Champagne is always associated with a celebration. Whether it is a race win or a wedding, a glass of beautiful bubbles, the sound of the cork pop and the clinking of glasses is everything a Champagne celebration encompasses.
This wonderful sparkling wine, named from it’s location in France, Champagne has been the king of wines for centuries. There are a multitude of reasons why we respect the sparkling coming from Champagne compared to anywhere else in the world and even then, they aren’t all the same. We get our beak wet in some of the best Champagne’s coming to Australia now and help you buy the right bottle for the right occasion.
The Special Birthday
If you’ve got a partner who is celebrating their birthday soon and you’re keen to pop something a little more prestige than Chandon you will be interested in the typical bottle from Perrier Jouet, the Grand Brut. This is a gorgeous tasting bottle of Champagne that will be noticeably different and more delicate than cheaper or more mass produced varieties. The bottle itself is also rather elegant and it comes at a price that means you could buy a few for a party and not blow the budget entirely.
We’ve found this bottle for around $64 here
The New Job
You’ve had the phone call, you got that dream job, the pay is better, the company sounds great and you are going home to celebrate. You have no idea what’s for dinner, you don’t even care, just get the Champagne flutes out and pick up a bottle of the Perrier Jouet Blanc de Blancs NV (meaning non-vintage). This bottle is actually clear, so the colour you see is of the contents. Blanc de Blancs is 100% Chardonnay so the flavour is different to a Brut which in our opinion also makes it wonderful to drink on it’s own. The bubbles are so fine and they create a real party in the mouth. It is a Champagne that rewards you for your purchase but will work with plenty of dishes, or none at all.
We’ve found this bottle for around $134 here
The Bride and Groom
A wedding is a pretty special event, it’s something that is years in the making and can be all over before you know it. While the guests at the wedding might be drinking bottles of Champagne, the bridal party and particularly the bride and groom may want to upgrade the bottles that come to their table. By doing so you’re creating an experience that is unique to you and one you could relive over and over again, if you buy some extra for anniversaries to come. The Perrier Jouet Belle Epoque 2011 is a truly fabulous Champagne. It is so fresh and vibrant, so full of interesting and balanced flavours that travels all around the mouth and even evolves as you take each breath later, the contents in the glass will also evolve one sip after the other and if ejoyed with food you’ll also be rewarded. The bottle itself is wonderfully decorated with Japanese anemones, something iconic to this range of Champagne.
We’ve found this bottle for around $250 here
The Newborn Baby
New life is something absolutely worth celebrating and after a new mother has spent at least nine months sober, including delivering a child, it’s important to find the right bottle to open for that first toast. We’ve leaned a little differently on this occasion and chosen a Rosé from Perrier Jouet. There are two that we tried and they come at two very different prices. The Rosé Champagne style has a lovely colour, it is an unexpected flavour that is more fruit driven and full bodied than you might assume. Depending on your budget you can enter with a Blason Rosé or the Belle Epoque Rosé 2005 vintage. They’re both dazzling however the 2005 is a more premium wine, it’s your call whether it justifies the higher price – maybe ask the new mum!
We’ve found the Blason Rosé for $98 here and the Belle Epoque 2005 Rosé for $299 here
