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All the medallists from The Champagne Masters 2023

07 June 2023 By Patrick Schmitt

Find out all the medallists from this year’s Champagne Masters, featuring a set of outstanding bottles, from blanc de blancs to prestige cuvées, and, in particular, a set of good-value, ready-to-drink vintage offerings, including one remarkable sample from 1999 – which has only just been released.

For all the challenges facing Champagne – from grape price inflation to better rival sparkling wines – it’s a category in rude health. And while it’s tempting to think that Champagne’s strength stems from big budget promotions, as anyone with a passing interest in marketing will tell you, the most important aspect for long-term sales success is a good product. In other words, Champagne’s growth, despite some significant recent price rises, and a much-improved competitive set, has occurred because this French fizz is better than ever.

That’s certainly my impression from more than a decade of blind tasting Champagne, and certainly after this year’s Champagne Masters. In 2023, I found myself handing out a higher proportion of top scores than in the past, as I repeatedly tasted cuvées with depth and precision, flavour intensity with balancing freshness – and, I’m pleased to say, little in the way of greenness.

Of course, styles vary, and although my preference is for pristine fruit flavours allied to a nutty richness, I can see the quality in more oxidative styles, with their appealing notes of dried fruit and honey. Furthermore, while I like a certain creaminess in Champagne, I was surprised by the pleasure I took in the firmer feel of those producers who eschew malolactic fermentations: Lanson and Gosset in particular.

Indeed, riper base wines in Champagne may be favouring this approach to winemaking in the region – even if producers only opt to block the conversion of sharp-tasting malic acid to the softer lactic sort in a percentage of the blend.

And, on the subject of ripeness, yes, this is a function of warmer vintages, but also of better control of grape health through improved viticulture, along with the more
accurate monitoring of disease precursors in the region. Why? Because, without rot in the bunches, vignerons can harvest later – the pressure to pick in Champagne normally comes from the threat of disease.

In short, riper and cleaner base wines are yielding better cuvées, and this allows for lower dosages too, because you don’t need a lot of sugar to offset green notes – nor to mask unwanted flavours – if there aren’t any. Hence, the Champagne of today is fuller, but drier too. And, in my view, that’s a good place to be.

It’s also worth noting that two of the top Brut NVs tasted were certified organic – a viticultural philosophy we were once told would be almost impossible to practise in Champagne, at least for anything mid-priced and in mainstream distribution, which both these cuvées are.

Over the following pages I’ve picked out some highlights from the competition, taking in a range of styles and producers. This year showed a high degree of quality in all categories, with the most improved style being blanc de noirs – Champagne without Chardonnay is hard to get right – and the most irregular being rosé, with some lovely wines, but also some high-priced disappointments. Elsewhere, there were some delicious blanc de blancs, with their citrus and chalk characters shining like stars on a clear night, and wonderfully indulgent prestige cuvées – a category of great quality, but also huge stylistic variation.

But the sub-category to go for in Champagne is undoubtedly vintage. Remarkable wines were unearthed among the single-harvest Champagnes this year, and from a broad range of years. These were Champagnes with toasty interest, precision and layers of fine fruit, from peach to pear, and apple to lemon, in order of increasing zestiness. Such sparkling wines offer great relative value – you get at least 50% more complexity and intensity than a Brut NV for 20% more in price. Furthermore, you get around 80% of the power and longevity of a great prestige cuvée for half the outlay.

Most notably, you get such quality for the same price as the more mundane rosés we tasted. And, while you might say they are prettier in the glass, be they pale salmon-pink or more like gravlax, in my view, there is nothing more inviting than the straw-gold colour of a mature vintage Champagne.

Finally, it was notable to see the range of producers who are making such a good job of the vintage sub-category, from the famous brands to lesser-known labels. At each extreme there were surprises. Somewhat niche grower-cooperative Castelnau was reliably excellent. But it was the region’s biggest Champagne maker, Moët & Chandon, that yielded the best vintage expressions of the competition.

So read on to see all the medallists from this year’s competition, and scroll to the bottom to learn more about The Champagne Masters, as well as find a list of links to our top picks.

