Champagne releases for autumn & winter 2024

The last half of the year always sees a rush of new releases in Champagne, and 2024 has been no different. What has changed, though, is the market, with sales down 15.2% in the first half of 2024 versus the same period in 2023, according to the Comité Champagne.

Could this be the Christmas when the ever-increasing prices of Champagne finally crack, and shoppers are spoilt for choice when it comes to deals?

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the latest Champagnes released this autumn/winter

Champagne houses try hard not to discount at vintage and prestige levels, although there are already some gentle adjustments being made. Dom Pérignon 2015, for example, is selling below the release price of the 2013, as Chris Mercer reported for Decanter.

It’s wishful thinking to expect price-slashing of the region’s very top wines though; the best to hope for is that the expected annual increases slow.

At the very top of the tree in terms of rarity and collectibility are the 2014 releases of Bollinger’s twin pillars of Pinot Noir, Blanc de Noirs Vieilles Vignes Françaises and La Côte aux Enfants.

VVF, as the former is affectionately known, is a rarity, a wine of extraordinary density from old, ungrafted vines trained en foule, as vines were trained in the region pre-phylloxera.

As these historic vineyards slowly succumb to the louse, though, it’s La Côte aux Enfants which enters the limelight, with cellar master Denis Bunner firmly believing the chalky, steep site in the grand cru village of Aÿ to be equal in quality to VVF. In its third release, the wine certainly makes its case.

Elsewhere in the realms of the rare and unusual, Ruinart has marked the opening of its striking new visitor centre and Champagne bar at 4 Rue des Crayères in Reims with a limited availability of late-disgorged cuvées. Many are even available by the glass, thanks to Coravin Sparkling.

As well as the flagship Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs (the late-disgorged La Réserve was tasted, below) the vintage cuvée R de Ruinart (tasted below from the 2006 vintage), is also available in various vintages, representing a rare chance to taste this rewarding style of Champagne without forking out for a whole bottle.

Billecart-Salmon offers one of the season’s most tempting purchases in the form of Les Rendez-Vous No 6 Chardonnay 2014 from the classic grand cru village of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. It’s a lot of Champagne for the retail price of £70 – a wine with a real sense of identity and place.

Fans of this cuvée may also find pleasure in the latest Bruno Paillard Blanc de Blancs of the same vintage (and partially the same village, too).

Vintage expressions

Champagnes from the 2018 vintage tend to charm rather than get the heart racing, with few new releases doing much to change that tune for now.

However, the 2016 vintage has a growing reputation, evidenced not least by Moët et Chandon’s new Grand Vintage 2016. Both the blanc and rosé editions rate among the finest recent releases of this widely available cuvée.

Canny shoppers looking for something more unusual should consider Moët’s lesser-known Grand Vintage Collection of late-disgorged vintages. These can really amplify the stylish lees-ageing characters, even in warm vintages such as the 2009, currently available.

Finally, a recent Gosset tasting offered up possibly the most remarkable wine I have ever tasted from the house – the 15 Ans de Minima in magnum. The 21 Ans De Cave a Minima, (75cl) is the latest release of the house’s bespoke, long-lees-aged cuvées.

Tasted, too, are new vintages from Deutz, Bruno Paillard, Henriot and Mumm.

Champagne releases for autumn and winter 2024: Tasting notes and scores

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