Sparkling Wines and Champagnes For New Year's Eve

Champagne and Sparkling Wine sales take off at this time of year. Everyone stocks up for the big New Year's Eve celebration. In this post, I will suggest several options for you to consider and that you should be able to get locally.

The 2004 Perrier Jouet "Belle Epoque Brut" comes in a beautiful bottle and it contains delicious Champagne. Our tasting panel described this Champagne as light bodied, silky and elegant. We loved its refined mineral flavors with notes of green apple and a hint of white pepper. I would suggest sharing this special bottle with someone special at a New Year's dinner with grilled halibut. Regularly, sold for $140, this sparkler is not inexpensive. Our friends at Colonial Spirits in Acton have it on sale for about $100 which is a great deal. It is definitely worth the experience!

If you cannot afford the Belle Epoque, Colonial also has the non-vintage "Grand Brut" for about $45. This offering came in just a point behind its big sister. This offering is light bodied, slightly acidic, and mouthwatering. I really liked its very tasty green apple and grapefruit flavors with nicely integrated minerality and toasted almond. It finishes dry and very refreshing. It would be a perfect aperitif for your New Year's celebration and I know it will be a crowd pleaser.

Our other two 91 pointers come from Gosset. The non-vintage "Excellence Brut" Champagne is the slightly better deal at $40. The panel described it as balanced and easy going. They really enjoyed its mild strawberry and mellow lemon flavors with nicely integrated minerality and a hint of honey. It is rather food friendly and would pair nicely with grilled swordfish or sliced extra sharp Manchego cheese. For a little more money you can try the Gosset non-vintage "Grande Reserve Brut" Champagne for $60. It is a classic styled Champagne with prominent mineral infused green pear flavors with notes of vichy water and a touch of lime.

If you are looking for a 90 pointer at a much lower price point, consider the non-vintage Nicolas Feuillatte "Brut Reserve" Champagne priced from $25 to $35. This classic Champagne is medium bodied, acidic and very fresh. It displays mineral infused green apple flavors with notes of white pepper and a hint of tangerine. It finishes rather dry and would be a perfect choice with a baked Dover sole drizzled with a touch of lemon.

With the Moscato craze going on, I discovered two offerings worthy of your consideration. The 2010 Coppo "Moncalvina Moscato D'Asti" for $17 is light bodied, pleasantly sweet and effervescent. I really enjoyed its ripe tangerine flavors with notes of apricot and a touch of vanilla, honey, and red apple. This offering is a real quaffer. It would be a perfect aperitif. Another crowd pleaser would be the non-vintage Maschio dei Cavalieri "Moscato PM" for $25. It is medium bodied, slightly sweet, and flavorful. It displays tasty peach flavors with notes of minerality and lychee. I also detected a hint of tangerine and apple. This sparkler would be another fun wine to consider for your holiday parties.

I will close this post with a couple of value sparklers for you to consider it you are on a budget. Both sparklers scored 87 points and are considered good values.  They are the non-vintage Domaine Ste. Michelle "Brut" Sparkling Wine for $12. This offering is light, crisp, and very easy to drink with mineral infused green apple flavors and just a hint of lime. Another option is the non-vintage Mumm Napa "Brut Prestige" Sparkling Wine for $22. Both these wines are readily available and easy to find.

For a complete list of all the Champagnes and Sparklers we are recommending. Here are some links to our various recommendation lists. The first list is our most recent blog post on Champagnes and Sparkling wines. The other two, lists are our recommended Sparklers and Champagnes under $50 and for those with a bigger budget; these offerings are all over $50. Finally, you can find many of the offering at Colonial Spirits in Acton. Those in stock are 20% off between December 26-31, 2012 (sale items excluded, does not combine with other discounts).

We hope you enjoy you New Year's Celebration. I know we will! Cheers! – Ken