It’s always champagne season at my house, but the holidays wouldn’t be the same without popping a bottle of bubbly. Gift one to a happy hostess, serve it up on Christmas or New Year’s Eve or enjoy on the sofa while taking in the beautiful lights on your Christmas tree. Here are six top choices that are sure to please everyone, and bonus – you should be able to find them all locally!
Schramsberg 2015 Blanc de Blancs
$33.98 at Hi-Time Wine Cellars
90 points from Wine Advocate
Schramsberg produced its first Blanc de Blancs vintage in 1965, making it the U.S.’s first commercially made Chardonnay-based sparkling wine. Winemakers Sean Thompson and Hugh Davies describe it like this, “The 2014 Blanc de Blancs has bright and fresh aromas of green apple, apricot and orange blossom. The fruitful fragrance intermingles with hints of honey and lemon zest. Freshly sliced peaches, pear,and bright pineapple flavors carry vibrant length on the palate.”
Ruinart Blanc de Blancs Champagne NV
$75.98 at Hi-Time Wine Cellars
92 points from both Wine Enthusiast and Wine Spectator
Ruinart Blanc de Blancs is produced from a blend of 100% premiers crus Chardonnay grapes from the best of recent vintages. Ruinart is a Chardonnay house, and this wine can be considered one of its signature cuvées. It’s a Blanc de Blancs produced from a blend of 100% crus Chardonnay grapes from the best recent vintages.
Wine Spectator describes it like this: “Smoky mineral and spice accents meet creamy layers of poached white peach and lemon meringue pie in this bright and creamy blanc de blancs Champagne. Harmonious, with a long, aromatic finish of acacia blossom and honey.”
This blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay is round and toasty; if you’re gifting this one, be sure to pick up a bottle for yourself too!
Veuve Clicquot La Grand Dame
$139.97 at Total Wine & More
Most people have tried Veuve Clicquot’s Yellow Label non-vintage Champagne, but La Grand Dame is the lesser known crown jewel. It’s aged for at least seven years before release and is an homage to Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, a woman who took over her late husband’s business in 1805, turning his winery into one of the most celebrated champagne houses to ever exist. I know you’ll love this Champagne!
Louis Roederer Cristal 2009
$249.98 at Hi-Time Wine Cellars
97 points from Wine Enthusiast
Cristal is the crown jewel of Champagne by Louis Roederer, created in 1876 for the Tsar Alexander II of Russia. It’s a remarkably balanced and refined with a silky texture and fruity aromas. This is a wine that keeps well: it can be conserved for over twenty years without losing its freshness and character.
Dom Pérignon, 2009
$144.97 at Total Wine & More
Another Champagne loved by royalty, each bottling of Dom Pérignon contains grapes only from a single year, showcasing that vintage’s unique characteristics. The 2009 vintage is exotic: its tactile thickness, its roundness, and its utterly unique depth of flavor.
Fun fact: Dom Pérignon was the Champagne of choice for the royal wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. They poured the 1961 vintage in honor of Princess Diana’s birth year. Reportedly, there were 99 bottles delivered to the wedding, and all were consumed!
Moët Chandon Rosé Impérial
$84.99 at Total Wine & More
A glowing pink color with amber highlights, this is a fantastic rose Champagne. Beloved by celebrities, Moet has been associated with the sparkle of success and glamour ever since the House was founded in 1743 by Claude Moet. This is Champagne you’re sure to love; it has a lively, intense bouquet of red fruits (wild strawberry, raspberry, cherry), floral nuances of rose and a slight hint of pepper.
Happy holidays everyone, and cheers!