Non-vintage

Winery	Name of wine	Vintage	Dosage	Medal
£10-£15
Aldi	Veuve Monsigny No. III	NV	Brut	Bronze
£15-£20
Aldi	Veuve Monsigny Premier Cru	NV	Brut	Silver
£20-£30
Champagne Joseph Perrier	Cuvée Royale Brut Nature	NV	Brut nature	Silver
Champagne Joseph Perrier	Cuvée Royale Brut	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Jean-Noël Haton	Louis Régnier	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Castelnau	Champagne Castelnau Brut	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Marie de Moy	Brut	NV	Brut	Silver
Heidsieck & Co. Monopole	Blue Top Brut	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Château De Bligny	Grande Réserve	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Victoire	Premier Cru Brut	NV	Brut	Bronze
Champagne Charles de Cazanove	Tradition Brut	NV	Brut	Bronze
Champagne G.H.Martel	Prestige Brut	NV	Brut	Bronze
Champagne Albert Lebrun	Collection Terroir Premier Cru	NV	Brut	Bronze
£30-£50
Champagne Castelnau	Extra Brut	NV	Extra-brut	Master
Champagne de Venoge	Cordon Bleu Brut	NV	Brut	Master
Champagne Collet	Extra Brut Premier Cru	NV	Extra-brut	Gold
Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte	Organic Extra Brut	NV	Extra-brut	Gold
Champagne Laurent-Perrier	La Cuvée	NV	Brut	Gold
G.H Mumm	RSRV Cuvée 4.5	NV	Brut	Gold
Champagne Deutz	Brut Classic	NV	Brut	Gold
Champagne Charles de Cazanove	Vieille France Brut	NV	Brut	Gold
Champagne Canard-Duchêne	P181	NV	Extra-brut	Silver
Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte	Réserve Exclusive Premier Cru Extra Brut	NV	Extra-brut	Silver
Piper-Heidsieck	Essentiel	NV	Extra-brut	Silver
Champagne Collet	Brut Art Déco Premier Cru	NV	Brut	Silver
Piper-Heidsieck	Cuvée Brut	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Lanson	Le Black Label	NV	Brut	Silver
G.H Mumm	Cordon Rouge	NV	Brut	Silver
Pommery	Pommery Brut Royal	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Collery	Brut Grand Cru	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Jacober	The Royal British Legion Champagne Jacober Brut Reveille	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Marie de Moy	Premier Cru	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Vollereaux	Brut Réserve	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Palmer & Co.	Brut Réserve	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Besserat de Bellefon depuis 1843	Besserat de Bellefon Bleu Brut	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Vranken	Demoiselle Brut E.O.	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Gardet	Brut Réserve Premier Cru	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Boizel	Brut Réserve	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Telmont	Réserve Brut	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Delamotte	Brut Le Mesnil-Sur-Oger	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Henriot	Brut Souverain	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte	Réserve Exclusive Brut	nv	Brut	Bronze
Champagne Vranken	Vranken Diamant Brut	NV	Brut	Bronze
Champagne Abelé 1757	Abelé 1757 Brut	NV	Extra-brut	Bronze
£50-£70
Champagne Barons de Rothschild	Concordia Brut	NV	Brut	Gold
Champagne Gosset	Grande Réserve	NV	Brut	Gold
Champagne Henriot	Blanc de Blancs	NV	Brut	Gold
Champagne Gremillet	Cuvée Evidence	NV	Brut	Gold
Champagne Lanson	Le Green Label Organic	NV	Brut	Gold
Champagne Lanson	Le Black Réserve	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Vollereaux	Célébration Premier Cru	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne de Venoge	Princes Brut 1st Edition	NV	Brut	Silver
Piper-Heidsieck	Cuvée Sublime	NV	Demi-sec	Silver
£70-£100
Charles Orban	Cuvée Roger Daltrey	NV	Brut	Master
Champagne Drappier	Trop m’en Faut	NV	Brut nature	Gold

