Christmas’ feel-good vibe inspires us to open more bottles of champagne than at any other time of the year. It’s true. But as we float from party-to-party and gift-to-gift, champagne often becomes little more than a celebratory tipple or means to ease the torridity of summer.
However, champagne can be a meaningful accompaniment to the festive season, even every meal. In my family, lazy days and late nights are interspersed with special bottles, selected with care, and served in the spirit of generosity and joy.
Feeling inspired? Consider first Champagne’s diversity, from light and bright to salivating minerality, mouth-filling creaminess and even pinot-driven structure. Here’s a little cheat-sheet on style and pairing this Christmas.
Brut Nature (zero dosage) champagnes – Zero (additional) sugar champagnes may be all the go right now, but beyond the hype they offer an uncommon window into champagne’s soul. The best are crystalline and pure, exacting – without being harsh – saline and enthralling. Serve as a Christmas soirée apéritif with freshly shucked oysters or melt-in-your-mouth prosciutto.
Blanc de Blancs champagnes - Feel the rush of bright acidity, lively minerality and concentrated flavours with Champagne’s best all-chardonnay wines. They make for excellent apéritifs, but not only. Consider serving them with salmon blinis, oysters au naturel or creamy crab canapés with a twist of lemon to keep things fresh and zingy.
Rosé champagnes – Be ‘in the pink’ with these refreshing and lip-smacking champagnes enunciating strawberry and raspberry aromas and a slightly full, yet crisp, mouthfeel. Enjoy them on the lawn, as the sun’s going down, along with everything from charcuterie to sashimi, salmon and lobster. Reserve fuller-bodied vintages and non-vintages (with a high proportion of reserve wine) for Christmas Day lunch. Pair alongside bird, pig or fruit dessert with aplomb.
Vintage champagnes – Delve into vintage and vine with a bottle from a dedicated year and discover champagne’s astounding ability to age oh-so gracefully following three years (or much more) time on lees. These are often complex champagnes with concentrated flavours, creamy textures, and the ability to pair effortlessly with roasted meats, caramelised veggies and rich sauces.
Prestige champagnes – Prestige champagne’s luxe factor is more than about price, they are the best of the best, made with exceptional grapes from exceptional years, meticulous winemaking and aged for extended periods of time. Profiles may vary from producer-to-producer, but one thing unites them all – they are made to age. Don’t tarnish their purity and beauty with food, consider enjoying on their own.
Here are some champagne suggestions for Christmas in 2024.
Louis Roederer Brut Nature 2015 Blanc de Blancs
Style – Pure and mineral
You will do well to let this one warm up a degree or two in your glass. Only then will it reveal all that makes it different and special. The nose extracts the freshness of earth – a mineral backbone of salinity – and the perfume of bergamot and summer fruits. The palate follows through with its mineral definition but opens-up to some creamy complexity, cooked fruits and pastry flavours. These richer notes deepen the longer your glass is left to warm, but they never overtake the steely resolve of its mineral fibre. The finish is intensely saline, clean and dry.
Pierre Péters Cuvée de Reserve Blanc de Blancs NV
Style – Energetic and bright
The wines of Pierre Péters consistently punch above their weight for a small producer. This champagne is one of the best in their range. A youthful, sea spray and oyster shell nose is offset by the warming aromas of almond croissant and toast, care of some solera complexity. The palate is simply exhilarating and delicious, smacking of lemon zest before plunging into the salty depths of the sea. Be buoyed by the underlying richness of tropical fruit notes and brioche. A simply stunning non-vintage blanc de blancs, exuding confidence in its flare and finesse.
Bollinger Rosé NV
Style – Rich and bright
Aromas of bright red fruit complex into orange and clove spice as well as toast and smoke, thanks to some impressive red wine added to the blend. The palate’s dazzling energy carries flavours of wild strawberries and cherries, but also the zing of grapefruit pith. As always with Bollinger, there’s depth, concentration and a subtle tannic structure. A fine and beautifully balanced non-vintage rosé champagne.
Pol Roger Vintage Rosé 2018
Style – Rich and full-bodied
The deep salmon and copper hues of this excellent rosé provides all the visual fodder for an immensely satisfying champagne. The nose, with its display of rich and generous berry fruits, minty freshness and black pepper spice, is a precursor to the palate’s baritone notes. Expect a ‘dripping down your chin’ juiciness offset by racy acidity and taut structure laced with chalky refinement. A poised and full-bodied style that can handle a hearty spectrum of festive foods.
Frerejean Frères Cuvée des Hussards 2013
Style – Generous and bright
Frerejean Frères is part of a new wave of small champagne houses focused on quality and character, privileged to some excellent vineyards located on prized chalky terroir. This is a pinot noir/chardonnay blend displaying all the generosity of quality fruit. The nose is lifted with the freshness of citrus and sea spray, but also complex with dried fruits, nuts and honey. The palate is generous and velvety, underscored by crisp acidity, finishing long, delicious and mineral. Salivating and scintillating.
Krug Grande Cuvée 171ème
Style – Powerful and complex
Krug’s revered Grande Cuvée, a prestige non-vintage, corrals two hundred-or-so wines, from multiple vintages and vineyards and sits at the pinnacle of blending mastery. The recent 171ème Édition waxes as it lingers a moment or two in the glass going from florals to primary red fruits, then dried fruits, honey and nuts. On the palate it’s powerful and full-bodied with a creamy richness, but also saline and fresh with incredible finesse. My personal favourite served on Christmas Eve in a quiet moment.
