celebration in between. Not that you need an excuse.
After all, Champagne is made to be drunk – rather than stored – and rarely benefits from additional ageing. Still, Champagne doesn’t come cheap, so you want to make sure you’re buying the best of the best before you invest. As do we.
So, as a public service, we popped more bottles than Gatsby on New Year’s and taste-tested our way through just about everything in the market to find the very best Champagnes you can buy today. (It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.) What is the best Champagne to buy? Whether you’re after a slick bottle to gift a loved one or an audacious magnum to get your next dinner party popping, we’ve taste-tested the spoils from everyone from well-established French megabrands to smaller producers and landed on 22 of the very best Champagnes you could possibly hope to pop.
Best affordable Champagne : M&S St Gall Champagne, £28 at ocado.com Best Champagne to buy as a gift : Henri Giraud Hommage au Pinot Noir Champagne, £75 at ocado.com Best luxury Champagne : Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 2015, £170 at thewhiskyexchange.
com Best English sparkling wine Champagne alternative : Ridgeview Cavendish NV, £40 at majestic.co.uk How we choo.