The best luxe-for-less sparklers – including an £11 champagne alternative
We’re heading into that time of year when the phrase “date night” becomes quite difficult to escape. But perhaps you don’t want to escape it? Perhaps, right now, you’ve got 12 tabs open containing parallel searches for pink Champagne.
If so, don’t let me stop you. In fact, let me help you. Champagne Billecart-Salmon Le Rosé NV, France (12%, House of Townend, £74.99, currently down to £67.99; Stone, Vine & Sun, £67.50; The Wine Society, £65; and quite a lot of other places if you google), radiates quiet indulgence – it is the impeccable luxe option. The other in-the-know buy, at less than half the price of the Billecart, is Champagne Devaux Oeil de Perdrix Brut Rosé NV, France (12%, Majestic, £30, or £25 in a mixed six), a pale rosé example that looks the part with its rose-gold label and over-delivers with delicate flavours of raspberry patisserie.
Champagne Billecart-Salmon Le Rosé NV, France 12%, House of Townend, £74.99 currently down to £67.99; Stone, Vine & Sun, £67.50; The Wine Society, £65
Champagne Devaux Oeil de Perdrix Brut Rosé NV, France 12%, Majestic, £30, or £25 in a mixed six
But does date night really only happen once a year? And do you need a date to have one? I don’t think so. I can’t bear the concept of Galentine’s (so much self-conscious and self-congratulatory jollity), but cossetting mini treat nights with friends (and family) – I’m in for those. Like many of you I suspect, I’m not on a Billecart budget, so here are a few of my favourite luxe-for-less options.
No surprise that I’m starting with effervescence. I’ve long loved the clean precision of the sparkling wines made in the Pyrenees by Maison Antech; Mademoiselle Marguerite Blanquette de Limoux Brut NV, France (12%, Majestic, £15, or £11 in a mixed six), is 90 per cent mauzac, which gives it a green-appley briskness that pierces the February gloom. Softer and more lush, with just a little suggestion of red apple and pear drop, is the Etoile de Timberlay Crémant de Bordeaux Brut NV, France (12.5%, M&S, Ocado, £10). The sharp, toasty notes of the Maison Antech sparkler, in particular, are lovely with the saltiness of fake caviar (I buy Elsinore lumpfish caviar from Ocado for £2.75/ 50g), spread on top of crème fraîche on little squares of rye toast.
Mademoiselle Marguerite Blanquette de Limoux Brut NV, France 12%, Majestic, £15, or £11 in a mixed six
Etoile de Timberlay Crémant de Bordeaux Brut NV, France 12.5%, M&S, Ocado, £10
Still on bright, winter-defying white wines, a word about sauvignon blanc. If you want to make a splashy gesture, you can’t beat a big name. I recently left a bottle of Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc in my Kiwi-sauvignon-loving mum’s fridge, which gave her a real glow. For a wine friend I’d be buying Sancerre or Pouilly-Fumé from a small grower. On the luxe for less trail, I’m looking at the finesse of Domaine de la Croix Bouquie Touraine Sauvignon Blanc 2023, Loire, France (12.5%, Co-op, £10), which is made by the brilliant Lionel Gosseaume. Its grassy, flinty, grapefruity flavours go well with the burst of freshness of a poke bowl.
What if the date night is actually just for one? (It happens.) Or you want a half of Champagne then a half of red? Or only one of you is drinking? Or you just want one glass each? (It also happens.) A good answer here is a classic Bordeaux in a half bottle, served with, for example, a creamy Parmesan and fennel-seed sausage pasta. Slightly higher spend than usual on wine + inexpensive food = good luxe-for-less supper maths. Château Tour Marcillanet Haut-Médoc 2018, France (13.5%, Haynes Hanson & Clark, £9.85 for a 37.5cl bottle), fits the bill. It’s made from the fruit of vines west of Saint-Julien and just over half the blend is cabernet sauvignon. It also comes in magnums (£39.40) but that would be for a very different sort of date.
