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Champagne Gardet (Chigny-Les-Roses)
Charles Gardet established this prestigious house in 1895. It is located in the picturesque village of Chigny-Les-Roses, just south of Reims. The family’s vineyards are spread over seven hectares in the ‘Premier Cru’ areas of Chigny-Les-Roses, Ludes and Rilly la Montagne. Gardet Champagne is renowned for its fragrance, fruit and finesse and will delight all tastes.
In November Gardet’s ‘Cuvée Saint Flavy n/v’ was awarded 91 points in ‘The Wine Spectator’ by Robert Parker, the world’s most important wine critic. It surpassed such well-known Champagnes as Bollinger n/v, Louis Roederer n/v, Laurent Perrier n/v, Taittinger n/v and Veuve Clicquot n/v . Veuve Clicquot scored 89 points and is almost double the price of Gardet. The ‘Cuvée was described as follows:- ‘Firm and harmonious, featuring peach, apple and honey…citrus accents towards the finish, which is long and mouth-watering.’
| Gardet ‘Cuvée Saint Flavy’ n/v |
17.50 |
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| Gardet ‘Cuvée Saint Flavy’ n/v (Magnums) | 39.95 |
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Champagne Serge Mathieu. Avirey-Lingey
Serge Mathieu is a small family owned Champagne house in the Aube, the most southerly part of Champagne's vineyards. The Mathieu family have been vignerons in Avirey-Lingey since 1850. This area is the epitomé of 'La France Profonde', and Michel Jacob-Mathieu, the creative wine maker, is the Renoir of the region, creating sophisticated Champagnes which exude vivacious fruitiness and subtle richness. Very appropriately, Renoir's retirement home can be found in the local village of Essoyes.
| Serge Mathieu Cuvée Tradition Blanc de Noirs Brut n/v |
18.95 |
Awarded four stars in 'Decanter' wine magazine, August 2005.
'Golden Champagne,serious but a crowd-pleaser from a top eco-friendly domaine near Les Riceys...clarity of Pinot fruit...a mini-Bollinger Grande Année.'
Awarded four stars in Robert Parker's 'Wine Buyer's Guide 2002'.
Tom Stevenson, the U.K.’s foremost Champagne critic, awarded the above five stars in ‘Decanter’, May 2007. ‘Just so yummy! I defy anyone to guess blind that this light and elegant wine with its silky pin-cushion mosse is a blanc de noirs.’ ‘Blanc de noirs’ literally means ‘white of blacks’, a white wine made from black grapes, in this case Pinot Noir. |
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| Serge Mathieu Brut Prestige | 19.95 |
| Enrico Bernardo of the George V , Paris, voted the best sommelier in the world (2004), recommends the Brut Prestige as one of his preferred top ten Champagnes. | |
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| Serge Mathieu Brut Rosé |
21.95 |
| A seductive swirl of strawberry bubbles. Gold medal award, Epernay 2004. | |
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| Serge Mathieu Brut Vintage 2000 |
24.00 |
| A cascade of rich and mellow flavours. Très chic. | |
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Varichon et Clerc
Stunning and scintillating sparkling wines from the Savoy (Savoie) region, just to the west of Lake Geneva.
| Varichon et Clerc 'Saint-Céran' Blanc de Blancs |
3.95 |
| A torrent of fruity and vivacious bubbles. Marvellous Champagne alternative. No shark snapping acidity here - just refreshing sprays of tangy tingles! | |
| | Varichon et Clerc 'Privilège' Blanc de Blancs | 5.95 |
The equal of a lot of lesser priced Champagnes. 'Dry, with a gentle mousse and fragrant flavour.'
(Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia 2001) | |
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Crémant de Bourgogne
‘Crémant’ used to be the term to describe a mature Champagne with a soft and creamy mousse. The word is now no longer in the Champenois’ vocabulary as an agreement was struck with other sparkling wine producers in France whereby they were granted the exclusive use of ‘Crémant’ in return for relinquishing the expression ‘Méthode Champenoise’ on their labels. As a consequence, you now see ‘Crémant de Bourgogne’ and ‘Crémand d’Alsace’, but with no mention of ‘Méthode Champenoise’. Civilized lot, the French! Crémant de Bourgogne was actually introduced in 1975.
‘When Crémant de Bourgogne is good it is usually very good and always a bargain…pure Chardonnay for the white…the best usually from the Côte Chalonnaise…rich and smooth. The Rosé style, from 100% Pinot Noir, can be very attractive in a fuller, more serious style than Crémant d’Alsace Rosé.’ (Tom Stevenson. World Encyclopedia of Champagne & Sparkling Wine’ 2003)
| Crémant de Bourgogne ‘Selection Prestige’ 2002 (Caves des Hautes-Côtes) |
7.50 |
| This Chalonnaise wine is rich, smooth and biscuity. |
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| Crémant de Bourgogne Rosé (Buxynoise) |
7.50 |
| Cascades of ravishing raspberry fruit- this is the equal of a lot of Supermarket Champagne Rosés |
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