NZ & International Champagne 2026
A vintage Champagne tops the list with some superb non-vintage wines ready to boost your festive flair, presented by MARY-THÉRÈSE BLAIR.
I WINCE WHEN people tell me they’ve been keeping a NV Champagne for years, and a bit more if they tell me it’s been in the fridge. Not from a place of judgement – frankly I admire their restraint – it’s just that’s not how non-vintage Champagne works. It’s made for immediate enjoyment, not for preserving or cellaring, but for popping and drinking. Keeping it for a long time in a very cold environment is to deprive yourself of the very best of that wine. The flavours become muted over time and it becomes a poorer version of itself. If you’re unsure and the significantly higher prices of a vintage bottle hasn’t made it clear, look for a year on the label: if you don’t see one, what you have in your hand should be chilled and consumed tout suite! Here we’ve selected some of the best for Christmas 2026.
top NZ & International Champagne 2026
Marion-Bosser Millésime Brut 2013
SCORING WINE IS usually done with an uneven number of assessors, most commonly three senior judges. Because experience and opinions differ, this gives the best opportunity to get multiple evaluations of the same wine and allows each point of view to be challenged and debated. It’s called consensus judging, and it’s the way it’s done in the world of wine. It’s so unusual for a panel of judges to unanimously agree, that the phenomenon has a name. A ‘group hug’ is when every judge gives the same score and the most exciting and elusive of all is the high-score group hug.
While part of the Champagne community for five generations, it was only in 1994 that Marion-Bosser was bottled under the family name, a change instigated by the impressive Bernadette Marion. Today, she works alongside her daughter Elodie Bosser in something even rarer than the group hug – a mother-daughter Champagne-making team.
Roasted hazelnuts, brioche and smoke commingle on the nose which is both unctuous and vibrant, with golden apples, lemon sorbet and whispers of white blossoms. It’s incredibly structured, precious and persistent with a finish that goes on and on. This spectacular millésime had our judges bewitched as each gave their highest score on both tastings. It was described by one judge as “genuine luxury” and another as “incredibly hedonistic”. Three French Vines threefrenchvines.co.nz
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Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve NV
Wonderfully aromatic on the nose with the toasty doughy hints of bread …
2 -
Piper Heidsieck Cuvée Brut NV
Complex and immediately inviting on the nose with lemon zest, ripe apple, …
3 -
H.Lanvin & Fils Champagne NV
Floral and understated in the glass with floral aromatics and delicate white …
5 -
Star ratings for this tasting
- Outstanding 5
- Very Good 2
- No Award 2
- Total Entries 9