Holiday Wine Guide: The LCBO’s best champagne and sparkling wine
Henry of Pelham Cuvée Catharine Rosé Brut
Niagara Peninsula, $32.95
1 Pinot noir provides the classic salmon colour while 20 per cent chardonnay plumps the texture of this sparkling rosé. Expect subtle wild strawberry, pastry and nutty notes. It’s mid-weight, firm, faintly sweet yet bracing. LCBO 217505
Trius Brut
Niagara Peninsula, $29.95
2 Bottle-aged for up to two years in the largest sparkling wine cellar in Ontario, this traditional-method wine consistently wins gold medals in local competitions. A bit fuller and fruitier than many, it’s well balanced and amiable. LCBO 284539
Pol Roger Brut Reserve
Champagne, France, $67.95
3 Beloved by the British royals, Pol Roger is made in a softer, richer style with 25 per cent reserve wine, then aged four years. A strong fruit presence with riveting acid and flavour depth—perfect for New Year’s Eve. LCBO 217158
Louis Roederer Brut Premier
Champagne, France, $76.95
4 From one of the largest family-owned champagne estates comes a definitive, staunch yet perfectly stitched bubbly. Barrel-aged base wine was bottle-aged for three years, creating intense aromas of hazelnut, baked bread and dried apple, with a mature lemon-gold colour. LCBO 268771
Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Brut Rosé
Champagne, France, $99.95
5 One of the world’s most festive champagnes pours salmon pink with a gentle yet exotic red fruit basket of strawberry, currants and berries. It’s made from 100 per cent pinot noir, aged for five years in bottle to impart extra complexity. Vintages Essentials 158550
Cave Spring Blanc de Blancs Brut
Niagara Peninsula, $29.95
6 The limestone soils of Niagara’s Beamsville Bench are ideal for chardonnay-based blanc de blancs, and Cave Spring is mastering the genre. Lovely subtle apple, hazelnut and minerality here; nicely composed, firm yet generous. Vintages Essentials 213983
Grande Cuvée 1531 De Aimery Cremant De Limoux
Languedoc, France, $19
7 Cremants are regional French sparklers made in the champagne method with local grapes. It’s a riper, rounder bubbly, very apple-like with almond and subtle chalkiness in a dry and fresh aperitif style. LCBO 428086
Tarlant Brut Reserve
Champagne, France, $49.85
8 This sub-$50 bottle delivers the classic baked apple, toast, hazelnut and earthiness of mature bubbly. Lacks some of the élan and elegance of pricier bottles, but maintains impressive intensity and length. LCBO 325167
Segura Viudas Brut Reserva
Penedes, Spain, $15.95
9 Spain’s sparkling cavas are historically undervalued, and Segura Viudas is consistently one of the best buys. It’s mid-weight, firm and lively with interesting pear, olive and almost salty minerality. Priced for large gatherings, made for holiday tapas. LCBO 216960
