A great champagne made by father-son grower-winemaker team. The pair are based in Ay, also home to Champagne Bollinger, to which they sell approximately half of their grapes each year. The vineyards around Ay in the Champagne region are focussed strongly on Pinot Noir, which makes this wine taste toasty and rich. These alluring savoury qualities are softened, mellowed and added to in the autolytic process of ageing the bubbles in the bottle while the lees (decomposing yeast cells) break down, releasing deliciously rich flavours on the journey. 

A great champagne made in relatively small volumes, pushing boundaries of great flavour to new heights. 

One of our absolute faves here at Regional Wines. Central Otago based, Austrian born and bred winemaker Rudi Bauer is the mastermind behind the stunning wines at Quartz Reef winery, which he founded and then furthered his own career by studying biodynamics and organics. All of his Quartz Reef wines are certified by both BioGro and Demeter for biodynamic production.

The grapes for this Blanc de Blanc were hand picked and had their second fermentation in bottle followed by 60 months aging on lees. It was riddled and disgorged by hand and has refreshing citrus notes and irresistible bakery aromas which highlight the great suitability of world's southernmost wine region for sparkling wine production.

This is a great example of world class méthode traditionnelle.

Winery notes 
"This wine pays tribute to David Herd, who established Marlborough’s first commercial vineyard and winery at Auntsfield in the 1870s. Using David’s original vineyard site and specific Muscat Clone, this wine is made by applying the Methode Ancestrale technique, which can be traced to production of the first sparkling wine “Blanquette de Limoux” in 1531. As in the 153o’s, and 1870’s, fermentation with natural yeast is completed in bottle. The result is a wine that honours the foundational work of our ancestors and celebrates continued discovery and pleasure.

With each bottle being it’s own fermentation no two bottles are exactly the same. With little sulphur in bottle, this wine evolves in the glass. Initially this wine has fresh aromas of fresh apple, elderflower, nashi pear with hints of mint, and wild honey. In the glass, the brighter apple and pear notes dissipate and reveal more of the Muscat floral and exotic spice aromas. The palate has a fresh and crisp acidity, with tangy green apple. It is light and lively. With a slight brioche and almond complexity giving some generosity to the palate at this early stage of life.

The historic Petits Grains Muscat block is exactly where it all started at Auntsfield in 1873. These vines are trained along the old wire and Manuka posts as they historically were. This block has the potential for heavy crops, so we spend a lot of time carefully removing leaves very early in the season before flowering to reduce the bunch sizes and number of berries that set. Each bunch is carefully tended to during the growing season as this variety is fragile and requires optimum conditions to fully express the incredible aromatics of Muscat.

Limited Edition of just 820 bottles produced."

2.5 bar in the name of this wine refers to the pressure, which is half of the pressure in bottle fermented sparkling wines, giving this cheeky little quaffer a superb yet subtle spritz. Sun ripened strawberries on the nose lead to a feather light palate with similar red berry flavours. Ethereal and bubbly!

This sensational champagne gets five stars from the Regional team. It's a beautiful rounded, dry, full bodied champagne with crisp greengage aromas and notes of tangy nectarines supported by the firm acidity and characteristic freshness of Chardonnay, which is the predominant grape variety in this blend. 

Most of the grapes in this wine and those in all Ruinart champagnes are grown in the Côte des Blancs and Montagne de Reims terroirs in Champagne.

* The House of Ruinart was first established in the Champagne region in 1729 and was inspired by a monk. 

Cantine Riondo is a large cooperative based near Soave with over 2,000 winegrower members. This Extra Dry vintage spumante (Italian for semi sparkling), offers rich and elegant scents of ripe Golden Delicious apple, acacia and wisteria blossom. Fresh and creamy on the palate with a pleasant silky finish.

The Cuvée Royale Brut is a superbly intense champagne with depth of flavour and complex tastes of white peach, floral notes of white flowers giving way to the fruity ones and dialled up yeasty freshness, derived from 36 months aging with 20% reserve wines in the blend. The cepage is 35% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Meunier and grapes come from over 20 different top ranking vineyards, including at Cumières, Damery, Hautvillers and Verneuil.

What the critics say

“Vanilla shortbread seems seductive on the nose. Slender but fine palate majors on the lemon, spice, and hints of honey in a soothing and gentle fashion. Lovely aperitif. Drinking Window 2020 to 2025.” 

