12 Favourite Champagnes for Christmas

Henri Giraud’s Esprit Nature is one of the most finely balanced, light-on-its-feet non-vintage blends we’ve tasted. It has a pure and dancing freshness, all citrus and blossom on the nose, with a touch of baked bread. The weight is so precise and agile. For an aperitif style of Champagne, it’s everything you could want. One third of the wine is drawn from the perpetual reserve the house keeps, dating back to 1990.

This must be the most reliably brilliant N/V rosé champagne out there. Delicate onion skin pink, with savoury notes and a gentle but sophisticated lift of red fruits on the nose. The palate is exceptionally smooth, with creamy bubbles and a long, elegant finish.

The heart of this multi-vintage blend from Aÿ is the 2016 vintage, which is combined with one third perpetual reserve, dating back to 1990. The wine is a gorgeous golden colour, with a luxuriously deep, rich aroma. A textured and sumptuous palate of hazelnuts, sea salt and explosive bergamot feed through to a persistent and satisfying finish. It is a riveting wine, enthralling in its depth and precision, with just a hint of Aÿ’s menthol signature. Gourmand and delectable, this is a superb Champagne from a small Champagne house that is a favourite with the critics.

The heart of this multi-vintage blend from Aÿ is the 2016 vintage, which is combined with one third perpetual reserve, dating back to 1990. The wine is a gorgeous golden colour, with a luxuriously deep, rich aroma. A textured and sumptuous palate of hazelnuts, sea salt and explosive bergamot feed through to a persistent and satisfying finish. It is a riveting wine, enthralling in its depth and precision, with just a hint of Aÿ’s menthol signature. Gourmand and delectable, this is a superb Champagne from a small CHampagne house that is a favourite with the critics.

Pol Roger's classic N/V blend has a huge following, and with good reason. It is one of the most finely balanced and delicious grandes marques on the market. It's a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. It is one of the most complex and rewarding non-vintage Champagnes you'll find, with creamy citrus notes on the nose, and a crisp orchard fruit palate with savoury minerality on the long, elegant finish. This is based on the excellent 2017 vintage.

The PN VZ 16 is the second iteration of this 100% Pinot Noir cuvée from Bollinger. Like its predecessor, it is a paradigm in balance. It has both richness and freshness in its red berry and blossom scent. The fruit comes mostly from the Montagne de Reims grand cru village of Verzenay, and it shows its calibre in the wine's intensity and length. It is immediately open and inviting, with soft brioche notes and a satisfying savoury length, making it a delicious champagne to match with food.

Charles Heidsieck, affectionately known as ‘Champagne Charlie’, was founded in 1851. The house has enjoyed stellar success over the past few decades, thanks to its hugely talented winemaking team. Over the years, Chefs de Caves Daniel Thibault, Régis Camus, Thierry Roset and Cyril Brun have between them been awarded 'Sparkling Winemaker of the Year' at the International Wine Challenge 16 times. No other house has won more than twice. Blanc des Millénaires is the jewel in their crown. It is a wonderfully rich, biscuity blanc de blancs, where Chardonnay sings in a superb vintage. It is so expressive and inviting, with a golden fruit ripeness, and a long, creamy finish.

Aurélien Laherte is the seventh generation of his family to grow vines in the village of Chavot-Courcourt, just to the south of Epernay in between the Côte des Blancs and Vallée de la Marne in a sub-region known as Côteaux Sud d’Épernay. He and his family work 10 hectares across 75 parcels here and his distinctive wines have earned him a strong following. Aurélien is one of a group of dynamic young growers, along with his friend Raphaël Bérèche, who are bent on natural methods and achieving exquisite terroir expression. Ultradition is the flagship wine of the estate, and showcases how well Pinot Meunier suits the clay-limestone soils in this part of Champagne. The bright floral nose makes this a brilliant aperitif Champagne, yet the smooth and balanced weight of the palate makes it equally well suited to food. Take your pick.

The heart of this multi-vintage blend from Aÿ is the 2016 vintage, which is combined with one third perpetual reserve, dating back to 1990. The wine is a gorgeous golden colour, with a luxuriously deep, rich aroma. A textured and sumptuous palate of hazelnuts, sea salt and explosive bergamot feed through to a persistent and satisfying finish. It is a riveting wine, enthralling in its depth and precision, with just a hint of Aÿ’s menthol signature. Gourmand and delectable, this is a superb Champagne from a small Champagne house that is a favourite with the critics.

This is Taittinger's signature cuvée. It’s a blend of Chardonnay (40%), Pinot Noir (35%) and Pinot Meunier (25%), drawn from many parcels across the region, giving a complete and harmonious picture of Champagne. The wine encapsulates Taittinger’s tendency for finesse and elegance, with its fine mousse and light, inviting scent. A portion of reserve wine gives the palate structure and length, as well as adding a layer of complexity to its aromatic profile. Taittinger’s Brut Réserve is a great all-rounder.

Brut Premier is dead, long live Collection! An idea that started in 2002, deep in the Roederer cellars, has finally been realised by master winemaker Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon. He wanted to make a multi-vintage wine that captured the essence of the Roederer style, and differentiated the nuance of the vintages in the blend. In 2012 he started a perpetual reserve, with young vine fruit from the biodynamic parcels usually dedicated to the production of Cristal. Collection 242 is the inaugural release of this idea. 56% of the blend comes from the 2017 harvest, 10% from reserve wines (spanning 2009 to 2016), and 34% from the perpetual reserve. The house dates back to 1776, and the name pays homage to the 242nd harvest since then. It is fresh and incisive, with the chalkiness and salinity you might find in young Cristal. Its arrival marks the end of the line of the Brut Premier cuvée. It’s only a small step up in price, but from tasting it multiple times we are convinced it is a huge leap up in quality and style.

Billecart-Salmon might be one of the most recognisable names in Champagne, but it remains a family-run business to this day, with its cellars in the heart of the Montagne de Reims. Their Brut Réserve is a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, and is made in a wonderfully harmonious style. It is chalky and zesty, with bright, crunchy apple fruit on the palate and a zippy freshness. Its 50%+ reserve wine in the blend gives it complexity and character.

The Zéro Brut Nature is the signature cuvée of the Tarlant family, and the current release, based on the 2012 vintage, could not be a finer example of the quality of craftsmanship found in their wines. It is tight, chalky, and vinous feeling, with the scent of green apple and the crunch of fresh acidity. Its six years' ageing in bottle before disgorgement adds depth and creaminess. Blind, you'll trip over yourself saying it's Krug. If we had a 'house' grower champagne, this would be it.

One of the wine world’s enduring greats, Krug’s non-vintage rosé is sumptuous, complex, textured and deep. Its pale pinky-orange hue and fine, persistent mousse are the most immediately alluring characters. Beyond these, the luxurious combination of toasty autolytic flavours and vibrant, plush red fruit concentration with spiced gingerbread notes make this a hugely impressive and indulgent wine. The 23ème Édition is a blend of nine vintages, with the majority drawn from the 2011 vintage.