Perfect 10

PriceApproximately Rs 9,000

Perrier-Jouët,Belle Epoque
This prestige label from the Épernay-based house,which is part of the Pernod Ricard group,is worth buying simply for the beautifully decorated bottle which houses the wine. “The strength of this prestige cuvée is finesse and elegance rather than power or fruit,” cites online wine guide thewinedoctor.com. In 1854,Perrier-Jouët became the first house to release a dry champagne,a style subsequently imitated across the region which is now labelled as Brut.

PriceApproximately Rs 5,500

AvailabilityImported by Pernod Ricard India

Champagne Salon,Le Mesnil Brut 1997
Champagne Salon is a very small,niche producer of champagne and is part of the Laurent-Perrier group. It sources only Chardonnay grapes from one single Cru,Le Mesnil sur Oger. “This is an extremely rare and prestigious champagne,” says Singh. Wedge adds that “This unique wine is pure,thoroughbred,aristocratic,refined and with steel purity that insists upon being thought about and appreciated.”

PriceApproximately Rs 14,000 in duty-free

Nicolas Feuillatte,Brut
A relatively recent label,Nicolas Feuillatte was founded in 1976 by an entrepreneur who was born in Paris but became a leading African coffee importer in the US and the Ivory Coast representative in the United Nations before buying a vineyard in Champagne. Wedge describes it as a “balanced and elegant wine which you can drink at the beginning of the night all the way through to the very end”.

PriceApproximately Rs 3,000

Laurent Perrier,Cuvée Rosé Brut
“No champagne collection would be complete without a rosé,and Laurent Perrier does a really good one that is salmon pink in colour and has a lovely hint of berries,” says champagne enthusiast Kiran Shah. Laurent Perrier is still a family-owned champagne house that was formed in 1812 and an official champagne partner for Relais et Chateau,the exclusive French collection of prestigious hotels and restaurants.

PriceApproximately Rs 3,600 in duty free

Krug,Grande Cuvée
Taken over by the Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessey (LVMH) Group in 1999,Krug was roughly a family-run house since its formation in 1843 by a German immigrant. “Krug is another prestige label that,along with Dom Perignon,is the pride of the LVMH family,” says Singh. “The Grand Cuvée has a gleaming golden colour,an extravagantly expansive bouquet,and an almost creamy texture in the mouth,” says Wedge.

PriceRs 23,601

Louis Roederer,Cristal
While Cristal has,in recent years,been associated with rappers such as Jay-Z,it was traditionally bottled for Tsar Alexander II and was packaged in a clear crystal (lead crystal) bottle as opposed to common green glass. The standard bearer for the excellent champagne house,it has a golden appearance and has traces of citrus,white flowers and smoky aromas.

PriceApproximately Rs 15,000

Bollinger,Special Cuvée
This non-vintage champagne is made by another house that was formed by Germans. Jacques Joseph Bollinger originally started sourcing champagne for export to the Netherlands and Germany and established the house in 1829 with two colleagues. The Special Cuvée has up to 10 per cent of reserve wines and is therefore one of the more complex non-vintage champagnes on the market.

PriceApproximately Rs 4,000

AvailabilityImported by Brindco Sales

Tel011-4064 6666

Ruinart,Blanc de Blancs
The oldest champagne house,Ruinart,was established in 1729 and run as a family-owned firm until it required financial assistance. It was eventually sold to the LVMH group in 1963. The Blanc de Blancs,a French term that means “white of whites”,denotes champagnes that are made solely from Chardonnay grapes. It is a beautiful pale golden yellow colour,accentuated by its clear glass bottle.

PriceApproximately Rs 5,000

Availability Only in Delhi

Vueve Cliquot Ponsardin,La Grande Dame
Another champagne house in the LVMH group,Vueve Cliquot is,like Moët,more accessible. “You should always keep a bottle of Moët or Vueve Cliquot around—they aren’t likely to impress connoisseurs,but the brand recognition is too strong,” Singh reasons. While the Brut is reasonably priced at Rs 8,000,the house’s prestige label is in honour of Nicole-Barbe Ponsardin,the widowed owner of the vineyard who was responsible for its growth in the early 19th century.

PriceApproximately Rs 20,000