Finding the right Champagne for Christmas
Food Critic Richard McComb trawls the supermarket shelves to find out the best festive Champagnes for last-minute shoppers.
It’s a bit showy drinking Champagne in a recession, but if you can’t have a glass of fizz at Christmas then things have come to a pretty pass.
While a host may come across as trying too hard by serving a big-hitter from a prestige label, family, friends and your hedge fund manager will be impressed with your restrained elegance if you opt for one of the supermarkets own brand Champagnes.
There is a huge choice on the shelves, much of it seasonally discounted to lure in party-goers. Do your research and you can bag some seasonal bargains.
I joined an enthusiastic panel of judges to put seven supermarket Champagnes to the test, both vintage and premier cru varieties. We tried bottles from Waitrose, M&S, Tesco, Asda, Aldi, Morrisons and the Co-op. The findings are very much those of Mr and Mrs Average.
The sparklers varied dramatically in price, from £14.99 at Aldi to £24.99 at Tesco for a 2004 vintage
So do you get what you pay for? Well, no.
On the whole, our panel favoured the bargain-basement varieties and there appeared to be little benefit in taking price as a guide to quality.
Some of the Champagnes went unfinished, which is usually an unspeakable crime with French fizz.
But every drop was drained from the bottle containing our 2010 Birmingham Post Christmas supermarket champion – Asda’s Extra Special Vintage Champagne 2002.
It’s yours for £18.98. Yes, that’s Asda price. It’s a snip for this liquid gold.
Our least favourite was actually the most expensive Champagne – Tesco’s 2004 vintage. It’s nearly six quid more than Asda’s premium own label – and garnered half the number of points.
Aldi’s £14.99 premier cru may be the best value Champagne, pound for bubble, on the market this Christmas.
