Does affordable Champagne still exist? Here are 15 of the best

It’s no secret that Champagne prices in the UK have shot up since the Covid pandemic.

A recent report by consultancy firm Wine Lister found that between December 2021 and December 2024, prices increased by 21% among 15 top-selling brands. This is considerably larger than for any other sparkling wine type.

In 2024, Champagne sales declined significantly, by 9.2% overall and 10.8% in export markets.

In trying to explain this slump, Maxime Toubart, president of Champagne’s grower association SGV (whose members sell their grapes to Champagne houses), accused the houses of ‘disproportionate’ price rises compared to the prices paid to grapegrowers.

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Infrastructure & vintage struggles?

Houses will argue that small and difficult vintages, such as 2021, and significant cost increases in areas such as energy, vineyard work and shipping, have led to these price rises.

In practice, most of the leading grandes marques set recommended retail prices above the £40 mark today, and the long-held sense that Champagne ought to be available in the UK for around £30 is certainly being tested.

In search of value, then, I tasted 50 white Champagnes that can be obtained at a full price of £40 or below per bottle in the UK. The top 15 are featured below.

What sort of quality can we expect from Champagne at that price point, though?

How much of the bottle price is actually going to the wine producer, and how much is eaten up with taxes and various costs, including distribution and promotion?

I spoke to Justin Howard-Sneyd MW, who has sourced Champagnes for the UK market, to find out how the numbers stack up.

Howard-Sneyd estimates that about £15 (€18) of that £40 full price will make it to the Champagne producer (see box, below).

Their costs then include at least €8-€9 for the grapes or base wine (assuming these are largely bought-in, rather than grown by the producer, which they usually are at this price in the UK), €2-€3 for dry goods and €3-€4 for cost of production, leaving €2-€5 profit for the producer.

‘It’s the UK government and the retailer’ who make the most money, says Howard-Sneyd.

Vital statistics for a £40 bottle of Champagne in the UK

Price before VAT is added: £33.33

Before retailer margin: £23.33

Before UK duty: £20.67

Before shipping, warehousing, deliver & ERP (packing costs): £19.77

Before distribution, marketing & promotional support: £17.77

Before in-market promotion & discounting: £15

A question of style

The Champagnes tasted here fell into two camps: wines that made efforts to taste bold and flashy, despite their price; and wines that seemed to put their resources into getting the basics right – fruit quality, balance and refreshment.

Including large amounts of reserve wine in the blend (even if those reserves might not be of the best quality), or adding lots of dosage (in the form of a rich, aged liqueur d’expédition) when topping up after the disgorgement stage can help fairly basic wines get some warm, biscuity-type tones that feel expensive for a single glass, but can get tiring for more.

Cheaper Champagnes often use more tailles – the must resulting from harder pressings of the grapes – which can bring a juicy fruitiness and low acidity to the wines, although, as was sometimes found in the tasting, can also increase bitterness, needing a little more sugar in the dosage to compensate.

The top-scoring wines here all avoided those pitfalls with aplomb, proving there are still a few treasures to be found without stretching the budget.

Tom Hewson’s 15 affordable Champagne recommendations

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