The festive season is approaching – time to crack open the bubbly. According to the Union des Maisons de Champagne, founded in 1882, “Sparkling wine has a unique ability to stimulate all of the senses: hearing, sight, smell, taste and even touch.” Engaging all these senses produces “an intense pleasure … more vivid and immediate than with still wine”.
But try to avoid consuming sparkling wine on an empty stomach. A study in the UK gave subjects equal pours of flat and sparkling champagne harbouring the same amounts of alcohol. After five minutes, those who had drunk the flat wine had 39 milligrams of alcohol in their blood, while the group given the freshly opened champagne had 54 milligrams.
7th Heaven Central Otago Méthode Traditionnelle 2018
★★★★ ½
Grown and hand-harvested at Adams Gully, south of Bannockburn, this bottle-fermented, pinot noir-based sparkling is well worth discovering. This crisp and dry wine has a deep straw colour, a strong surge of peachy, toasty, yeasty flavours, and very good complexity. $42
Alpha Domus Cumulus Blanc de Blanc Méthode Traditionnelle NV
★★★★ ½
A stimulating aperitif, this distinctive wine was estate-grown and hand-picked from mature chardonnay vines in the Bridge Pā Triangle, Hawke’s Bay. Bright, light lemon/green, it is fresh and vigorous, with good intensity of citrusy, peachy flavours. It has biscuity and yeasty notes that add complexity, lively acidity and (unusually for sparkling wine) a bone-dry finish. $27-$34
Balvonie Marlborough Prosecco 2023
★★★ ½
Launched recently, this skilfully crafted wine is the Marlborough region’s first prosecco (although that protected Italian wine name must be phased out of use here by 2029, under the NZ-EU free trade agreement). Made from glera – the same variety used in the prosecco zone – it is in scarce supply, as only 1700 bottles were produced. Estate-grown at Rapaura, bottle-fermented and briefly aged on its yeast lees, it is lively, with good depth of fresh, lemony, appley, slightly yeasty flavours. Vibrantly fruity, it’s an off-dry style, offering very easy, attractive drinking. (11.8% alc/vol) $35
Black Estate Home Pét Nat 2023
★★★★★
Full of personality, this racy wine is an “effervescent” chenin blanc from North Canterbury. Hand-picked, fermented initially in tanks and then in bottles, it was matured on its yeast lees for over a year, bottled unfined and unfiltered, and closed with a crown seal. Bright, light lemon/green, it is a distinctive, very invigorating, spritzig wine, with vigorous, lemony/appley flavours, gentle yeastiness, appetising acidity and a dryish, lingering finish. A delicious mouthful, it’s worth tracking down. $55
Brown Brothers Moscato Strawberries & Cream NV
★★★
This “wine-based beverage” was made from Victorian muscat and infused with “natural strawberries and cream flavours”. Very fresh and lively, simple, sweet and grapey, it is gently sparkling, low in alcohol and highly gluggable. (8% alc/vol) $14-20
Brown Brothers King Valley Prosecco NV
★★★
Fresh and buoyantly fruity, this is a typical prosecco – not complex, but peachy, citrusy, dryish and crisp, offering attractive, easy, no-fuss drinking. $18
Campo Viejo Cava Brut
★★★★
This bottle-fermented Spanish bubbly is light and vivacious. From indigenous grape varieties – xarello, macabeo, parellada – it is freshly scented, fractionally sweet and appetisingly crisp. Lemony, appley, moderately yeasty flavours show a distinct touch of complexity. $22
Clos Henri Solange Blanc de Noirs 2021
★★★★ ½
Certified organic, this bottle-fermented, estate-grown Marlborough bubbly was made from pinot noir. Aged for 10 months in stainless steel tanks and old oak casks, then bottled for its secondary, bubble-inducing fermentation, it is being disgorged a few hundred bottles at a time after spending a minimum of 18 months on its yeast lees. Very pale straw, it is fresh, crisp, dry and vigorous. Its peachy, yeasty, slightly toasty flavours reveal very good intensity and complexity. $55
Cloudy Bay Pelorus Rosé NV
★★★★★
This classy, non-vintage wine is a blend of pinot noir (mostly) and chardonnay, hand-harvested in the Wairau Valley, partly fermented in old oak vats and French oak barrels, and disgorged after at least two years maturing on its yeast lees. Bright pink, it is vivacious and complex. A refined, vigorous wine, it has strong, fresh strawberry, watermelon and spice flavours and a basically dry, yeasty, lingering finish. $40-$52
