Wine: Six of the best Champagnes to make Christmas sparkle

Velvet’s wine columnist Giles Luckett has been in the business for more than 30 years and worked everywhere from Harrods to Laithwaites. This month, he’s recommending six Champagnes guaranteed to make Christmas sparkle

Hello and happy Christmas! It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and as Andy Williams (meant) to point out: “There’ll be parties for hosting and Champagne for toasting.” In keeping with this spirit of the season, here are six of the best Champagnes I’ve tasted this year. While none are cheap, they are all worth the money and will make the perfect centrepiece for your celebrations.

First up, the Bruno Paillard Blanc de Noirs Grand Cru (Wanderlust Wine £72). This is a new(ish) wine from a House I’ve long admired. Made exclusively from black grapes from Grand Cru vineyards, it offers richness and finesse in equal measure. Bright gold, the nose is an enticing mix of rose petals, cherries, pink grapefruit and spices. The perfectly balanced palate is populated by red and blackberries, citrus, cherries and cream, and finishes with a touch of chalkiness. Serve this with creamy canapés.

Next, a rosé, the Champagne Gosset Grand Rosé (BBR.com £55.75). Gosset’s wines combine precision with power, and their rosé is the epitome of this. Mid-pink with hints of amber, the nose is simultaneously forthright and delicate. Fresh raspberries, alpine strawberries and redcurrants set the stage for the firm, fresh, yet generous palate where red fruits meet peaches, minerals and citrus. A wonderful aperitif, it’s also great with smoked fish and white meats.

Vintage Champagnes – wines made from a single year’s harvest – offer some of Champagne’s great experiences as exemplified by the Taittinger 2015 (Slurp £69.95). The bottle-aged amber colour brings forth notes of red apples, peaches and brioche. In the mouth it’s ripe and rounded, its lemony youthfulness having mellowed to peach while the firm raspberry acidity has relaxed to add a lovely strawberry note. Medium-bodied but with satisfying richness and concentration, it’s sublime now but has time on its side.

Ruinart is a House I’ve loved since the Dom Ruinart 1986 was the wine of the night when I tasted it against the rest of Harrods’ Champagne list (100+ wines) in 1994. While their non-vintage Ruinart Blanc de Blancs (Majestic £80) is a beautiful wine, its big brother, the Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut 2013 (The Champagne Company £230) pipped it to the post for this list. Ghostly pale, the subtle pear, apple and hazelnut nose lulls you into thinking it will be a delicate wine that lacks depth. Nothing could be further from the truth. A stunning mix of green and yellow fruits, white berries, custard apple and hazelnut, with a tang of sea salt, there’s a quiet intensity to this hauntingly beautiful wine.

When it comes to champagne giants, few can match Krug. Its marriage of power and sophistication make it a Champagne that should be on every wine lover’s bucket list. Every time I taste it, I find myself wondering how you make a wine the size of a London bus handle like a Ferrari while offering the luxury of a Bentley. Answers on a postcard, please. Earlier this year I tasted the Grande Cuvee 172eme Edition (The Finest Bubble £204) and it was magnificent. The expansive bouquet offers aromas of lemons, grapefruit, honey, red blooms, apricots and roasted nuts. On the palate, it shows extraordinary complexity and class. Generous flavours of yellow plums, apples, melon, liquorice, dried pears, redcurrants and spices come together seamlessly to give a unique glassful.

I’ll finish with what must be the most famous Champagne in the world, the Dom Perignon 2012 (Finest Bubble £250). This classic vintage always needed some time in-bottle and it’s now on sensational form. The bouquet is joyous, fresh and youthful. Apple blossom, pears, melon, spices and acacia harmoniously come together to give an enchanting whole. In the mouth, it’s lively, vigorous, and yet has that seductive silkiness that is one of Dom Perignon’s signatures. The fruit ranges from melon and pear to raspberry and whitecurrant with a chalky, slightly saline seam. Toward the finish, apricot, honey and vanilla spice add richness, warmth and depth. What a wine!

Happy Christmas and have a fine New Year. I’ll be back in 2025 when the love of wine will be in the air... Cheers!