On the third day of Christmas…

On the third day of Christmas, my true love is starting to lose a little of her early-season festive cheer. Perhaps this self-assembled mixed case of Champagnes will help? 

The wines: In a similar vein, another (self-assembled) mixed case – Christmas turns out to be quite a lot of work this year for my true love!

The concept: It’s not Christmas without Champagne and I’ve had the good fortune this year to taste a fair bit of grower champagne that has really impressed me. So I’ve splurged a bit here in proposing a mixed case of no fewer than 9 bottles – 3 non-vintage, 6 vintage. And, at the risk of getting into a little bit of trouble, one of them is not Champagne at all – but, instead, a rare wine from the UK that would fare very well in a blind tasting alongside similarly prices top producer Champagnes. It comes from Paul-Emmanuel Taittinger and Patrick McGrath MW’s joint venture Evremond.

Yours for: There are a lot of options here and it’s surely only credible to think that any real world true love is going to construct his or her own mixed case from some of these suggestions. At one end of the spectrum, a three-bottle case of Chassenay d’Arce’s excellent Confidences from the 2012 vintage will set our proverbial true love back not much more than €100, with all taxes paid. Similarly, a 6 bottle carton of Evremond’s Classic Cuvée Edition I is available from Grand Vin Wine Merchants for a very reasonable £235 in bond. At the other end of the spectrum, the full case of 9 bottles is not going to leave your true love with much change from £500 in the UK.

Tasting notes

Champagne Henriot 2015 (Champagne; 53% Pinot Noir; 47% Chardonnay all sourced exclusively from Henriot’s Premier and Grand Cru holdings in Trépail, Avenay,Mutigny and Chouilly; aged for 9 years on the lees; dosage of 2.5 g/l; 12% alcohol). This immediately reveals some secondary elements, with a little truffle accompanying the brioche, peach stone and citrus. But, above all with a little air, there’s a lovely natural sweetness to this too, with notes of strawberry candy, nougat, peanut brittle and a little floral honey that doesn’t fully prepare one for the signature freshness and the bright crispness on the attack. This has a very sunny disposition. Quite ample and full in the mouth, with a pleasing sense of depth and richness but also with quite a lot of forward momentum over the palate that accentuates the impression of a pronounced central spine. You might imagine this had more Pinot Noir. I love the intense salinity on the finish. 93. Available in the UK, by the case of 6, from Millesima for £350, duty and VAT paid.

Champagne Les Roses de Saint Philibert Village Nesle Le Repons 2022 (Champagne; 100% Chardonnay; sourced from a single parcel; disgorged on the 4^th of April 2025; dosage 1 g/l; 12% alcohol; certified organic). Ethereal and intensely floral, with a lovely lilting note of pink rose petals alongside the delicate citrus, yuzu, crab apple and white melon notes. Very refined, very pure and focussed with lots of vertical lift aromatically and lots of forward momentum horizontally in the mouth. But there’s a raw power and concentration to this too that is also impressive – and really it needs a couple of years further in bottle for the almost visceral energy to be tamed. Long and certainly promising. 92. Available from a variety of cavistes in France for around €69, duty and VAT paid.

Champagne Vincent Couche Brut Nature 2015 (Champagne; 60% Pinot Noir; 40% Chardonnay; from the Kimmeridgean and silex-limestone terroirs of the Côte des Bar; certified organic; disgorged December 2023; 10,829 bottles and 1188 magnums produced; 12.5% alcohol). Highly distinctive. Slightly oxidative in style which renders the lively bright, crisp apple skin fruitedness of this almost a like cider-esque. With aeration there is a suggestion of Japanese white miso too. Lovely notes of Quince and crab apple, yuzu and a little lime. Maybe a hint of Mirabelle. Fine, nicely tense and poised this is a distinctive expression of its excellent Côte des Bar terroir. Impressively youthful, with little in the way of secondary elements present. 91+. Available from a variety of cavistes in France for around €70, duty and VAT paid.

Champagne Chassenay d’Arce Confidences 2012 (Champagne; 83% Pinot Noir, 15% Chardonnay & 2% Pinot Blanc; all sourced from the vineyards’ oldest vines; dosage of 6.5 g/l; 12% alcohol; aged in bottle for 9 years on the lees). Fascinating aromatically. A hint of secondary notes, but it’s the fresh yellow plum and tangy candied fruit notes that one hones in on first. A little spice and white pepper, nougat and crème brulée, angelique and a little hint of fennel seed. There’s a little whiff of smoke with aeration and a pleasing, almost slightly grassy, cereal note. A little patisserie and frangipane (Galette des Rois). Intense and dense and concentrated at the core, with a very spherical form in the mouth. It’s not very ample at first (though it grows in width in the mouth with aeration) and it traces a beautifully linear profile over the palate. Long and gracious, youthful and really showing the quality of the vintage. 93. Available from a variety of cavistes in France for around €35, duty and VAT paid.