Decanter - 90 Points

Dom Perignon is one of the world's great prestige champagnes in name and in taste. Made only in single vintage years, this latest one is a blend of 50/50 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, aged for eight years on lees, which retains freshness while allowing the yeast autolysis process to create complexity and power in this multi layered, intensely richly flavoursome sparkling wine. 

This tastes full bodied, dry, creamy with complex layers of flavour. Serve chilled in a large glass to it its complexity and freshness shine. 

This good value magnum of Moët Impérial comes from the large Champagne house of LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessey) and is typically a blend of 30 to 40% Pinot Noir, 30 to 40% Pinot Meunier with 20 to 30% Chardonnay for balancing crispness and freshness. It's made from Moët & Chandon's vineyards in all of the five main grapegrowing areas in the Champagne region.

Abel Methode Cider is made by us in small quantities, crafted from 100% apples and pears. We hand harvest tree-ripened fruit, crush it, then ferment until dry. This is quite different from your usual cider as we ferment the skins, stalks, pips and all, to maximize fruit aromatics and flavour. Abel cider is unfined and unfiltered. This basically means we allow our cider to naturally clarify via gravity to retain character. It's fermented in the bottle, like champagne. This natural carbonation gives a finer bubble which retains the aromas and flavours. Bottle fermentation adds complexity and texture, as well as giving cloudiness from the natural yeast sediment that remains.

Our cider is dry as this is the way we like to drink it - refreshing and full of flavour! ENJOY You have a couple of options when it comes to enjoying a bottle of Abel Methode Cider: EITHER...Place bottle upright in the fridge overnight, the colder the better. This will allow the natural sediment to settle to the bottom of the bottle. When you're ready to drink it, pour the clear cider (everything but the settled sediment) into a champagne flute or wine glass of your choice. OR...If you like cloudy cider, invert the bottle a couple of times then pour away!

Vintage rose champagne is one of our favourite things and this one comes from arguably the most popular producer, Veuve Clicquot, owned by Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey.

Veuve is named after the late, great Widow Clicquot, who was left not only a widow aged 27 but also in charge of running a champagne house. Her legacy is to have left both the brand and the region in better condition than she found them, mostly famously by inventing riddling; the turning of the bottle to remove the yeast sediment into its neck, prior to disgorgement. This resulted in higher quality, cleaner, fresher bubbles in both look and taste. Her quest was quality and she is widely credited with having raised it significantly in the Champagne region and in the bottles it produces.
This rose is typically a blend of base wines with 12% of still red Pinot Noir and aged for three years prior to disgorgement. 

This beautiful gift pack comes with two stunning branded champagne flutes.

Commercial Description

Taittinger Brut R?serve is a blend of Chardonnay (40%), Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier (60%) wines from over 35 different vineyards and vintages matured to perfection. 

This high proportion of Chardonnay, unique among fine non-vintage champagnes, and a minimum ageing of three years in the cellars, where it reaches the peak of aromatic maturity, makes Taittinger Brut Reserve a delicately balanced champagne, known for its consistently excellent quality all over the world.

Taittinger considers it an honour to produce a Brut champagne every year without exception. The brilliant body is golden yellow in colour. The bubbles are fine, while the foam is discreet yet lingering. The nose, very open and expressive, delivers aromas of fruit and brioche. it also gives off the fragrance of peach, white flowers (hawthorn, acacia) and vanilla pod. The entry onto the palate is lively, fresh and in total harmony. This is a delicate wine with flavours of fresh fruit and honey. 

Taittinger Brut Reserve, which acquires its maturity during three and four years ageing in the cellar, offers excellent aromatic potential. Taittinger Brut R?serve is the champagne for any occasion. a symbol of festivity, this wine is the ideal partner of celebration for the happiest milestones in a lifetime

This great Champagne is made by the Epernay based producer, Champagne Lombard, and it is staggeringly good quality with amazing balance and complexity for this price. 

Smooth, zingy, citrusy and beautifully toasty. A rare good deal. 

Italian designers bring their best bling to the design of the new Pizzolato Prosecco, which contains zero alcohol but loads of lovely aromatic flavour. This lightly sparkling wine is certified organic.