Cuisine Wine

Champagne $100 & under Tasting results

25 October 2017 (Cuisine magazine Issue 185)

Smaller grower Champagnes join the Grandes Marques to make today a very good time to be enjoying this astonishing wine style, says John Saker.

EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY France was revolution central. It was a time of radical new ideas and the bubbly wine being made east of Paris was one that really caught on. In the twinkling of a coupe, Champagne grew to become one of France’s proudest products. There has never been a better time to enjoy this astonishing wine style than today. Demand is as high as it’s ever been, as is the commitment to quality by the people who are making it. Our Champagne $100 & Under category represents a broad range of labels and styles. The Grandes Marques (the global
Champagne brands) are well represented, which is understandable. Their success is based on the remarkable consistency of quality. There are also several grower Champagnes, wines produced by small outfits who vinify fruit they grow themselves, in our top lineup. Over recent years a number of grower labels in the region have attained cult status.

The tasting panel

For this sparkling wine tasting, John Belsham, an international wine judge and owner of Foxes Island Wines in Marlborough, was joined by owner-director of Oenotec Pty Ltd, Australian Dr. Tony Jordan. Tony has enjoyed an illustrious career at the top of the sparkling wine world with various roles at Moët Hennessy, Domaine Chandon, Cape Mentelle and Cloudy Bay. Rounding out the tasting panel was John Saker, author, and Cuisine wine writer.

Ready to drink

Cellaring recommendations are not given for the Champagnes and sparkling wines reviewed in this issue, as they arrive on the market ready to drink. A few may surprise with longer bottle age, especially younger examples of vintage wines, but most are released with enough age already.

Top 10 Champagne $100 & under

Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label Brut

A LOVELY PALE gold in colour and offering fine citrusy scents, the Veuve was certainly “en forme” at this tasting. Bright, fresh, compact and persistent, with attractive lemon and chamomile notes, this is an elegant, juicy wine that captures the essence of non-vintage Champagne.

| $80.00
→ more 1 View All Results in the Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label Brut Tasting

Star ratings for this tasting

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  • Outstanding 12
  • Excellent 2
  • Very Good 14
  • Good 7
  • No Award 6
  • Total Entries 41