Champagne Thiénot Cuvée Alain Thiénot 2008 (Champagne; 60% Chardonnay from d’Avize, Chouilly, Oger et Bassuet; 40% Pinot Noir from Rilly, Tauxières et Villedommange; 40% sourced from Grand Cru and 30% Premier Cru holdings; dosage 6 g/l; disgorged in February 2022; 35,000 bottles; 12% alcohol). Fabulously youthful, you might even have this a decade younger based both on its colour and aromatics. Very fresh and complex. Cinnamon. A distinct note of café macchiato. Angelica. Confit fruits. Brioche. Frangipane. Orange blossom. Mandarin zest. Some red fruits too – even a touch of strawberry. Rich and full, dense and compact with the fruit held tight to the spine. Tapering on the long finish. Refined, elegant and the somewhat higher dosage really works here. 95. Available in the UK from a range of sources, starting at around £80, duty and VAT paid.

Champagne Boizel Tours-sur-Marne Extra Brut Grand Cru 2019 (Champagne; 100% Pinot Noir; dosage of 3.5 g/l; dégorgement December 2024; 100% 1^st press; 12% alcohol). Rather beautiful, with a touch of red fruit alongside the more prominent citrus notes – pink grapefruit, citron pressé and lemon meringue pie. Praline, frangipane and a little toasted brioche, perhaps a hint of Angelica. This is very vertical and aerial. Impressively intense and concentrated too and long on the bright finish. Vibrant and gorgeously moreish in its fresh flush of youth – but with significant aging potential too. A lovely chalkiness on the entry and a corresponding salinity on the finish – the argilo-calcaire terroir is very evident. 93. Available in the UK, by the case of 6, from Millesima for £421, duty and VAT paid.

Champagne Vaucelle Terre de Nuances NV (Champagne; 100% Pinot Blanc; sourced exclusively from a single parcel, Les Fioles, on Jurassic Kimmeridgian limestone; dosage 4.5 g/l; 12% alcohol; only 2000 bottles produced). When you consider what this is and the sheer quality of the terroir from which it comes, this is truly excellent value. Beautiful aromatically and highly distinctive, with a lovely combination of confit petals and candied fruits – angelica, above all. There’s a subtle hint of brioche and almond skin too and some zesty mandarin and citron pressé. Rich and quite concentrated but with a relatively narrow amplitude in the mouth that helps give this greater intensity. Zesty and grippy, with a gentle caress of tannin and a hint of oyster shell on the finish. 94. Available from a variety of cavistes in France for €45, duty and tax paid.

Champagne Penet Chardonnet Epitome Reserve Perpetuelle Grand Cru NV (Champagne; sourced from Verzy & Verzenay in the Montagne de Reims on limestone over chalk and based on the 2018 vintage; 70% Pinot Noir; 30% Chardonnay; no malolactic fermentation; dosage of 4 g/l; disgorged April 2025; 12.5% alcohol). Fine, refined and elegant aromatically, with white flowers and oodles of citrus freshness, notably white grapefruit and lime, with a little yuzu; maybe a hint of clementine too. There’s a suggestion of blanched almond too. On the palate this is very structured, tight to spine and finely chiselled. That brings lots of intensity and a lovely focussed purity – and a long ‘rock salt’ mineral finish. 92. Available in the UK from a range of sources, starting at around £98, duty and VAT paid.

Domaine Evremond Classic Cuvée Edition I NV (Champagne; 12.5% alcohol). From a joint venture between Paul-Emmanuel Taittinger and Patrick McGrath MW (hence the alternating French and English in the identification of the wine on the label). This breaks the rule for me which is that English sparkling of any given quality is invariably more expensive than in French counterparts if the latter is well-sourced. This is excellent and, for the quality, is very reasonably priced (which given that it is not cheap says a lot for the quality). Ginger ale and a little fresh ginger too. Gooseberries, elderberries and elderflower cordial – actually, all very English. Fresh, crisp, Bramley green apple skin too. The dosage (not stated on the bottle, disappointingly) is spot on. And there’s a lovely calcaire creaminess but also chiselled precision. Close your eyes and you’re in hallowed (dare I say, French) terroir. Impressive. 93. Available widely in the UK, for example from Grand Vin Wine Merchants at £235 in bond for a case of 6 bottles.

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