Vintage

Winery	Name of wine	Vintage	Dosage	Medal
£20-£30
Champagne Fallet Dart	Millésime	2016	Brut	Bronze
£30-£50
Champagne Gardet	Millésime Extra Brut	2013	Extra-brut	Master
Champagne Joseph Perrier	Cuvée Royale Brut	2013	Brut	Master
Champagne Victoire	Gold	2017	Brut	Silver
£50-£70
Moet & Chandon	Grand Vintage	2015	Brut	Master
Champagne Lanson	Le Vintage	2012	Brut	Master
Piper-Heidsieck	Vintage	2014	Brut	Gold
Champagne Castelnau	Vintage	2006	Brut	Gold
Pommery	Pommery Grand Cru	2009	Brut	Gold
Champagne Charles de Cazanove	Vieille France Silver	2007	Brut	Gold
Champagne Besserat de Bellefon depuis 1843	Besserat de Bellefon Triple B	2015	Brut nature	Silver
Champagne Canard-Duchêne	V Vintage	2012	Brut nature	Silver
G.H Mumm	Mumm Millésimé	2015	Brut	Silver
£70-£100
Champagne Deutz	Brut Millésime	2016	Brut	Master
Champagne Boizel	Grand Vintage	2013	Extra-brut	Gold
Champagne Gruet	Sabatina Champagne	2016	Brut	Gold
Champagne Palmer & Co.	Grands Terroirs	2015	Brut	Silver
£100+
Moet & Chandon	Grand Vintage Collection	1999	Brut	Master
Champagne Collery	Empyreumatic Grand Cru	2014	Brut	Gold
Champagne de Venoge	Louis XV	2014	Brut	Gold
VIK	La Piu Belle Champagne	2009	Brut	Gold
Moët & Chandon	Grand Vintage Collection	2006	Brut	Silver

Prestige Cuvée

Winery	Name of wine	Vintage	Dosage	Medal
£30-£50
Champagne Albert Lebrun	Collection Terroir Grand Cru	NV	Brut	Gold
Champagne G.H.Martel	Prestige Premier Cru	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Marie de Moy	Grand Cru	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Charles de Cazanove	Stradivarius Gold	2009	Brut	Silver
£50-£70

Champagne Château De Bligny	Clos du Château	NV	Brut	Silver
£70-£100
Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte	Palmes d’Or Brut Vintage	2008	Brut	Gold
Champagne Gremillet	Clos Rocher	2013	Brut	Silver
£100+
Rare Champagne	Rare Millésime Magnum	2008	Brut	Master
Perrier-Jouet	Belle Epoque	2014	Brut	Master
Champagne Lanson	Noble Champagne Brut Vintage	2004	Brut	Master
Champagne Abelé 1757	Le Sourire de Reims Brut Vintage	2009	Extra-brut	Master
Champagne Deutz	Amour de Deutz	2013	Brut	Gold
Rare Champagne	Rare Millésime	2008	Brut	Gold
Comtes de Dampierre	Cuvée Prestige	2008	Brut	Gold
G.H Mumm	RSRV Cuvée Lalou	2008	Brut	Bronze

Blanc de Blancs

Winery	Name of wine	Vintage	Dosage	Medal
£20-£30
Aldi	Veuve Monsigny Vintage	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Marie de Moy	Blanc de Blancs	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Charles de Cazanove	Tradition Blanc de Blancs	NV	Brut	Bronze
£30-£50
Champagne Charles de Cazanove	Vieille France Blanc de Blancs	NV	Brut	Master
Champagne Château De Bligny	Blanc de Blancs	NV	Brut	Gold
Champagne Brimoncourt	Blanc de Blancs	NV	Brut	Silver
£50-£70
Champagne Delamotte	Blanc de Blancs Le Mesnil-sur-Oger	NV	Brut	Master
Champagne Pommery	Apanage Blanc de Blancs	NV	Brut	Gold
Champagne Castelnau	Blanc de Blancs	2008	Brut	Gold
Piper-Heidsieck	Essentiel Blanc de Blancs	NV	Extra-brut	Silver
Champagne Besserat de Bellefon depuis 1843	Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Collery	Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Lanson	Le Blanc de Blancs	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Abelé 1757	Abelé 1757 Blanc de Blancs	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Palmer & Co.	Blanc de Blancs	NV	Brut	Bronze
£70-£100
Champagne Ayala	Le Blanc de Blancs	2016	Brut	Gold
G.H Mumm	RSRV Cuvée Blanc de Blancs	2015	Brut	Silver
Perrier-Jouet	Blanc de Blancs	NV	Brut	Silver
£100+
Perrier-Jouet	Belle Epoque Blanc de Blancs	2012	Brut	Master
Champagne Lanson	Noble Champagne Blanc de Blancs	2004	Brut	Gold

