A toast to the good stuff: Fancy champagne for less than $50

TODAY is Global Champagne Day. What better time to raise a toast to the good stuff? We share the top picks for best value.  

Champagne

NO LONGER regarded as a drink for the elite, Aussies are splurging on Champagne as prices tumble and with today being Global Champagne Day what better time to raise a toast to the good stuff? We share the top picks for best value.

While the rest of the world wails, Australians are drinking French bubbles like never before, with no excuse necessary for the splurge. Champagne sales are up a staggering amount while domestic wine sales are sagging.

Whether it’s high tea or just time for tea, Champagne is gracing our tables or filling our flutes more often. And with the strong Australian dollar, a well-known brand of Champagne can now cost less than $50, well clear of $100 mark some bottles used to cross.

“People no longer regard Champagne just as a celebration drink but people just want to drink a good wine on more occasions,” said Jeremy Turnham, Portfolio Director Fine Wine Partners, which distributes Bollinger in Australia.

“The price has come down quite dramatically, so people who didn’t buy it before are doing so now and there’s no sign of any slowing down. Our sales in the winter months June and July were just fantastic and that’s in a country that is very familiar with Champagne, which has helped drive sales forward.”

On top of the strong dollar, the economy is strong and we're fully employed. Australians have more money in their pocket than ever before. The average wage recently topped $70,000, so many of us can afford the nicer things in life without killing our budgets.

And the French champagne houses are meeting the demand.

Aussies love the good stuff

Last year alone, Australians’ consumption of Champagne jumped 32 per cent, the largest increase of any nation, excluding India, where sales grew from a small base. Australia is the eight largest market for Champagne exports. Reflecting that growth, total imported sparkling wine sales in Australia were up 15.9 per cent over the year to June 30 while Australian sparkling sales rose just 1.2 per cent.

According to Jonathan Coles, marketing and business development director with Moët Hennessy Australia, owned by the giant French luxuries group LVMH, which owns the highest-selling Moët & Chandon and Veuve Clicquot brands, we’re drinking Champagne on more occasions.

“Sparkling consumers are finding more and more occasions to enjoy their wine with High Tea and the modern pub garden emerging as new daytime moments, adding to the more traditional night-time drinking occasions,” he said.

“In particular, the grand marque brands are driving the market performance. Brands such as Moët & Chandon and Veuve Clicquot are finding new consumers and occasions in restaurants and bars, while developing their presence in the pub channel.”

Other popular Champagne brands include Mumm, Laurent Perrier, Bollinger, Pol Roger and Piper-Heidsieck, which can now be found for less than $40 a bottle.

Paul Stenmark, who distributes Laurent Perrier Champagne through his company Winestock, says the nation’s palate has “matured”.

“Combined with the increased affordability of international travel and consequent exposure to non-Australian wines, Champagne is becoming more affordable in Australia due to the appreciating Australian dollar. As a result, the growth in consumption of imported wine has outstripped that of domestic wine,” says Stenmark.

What’s the most popular?

Even little known Champagnes are gaining in popularity. Ruinart Blanc de Blancs NV, a Chardonnay-based sparkling, has been described by Wine Spectator as “the best Champagne you don’t know about.” The wine was a crowd favourite at a recent Champagne tasting at Sydney’s hemmesphere bar, where bubbles from more than 20 Champagne houses were served.

“Ruinart Blanc de Blancs was the most popular Champagne by far! But also Louis Roederer NV and Pol Roger was in high demand,” said Franck Moreau MS, group sommelier for the Merivale group, which owns hemmesphere, as well as the Ivy Bar and The Establishment, where patrons regularly splash out on Champagne.

However, while we’re splurging on Champagne, we’re reluctant to spend on the more expensive Rosé styles or vintage Champagnes, which are known for their greater concentration of flavours and use of top-quality grapes. It’s only in years when fruit quality is high enough that Champagne houses declare vintages.

“Rose Champagne is growing in style and people have become educated that Rose is not sweet. However, the non-vintage Champagnes are still the most popular wines,” says Moreau.

With the Melbourne Cup and Christmas season approaching, Champagne houses are gearing up for an increase in sales.

“Christmas and summer come at the same time. The combined effect of those is an increase in sales,” says Moët Hennessy’s Coles. “Creative and attractive packaging is an important part of the marketing of our brands and it’s something we do every Christmas season.”

Fine Wine partners’ Turnham says 60 per cent of Bollinger’s annual sales come in the last three months of the year, with sales dominated by its non-vintage Special Cuvee blend, a fuller-bodied Champagne made from the traditional blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier.

But will the Champagne be served with the turkey and ham this Christmas?

“We are a food and wine knowledgeable country and we encourage people to try Champagne and sparkling wine with food, including meat dishes such as quail and pigeon, especially with a Rose where the Pinot Noir has enough weight and body to match with those meats,” says Coles.

But will Champagne go with a steak?

“We do pair Champagne with red meat and pork on occasion, our current vintage Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage 2002 matches really well with Wagyu beef, Dom Pérignon Oenotheque 1996 also matches well with Wagyu sirloin and foie gras,” says Coles.

“Veuve Clicqout Vintage Rose matches well with pork providing the dish is quite simple and not too many flavours going on the plate.”

But as with all things wine, the test lies with the drinker.

Top picks for best value:

From wine expert Franck Moreau

NV Larmandier-Bernier ‘terre de vertus’

NV Ruinart blanc de Blancs

NV Pierre Peters

NV Diebolt Vallois

NV Vouette et Sorbee ‘Fidele’

NV Bollinger Special Cuvee’

NV Jacquesson ‘Cuvee 735’

NV Gosset ‘Grand Rose’

Top picks for a special occasion: (very expensive but very good)

NV Krug ‘Grande Cuvee”

NV Jacques Selosse

NV Jerome Prevost ‘La Closerie’

S de Salon

Krug Clos du Mesnil

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