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Hungary
Made
from the two great grapes of champagne, this dry sparkling wine
with attractive melon fruit and good balancing acidity comes from vineyards
on the shores of Lake Balaton.Excellent value – outside the Eurozone!
Chapel Hill Chardonnay/Pinot
Brut
Price:
£5.99
Bin No. SW10
France
The stunning
Crémant de Bourgogne from the Caves de Baill comes
from vineyards just outside the champagne region,and I would defy anyone
to spot the difference – except that it is a better drink than many cheap
champagnes – and the Crémant Rosé is every bit as good
Crémant
-
de Bourgogne
- Caves de Bailly Brut
Price:
£9.98
Bin No. SW03
Crémant de Bourgogne
- Caves de Bailly
BrutRosé
Price:
£10.98
Bin No. SW031
Italy
Prosecco is rapidly becoming Italy’s most popular
sparkling wine.
Sealed with a normal cork it is only lightly sparkling and it
can be
delicious drunk after lunch on a hot summer’s day.
Asti Spumante
Santa Orsola - Dolce CC
Price:
£7.99
Bin No. SW15
Prosecco
Il Cortigiano - Secco CC
Price:
£6.49
Bin No. SW45
Spain
Our excellent Cava
Castillo Perelada comes from a top producer.
Clean,
refreshing, but with balancing fruit, it is astonishingly good value
for money,
and bears little if any resemblance to the soapy flavoured
apologies for Cavas
in many of the multiples. The Castillo Perelada Rosado
is an attractive rosé with good fruit flavour and was chosen out of a cast of
hundreds as the official reception drink for the Spanish royal wedding – quite
an accolade! Their flagship Gran Claustro
is one of the world’s great
sparkling wines: rich, complex, biscuity and very
impressive
Castillo Perelada
Brut Reserva MC
Price: £6.99
Bin No. SW23
Castillo Perelada Rosado
Brut Reserva MC
Price: £6.99
Bin No. SW07
South Africa
As you would expect from an estate owned
by the Cointreau family of
Champagne Gosset fame, this complex and biscuity Cape
Classique
exudes class. With the price of Champagne moving up, this really
offers a genuine alternative.
2003/05 Morgenhoff
Chardonnay/Pinot
Noir MC
Price:
£14.99
Bin
No. SW09
Australia
For the Krug of
sparkling wines you need look no further than stunning
sparkling wines from Taltarni. Their Brut Taché is a delicate salmon-pink
rosé that has the
acidity and fruit balance that so many cheap Australian fizz patently lack.
McGuigan's Black Label sparkling Chardonnay TM
Price:
£7.49
Bin
No. SW18
Taltarni Taché Rosé Vintage
Brut MC
Price:
£12.99
Bin
No. SW38
Taltarni Brut
Vintage Brut MC
Price:
£12.99
Bin
No. SW39
England
The
‘Classic Cuvée’ beat Dom Pérignon in a blind tasting and was
served by
the Queen at her mother’s 100th birthday celebrations.
Made from a
blend of the classic champagne varieties of Chardonnay,
Pinot Meunier and Pinot
Noir, it is the greatest sparkling wine from
outside the champagne region that I
have ever tasted. Also on our list
comes the supremely elegant
‘Blanc de Blancs’ made from 100% Chardonnay.
2003 Nyetimber
'Classic Cuvée'
West
Sussex MC
Price: £23.95
Bin No. SW25
2001 Nyetimber
‘Blanc
de Blancs’ West
Sussex MC
Price: £26.95
Bin No. SW29
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