Dancing Petrel Sparkles 2021
★★★★
Estate-grown at Paewhenua Island, Mangonui, in the Far North, this instantly appealing wine was made from hand-harvested viognier grapes. Bright, light lemon/green, with a fresh, gently yeasty bouquet, it has very good depth of lively, lemony, peachy flavours, balanced acidity, and a dryish, smooth finish. (14% alc/vol) $27
Deutz Marlborough Cuvée Blanc de Blancs 2019
★★★★★
This label has a great record on the wine show circuit. Chardonnay-based, it is hand-picked on the south side of the Wairau Valley and matured for up to three years on its yeast lees. This latest release is typically delicious, with strong, vibrant, citrusy fruit flavours, overlaid with yeasty, biscuity notes. Vivacious, complex and vigorous, it is a crisp, youthful, basically dry wine, invitingly scented. $33
Divici Prosecco NV
★★★★
From the Veneto region of northeast Italy, this organically certified prosecco is vivacious and light-bodied, with strong, lemony, appley flavours. It is off-dry, fresh and crisp. (11% alc/vol) $23-$25
Echelon by Spy Valley Marlborough Méthode Traditionnelle 2020
★★★★ ½
A notably dry style, this blend of pinot noir (52%) and chardonnay (48%) was estate-grown in Waihopai Valley. After primary fermentation and ageing for four months in tanks and old oak casks, the base wine was bottled and matured on its yeast lees for a further two years, then disgorged. An elegant wine, it is very fresh and lively, with penetrating, citrusy, gently yeasty and biscuity flavours showing good complexity, and a crisp, almost bone-dry finish. $35-$44
Esses Kaikōura Essential Méthode Traditionnelle NV
★★★★★
This vivacious, non-vintage wine is a blend of chardonnay and pinot noir, hand-harvested at Kaikōura during the 2020 vintage and disgorged after nearly three years on its yeast lees. Highly refined, it has penetrating, vigorous, citrusy fruit flavours and a finely balanced, lasting finish. Yeasty notes add complexity. If you haven’t yet discovered the Esses range of classy sparklings, this is the perfect introduction. (12.9% alc/vol) $49
Forrest Brigid Méthode Traditionnelle NV
★★★★★
This classy, highly distinctive “blanc de blancs” is from chardonnay grown in the Waitaki Valley, North Otago. Bright, light yellow/green, it is strikingly vigorous and intense, with searching, lemony, slightly appley flavours, lively acidity and a dry, lasting finish. Subtle yeasty notes add complexity. $45
Grande Cuvée 1531 Cremant de Limoux Brut
★★★★ ½
From the Pyrenean foothills of southern France, this stylish, bottle-fermented sparkling was blended mostly from chardonnay and chenin blanc and aged on its yeast lees for at least a year. Fresh and vigorous, it has good intensity of peachy, yeasty flavour. It is finely balanced, crisp, dryish and lingering. $24-$28
Hāha Brut Cuvée NV
★★★★ ½
This non-vintage wine offers consistently good value. The latest batch is a blend of Marlborough chardonnay and pinot noir. Bright, light yellow/green, it has an aromatic, yeasty bouquet, revealing considerable maturity. Full of personality, it is a vivacious, basically dry style, with crisp, yeasty, toasty flavours. It is showing excellent depth and complexity. $21
Johanneshof Cellars New Dawn Méthode Traditionnelle Rosé 2011
★★★★ ½
This vivacious Marlborough wine was made from pinot noir, hand-picked in the Wairau Valley and aged on its yeast lees for at least 10 years. Pink/orange, it is light-to-medium-bodied, with crisp watermelon, strawberry, peach and spice flavours. It shows excellent intensity and complexity, and has a dry finish. (11% alc/vol) $49
Lindauer Special Reserve Rosé NV
★★★★ ½
This non-vintage, bottle-fermented wine is top value. Pink/orange, the bottling I tasted recently is very lively, with strong peach, strawberry, orange and spice flavours that show considerable maturity and a crisp, basically dry, lengthy finish. Yeasty notes add complexity. At this price, it’s a steal. $17
LV by Louis Vavasour Marlborough Méthode Traditionnelle NV
★★★★★
This stylish wine is a blend of pinot noir and chardonnay, matured on its yeast lees for two and a half years. Light lemon/green, it is attractively scented, with citrusy, peachy fruit flavours, yeasty and toasty notes adding complexity, and a long, dryish finish. Showing excellent depth, delicacy, vigour and harmony, it’s a distinctive, classy wine. $59
