Champagne is all too often left for special occasions when we should in fact be drinking it every day. It’s a wonderful aperitif, and very versatile with food. And, if it does happen to be a special occasion, you are allowed (in fact, positively encouraged) to drink it in the morning. These occasions include, but are not limited to, birthdays, anniversaries, Superbowl Sunday and whenever a new Doctor Who trailer is released.
So, if we’re drinking Champagne every day, should we ever spend more than £100 on a bottle? The answer is definitely yes, although probably only on a special occasion (see above), or a Wednesday night when you’re not entertaining. Deluxe Champagnes are a real treat, and some of them are definitely worth the money.
Here are a few to tempt your taste-buds, and worry your wallet.
Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle NV (Majestic, £135). This is one of the most expensive non-vintage Champagnes on the market, but it is definitely worth the money. Affectionately known as the Big Cecil in our house, it’s beautifully elegant and approachable.
Louis Roederer Cristal 2009 (Waitrose, £180). The fizz of choice of Tsar Alexander II, Cristal is a study in elegance. It is undeniably expensive, but every Champagne lover should try it at some point, preferably with oysters.
Krug Grande Cuvee (Majestic, £150). For many, Krug is the pinnacle of Champagne decadence. Technically, it’s a non-vintage wine although it’s a blend of around 120 wines from 10 different vintages, and as a result is massively complex. It’s also aged in oak barrels, and this process adds depth and a wonderful richness to the wine in your glass. This is a food wine, and is perfect with scallops or a nice bit of monkfish in a rich sauce.
And we can’t talk about deluxe Champagnes without mentioning Dom Perignon 2009 (Inverarity One to One, £150). The quality of the 2009 vintage was so good that the winemakers in Champagne were seeing the richest, ripest grapes in their lifetime. This translates to a very generous and lush wine in the bottle. Dom Perignon is always designed to be a snapshot of the year, so the winemaker (Richard Geoffroy) is not trying to make a consistent style from vintage to vintage. To my palate, the 2009 is the best one I’ve tasted.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here