PARIS, Nov 19 — Looking forward to saying good riddance to 2018 and starting the year off with the taste of victory and prosperity? Consider splashing out an award-winning bottle of bubbly to ring in 2019 on the right foot.
If bubbly is on the agenda this New Year’s Eve, be it for the big party you’re hosting at home or for a quiet evening in with loved ones, these award-winning champagnes and sparkling wines for 2018 come highly recommended from a selection of experts.
Here are some of the bottles to consider putting on your shopping list this year:
Piper-Heidsieck Rare 2002
“This is top Champagne from Piper-Heidsieck, offering the delicious airy quality that’s the hallmark of this house, with crisp apple flavor, tangy acidity and the first signs of yeasty, toasty bottle age. Its fruit intensity has transformed into a splendid selection. It’s worth aging for a few more years, though also delicious now.” — Wine Enthusiast
Dom Pérignon 2008
“There’s power to this graceful Champagne, with the vivid acidity swathed in a fine, creamy mousse and flavors of toasted brioche, kumquat, pastry cream, candied ginger and poached plum that dance across the palate. An underpinning of smoky mineral gains momentum on the lasting finish. Drink now through 2033.” —Wine Spectator
Mongarda 2013 Dosaggio Zero (Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore)
“Here’s a smooth, delicious Prosecco that will satisfy both the novice and the sophisticated wine lover. It opens with lovely aromas of pressed wild flower, apple and a whiff of pastry dough that follow through to the palate along with pear, tangerine zest and a hint of almond. An elegant mousse and crisp acidity offset the creamy flavors. It has lingering bone-dry finish.” — Wine Enthusiast, Editors’ Choice
Llopart, Ex-Vite Gran Reserva Brut, Cava, Spain, 2008
“Rich, developed aromas of pollen, honeycomb, honey, wild grasses and preserved lemon. This gratifying architecture of scent blossoms still further with a few minutes in the glass, acquiring an almost malty, gingery richness. On the palate, too, this is a rich, textured, deeply flavoured Cava of huge depth and resource, perfectly blended and aged. The acidity is bright and supportive; it’s a wine of extreme finesse; yet its generosity of flavour and length are what linger in the mind as the wine slowly subsides.” — Decanter World Wine Awards 2018, Best in Show for sparkling wine category
Louis Roederer 2010 Brut Rosé in Magnum
“Beautifully attractive fresh red fruits on the nose of this youthful rosé. Really lively and upbeat, the palate is bathed in fresh-cut strawberry, raspberry, nectarine and peach flavor all served up pristine, fresh and elegant. Very attractive as a young Champagne. Drink now.” — James Suckling, Supreme World Champion 2018 at The Champagne and Sparkling Wine World Championships. — AFP-Relaxnews
