All the medallists from The Champagne Masters 2024

Champagne may have become more and more expensive since the Covid-19 pandemic – but there has also been a commensurate step up in quality, complexity and balance, reports Patrick Schmitt MW, as he reveals all the medallists from The Champagne Masters 2024.

IF I was asked to name the biggest change in Champagne during this decade, it would be the price of the product. Already fairly expensive, the post-pandemic Champagne shortage has led to sharp price increases, including another at the start of this year, until a bottle of the fine fizz can’t be had for less than £30 – even in UK supermarkets.

It wasn’t long ago that the entry-point price for Champagne was below £20, with promotional offers occasionally putting that figure down to sub-£15. Today, a grande marque is over £40, even when discounts are being applied. The change is dramatic.

Such a rise in the cost of a bottle might be a concern if Champagne wasn’t at the top of its game. But, as our annual Champagne Masters proved, quality is high, and there is value to be had, with some outstanding brut NVs achieving scores that would be worthy of fine white Burgundy, but at half the price.

Meanwhile, you can find relatively affordable vintage Champagnes that are not only benchmarks in the world of sparkling wine, but better than some much pricier prestige cuvées.

In other words, Champagne has become markedly more expensive, particularly at the bottom end, but the category still offers comparative value – if you know where to look. And that’s where the results of our annual competition come in, drawing attention to the best Champagnes of their categories, as well as the leading producers in our range of price bands.

The tasting also, as always, highlighted a few stylistic developments. One of these concerns Champagne sweetness – or rather, the lack of it: Champagne is getting drier. This may be a product of riper base wines, but I suspect it’s primarily a result of longer lees ageing times, increased proportions of reserve wines from a greater span of vintages – which tend to add richness – as well as a the desire for precision and transparency from cellar masters, particularly those proud of the high-quality and complex product they are making.

The result is that Champagne today tends to have a generous and appealing mid-palate depth, but a refreshing, zesty finish – providing an indulgent, balanced drink that few if any other parts of the world seem able to emulate. This may not be entirely a consequence of Champagne’s unique terroir, but rather the fact that few other sparkling wine regions or producers have a history of holding back vinous ‘reserves’ for blending with younger ‘base’ wines – most non-Champagne sparkling is essentially from a single harvest, even if it doesn’t state a vintage.

Meanwhile, in Champagne, where the vintage is stated, the wine tends to be significantly older than the equivalents from elsewhere. Commonly aged for 8-10 years, these wines have a grilled, nutty appeal that comes from long lees ageing on a fresh base, particularly Chardonnay, which seems to show these characters most obviously.

MARKED IMPROVEMENT

However, if there’s an area of marked improvement in Champagne, it’s the handling of the region’s red grapes. This is partly for the creation of better still wines – increasingly released as Coteaux Champenois – but primarily for blending with white wines to make rosé Champagne. It is also, however, for making a better partner for Chardonnay in Champagne blends and, notably, for the increasingly fashionable blanc de noirs. In the past, these wines were, in my view, often a little disappointing: Champagne made purely from red grapes seemed to lack the zesty, toasty appeal of those with Chardonnay. But times have changed, with a suite of delicious blancs de noirs in this year’s Masters, complete with flavours of pastry and apple, and plenty of freshness too, helped by low dosages. Some even wowed when made with a high proportion of Meunier, proving that this workhorse grape can be used to craft great Champagne.

Non-vintage

Non-vintage (continued)

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Multi-vintage

Prestige Cuvée

Blanc de blancs

Blanc de noirs

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The judges (left to right): Elliot Awin, Antony Moss MW, Patrick Schmitt MW, Patricia Stefanowicz MW, Tim Tiptree MW, Andrea Briccarello, Matthieu Longuère MS, Neil Sommerfelt MW, David Round MW