LXRY Brut
★★★½
This very smartly packaged Aussie bubbly is fresh and lively, with good depth of citrusy, peachy, slightly appley and yeasty flavours, dry and crisp. (But where did that LXRY brand come from?) $19-$21
Mission Fete Hand Harvested Cuvée NV
★★★★
“Fete” is French for “party”. Made from Hawke’s Bay pinot gris and chardonnay, this attractive wine is given some maturation in oak casks. Offering plenty of personality, it is moderately complex, with good depth of fresh, lively, peachy, citrusy flavours, and an off-dry, crisp finish. $22
Mumm Central Otago Blanc de Noirs NV
★★★★★
Salmon pink, this refined wine is from hand-harvested pinot noir grapes, grown in Central Otago. It has strong, vigorous, peachy, strawberryish flavours and a tightly structured, basically dry, lingering finish. Finely balanced yeasty and biscuity notes add complexity. (From a collaboration between Champagne house GH Mumm and Pernod Ricard NZ.) $60
Nautilus Cuvée Marlborough Vintage Rosé 2020
★★★★★
Made entirely from pinot noir, this bottle-fermented bubbly was disgorged after two and a half years ageing on its yeast lees. Light pink, it is finely balanced, crisp and lively. It has very vigorous strawberry, watermelon and spice flavours, is showing excellent complexity and harmony and has a dry, persistent finish. $50
No 1 Reserve Blanc de Blancs Marlborough Méthode Traditionnelle NV
★★★★★
The latest batch of this distinctive, non-vintage wine is rare – only 1600 bottles were produced. Made from chardonnay and given “long-term” ageing on its yeast lees, it has a light straw hue. Rich, complex and smooth, it has intense, peachy, gently toasty flavours, is showing excellent vigour and maturity, and has a long, dry, yeasty finish. $98
Palliser Estate Méthode The Rose 2021
★★★★ ½
Labelled “The Rose”, not “The Rosé”, this pink/pale red Martinborough bubbly is based entirely on pinot noir. Disgorged after two years of ageing on its yeast lees, it has very good intensity of vibrant, red berry and strawberry flavours, yeast-derived complexity and a crisp, dry, harmonious finish. $58
Quartz Reef Méthode Traditionnelle Brut NV
★★★★★
This Central Otago sparkling is estate-grown at Bendigo and aged on its yeast lees for at least two years. The batches vary in their varietal composition, but the latest is a blend of pinot noir (76%) and chardonnay (24%). Light straw, with a fragrant, yeasty bouquet, it is crisp and lively, with excellent intensity of peachy, yeasty, biscuity flavours. It is showing impressive complexity, and has a smooth, almost fully dry, lingering finish. Offering fine value, it’s certified organic. $35-$39
Thiénot x Penfolds Champagne Brut Rosé NV
★★★★★
This classy wine is a collaborative effort between Penfolds and the champagne house of Thiénot. Disgorged after four years of maturation on its yeast lees, it is salmon pink, with a hint of orange. Invitingly perfumed, with intense, vigorous strawberry, watermelon and spice flavours, crisp, complex and lingering, it’s a memorable mouthful. $120
Tiki Hariata Méthode Traditionnelle NV
★★★★ ½
Fragrant and vigorous, this Marlborough blend includes all of the traditional champagne varieties – chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier. Pale straw, it has strong personality and generous, citrusy, peachy, gently yeasty and toasty flavours. It is showing very good complexity and has a crisp, harmonious finish. $45
Tohu Rewa Blanc de Blancs Méthode Traditionnelle 2017
★★★★ ½
Made from chardonnay, hand-harvested at Rapaura, this refined, still youthful wine was disgorged after more than six years of ageing on its yeast lees. Bright, light lemon/green, it is tightly structured, citrusy, yeasty and crisp, with lemony, appley flavours, showing very good vigour and complexity. $35-$40
Whitehaven The Daughters Pinot Noir Rosé Marlborough Méthode Traditionnelle 2020
★★★★ ½
This refined, single-vineyard wine was made from pinot noir hand-harvested in Omaka Valley. Disgorged after 28 months on its yeast lees, it is pale pink, with delicate watermelon, peach and spice flavours, fresh acidity and a smooth, dry, lingering finish. Gentle yeast characters add complexity. $45
Note: all wines are 11.5-12.5% alc/vol, unless stated otherwise.