Blanc de Noirs

Winery	Name of wine	Vintage	Dosage	Medal
£15-£20
Champagne Fallet Dart	Cuvée de Réserve	NV	Brut	Silver
£20-£30
Champagne Albert Lebrun	Collection Terroir Blanc de Noirs	NV	Extra-brut	Gold
Champagne Joseph Perrier	Côte à Bras Blanc de Noirs	2014	Brut nature	Silver
Champagne Charles de Cazanove	Senses	NV	Extra-brut	Silver
Champagne Marie de Moy	Blanc de Noirs	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Charles Orban	Blanc de Noirs	NV	Brut	Silver
£30-£50
Champagne Charles de Cazanove	Vieille France Blanc de Noirs	NV	Brut	Silver
£50-£70
Champagne Collery	Blanc de Noirs Grand Cru	NV	Brut	Gold
Champagne Palmer & Co.	Blanc de Noirs	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Canard-Duchêne	Charles VII Blanc de Noirs	NV	Brut	Silver
£70-£100
G.H Mumm	RSRV Cuvée Blanc de Noirs	2013	Brut	Gold
Champagne de Venoge	Princes Blanc de Noirs	NV	Brut	Gold
£100+
Champagne Telmont	Blanc de Noirs	2014	Extra-brut	Gold

Rosé

Winery	Name of wine	Vintage	Dosage	Medal
£15-£20
Champagne Fallet Dart	Anthocyane Tirage	NV	Brut	Bronze
£20-£30
Champagne Jean-Noël Haton	Louis Régnier Rosé	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Marie de Moy	Rosé	NV	Brut	Bronze
£30-£50
Champagne Palmer & Co.	Rosé Solera	NV	Brut	Gold
Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte	Réserve Exclusive Rosé	NV	Brut	Gold
Champagne Drappier	Brut Nature Rosé	NV	Brut nature	Silver
Champagne Lanson	Le Rosé	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Castelnau	Rosé	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Pommery	Brut Rosé Royal	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Château de Bligny	Rosé	NV	Brut	Silver
G.H Mumm	Mumm Rosé	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Charles de Cazanove	Vieille France Rosé	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Brimoncourt	Rosé	NV	Brut	Bronze
Champagne G.H.Martel	Prestige Rosé	NV	Brut	Bronze
Heidsieck & Co. Monopole	Rosé Top Brut	NV	Brut	Bronze
£50-£70
Champagne Besserat de Bellefon depuis 1843	Rosé Brut	NV	Brut	Master
Champagne Laurent-Perrier	Cuvée Rosé	NV	Brut	Gold
Piper-Heidsieck	Rosé Sauvage	NV	Brut	Gold
Champagne Deutz	Brut Rosé	NV	Brut	Gold
Champagne Collery	Rosé Brut Grand Cru	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Gosset	Grand Rosé	NV	Brut	Silver
G.H Mumm	RSRV Cuvée Rosé Foujita	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Telmont	Réserve Rosé	NV	Brut	Silver
Moet & Chandon	Grand Vintage Rosé	2015	Brut	Silver
£70-£100
Champagne Barons de Rothschild	Rosé	NV	Brut	Silver
Perrier-Jouet	Blason Rosé	NV	Brut	Silver
£100+
Rare Champagne	Rare Rosé Millésime	2012	Brut	Master
Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte	Palmes d’Or Rosé Vintage	2008	Brut	Gold
Perrier-Jouet	Belle Epoque Rosé	2012	Brut	Silver
Champagne Abelé 1757	Le Sourire de Reims Rosé Vintage	2008	Brut	Bronze

The best vintage wines from The Champagne Masters 2023

The best Brut NVs from The Champagne Masters 2023

The best prestige cuvées from The Champagne Masters 2023

The best rosés from The Champagne Masters 2023

About The Champagne Masters

The Champagne Masters is a competition created and run by the drinks business, and is an extension of its successful Masters series for grape varieties, such as Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, as well as regions like Rioja and Tuscany. The competition is exclusively for Champagne, and the entries were judged using Schott Zwiesel Cru Classic glasses supplied by Sensible Wine Services. The top wines were awarded Gold, Silver or Bronze medals according to their result, and those expressions that stood out as being outstanding received the ultimate accolade – the title of Champagne Master.

The Champagnes were judged on 14 March at The COMO at London’s Halkin Hotel by Patrick Schmitt MW, Patricia Stefanowicz MW, Jonathan Pedley MW, Siobhan Turner MW, Demetri Walters MW, Neil Sommerfelt MW, Adam Porter MW, Andrea Briccarello and Matthieu Longuere MS.

Please visit The Global Wine Masters website for more information, or, to enter future competitions – giving you the chance to feature online and in print – please call +44 (0) 20 7803 2420 or email Sophie Raichura at: sophie@thedrinksbusiness.com

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