Sparkling wines and Champagnes hold a place of honour in our online catalogue. From the best-known bubbles to those reserved for true connoisseurs, it is a great pleasure for us to keep selecting them, so as to offer a choice that can please different tastes all year round. And now that we have reached the end of 2021, at a time of year when sparkling wine and Champagne are a must, let’s see which were the most celebrated; we have drawn up our own ranking of the best sparkling wines and Champagnes, unofficial of course, but based on our customers’ preferences.
Let’s start with Champagne, the French sparkling wine, the best by definition: but is that really so?
There are differences between Italian and French sparkling wines, starting with the terroir of the two production areas; each kind of bubbly has its own distinctive features, which most of the time it makes no sense even to compare. We have tasted unforgettable sips of Champagne just as much as of Italian sparkling wine, wines that deserve to be brought to the attention of the general public and of the most demanding drinkers alike.
Some love Champagne, others would never give up Italian sparkling wine: after all, there is something for everyone, and we are constantly committed to offering more and more, so that freedom of choice can keep growing.
Meanwhile, here are a few suggestions inspired by our customers’ preferences: let’s look back on 2021 and get ready to end it in the best way with the best sparkling wines and Champagnes.
The best Champagnes
Champagne has a long history, as well as very particular origins and production techniques. The world of the best Champagnes is drawing more and more enthusiasts, not so much because of the stereotyped idea of luxury that has always surrounded the French sparkling wine, but out of a desire to learn, discover and fully enjoy an exclusive sip.
These are tastes we find not only in the most exclusive Champagnes; among the best Champagnes there are also affordable or lesser-known wines, the fruit of the incomparable work of the so-called vignerons. The world of Champagne is extremely rich and multifaceted: here are the facets of the best Champagnes according to the loyal palates of our online wine shop
Jacquesson
A name dating all the way back to 1798, Jacquesson, like the founder of the house. Jacquesson Champagne revealed its potential right away: it was the favourite of Napoleon Bonaparte, who awarded Jacquesson a gold medal for the remarkable commercial achievement of those years, the “Beauté et la Richesse de ses Caves”.
The house still works in that spirit today, with production limited to about 250,000 bottles a year, following traditional methods and meeting extremely high quality standards. Led by the Chiquet brothers, Jacquesson remains faithful to small volumes, with grapes selected mainly from 28 hectares of its own vineyards in Avize.
One distinctive choice is to release the cuvées according to their maturity rather than in chronological order, naming each bottling after the production number recorded in the bottling registers. Each one is the fruit of long ageing on the lees, very low dosage and no filtration. A legendary house, not only for the extraordinary quality of its wines but also for the innovative contribution it has made over the years to the world of sparkling wine.
One of the most prestigious in Champagne.
Among the Jacquesson cuvées, the latest is 745, a supple and very fresh Champagne.
Cuvée 745 Jacquesson shows a straw-yellow colour with light golden highlights. On the nose it is complex, with hints of candied fruit, citrus, dried fruit and wonderful mineral nuances; on the palate it is a round, supple Champagne, with a clean, persistent finish.
For this Cuvée too, expressing the best of the vintage and the harvest was essential. A final dosage of just 0.75 g/l and a limited number of bottles.
Armand De Brignac
With Armand De Brignac, luxury and care leave nothing to the imagination; the famous Ace of Spades Champagnes have stood out over the years among the best in the world, thanks in part to a very distinctive, instantly recognisable image.
Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier are the leading grapes of this exclusive production, combined with reserve wines from different vintages to achieve an exceptional aromatic range which, together with a structure and complexity like few others, is revealed in precious, highly singular bottles, unique in the world.
Among the best Champagnes, Armand de Brignac wins acclaim with its Brut Gold, the first wine made by the house and still its crown jewel today.
Brut Gold Armand de Brignac is the result of a skilful blend of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay. In particular, this Champagne comes from a blend of the 2009, 2010 and 2012 vintages from terroirs of equal rank.
A beautiful, highly refined bottle that hints at the value of what it holds: a Champagne with fine golden bubbles, with pleasant hints of citrus, white-fleshed fruit, honey and bread crust. A supple, long taste and an elegant, well-defined character make Brut Gold one of the best Champagnes for great occasions.
Bollinger
The first Champagne house to receive the Patrimoine Vivant label, Bollinger is among the most acclaimed houses online, achieving grand, elegant results rich in aromatic complexity. Bollinger Champagnes come from the Ay area, from land mostly classified as Grand Cru and Premier Cru.
Dominating this prized landscape is Pinot Noir, the key variety for Bollinger Champagnes. Alongside it thrive vineyards of Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier.
The icon of the house, and one of our wine lovers’ favourite Champagnes, is the Special Cuvée, first made by Bollinger over a century ago with grapes grown in the most prestigious crus.
Special Cuvée inherits its fine, elegant perlage from the Chardonnay grapes, and its complexity, freshness and lightness from the Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.
The blend is a delicate one, of freshly harvested grapes and reserve wines aged for up to 15 years; the winemaking involves about 3 years’ maturation on the lees and disgorgement. The Champagne then rests in the cellar for another 3 months.
The result is special: a Champagne with a splendid golden-yellow colour, with spicy and fruity hints of peach, baked apple and pear. Lively, persistent and elegant, Bollinger Special Cuvée is a Champagne with a perfect balance of power, liveliness and structure.
Philippe Gilbert
Now we come to a name different from those we have seen so far, to Champagnes whose fame is still modest but which, judging by the response, are bound to gain more and more.
We are talking about Philippe Gilbert Champagnes, born of a perfect alchemy between art and sport, with all the romance of France as a backdrop. Their name is inspired by that of the professional cyclist Philippe Gilbert, known for the extraordinary elegance of his athletic feats; the look of their labels, meanwhile, expresses the wonders of the art of Marc Chagall, the Russian-born French painter.
These Champagnes come from outstanding terroirs, stand out for their high profile and innate French refinement, and prove to be among the best Champagnes of the year in terms of personality.
The best sparkling wines
For many years now Italian sparkling wine has been getting its own back on French wine; there are many wines whose qualities, history and production philosophy are in no way inferior to those of Champagne.
These are two fundamentally different sparkling wines, two categories of wine with an equal ability to amaze and captivate. Certainly, when it comes to Made in Italy, it is gratifying that sparkling wines too, and not only reds and whites, can fly the flag for our country around the world.
We looked in depth at production methods, characteristics and types of sparkling wine in the article Spumante: Italian sparkling wine in all its many shades.
For Italian sparkling wines too, let’s go straight to the bottles, with this year’s best according to the regulars of our online wine shop.
Ca’ del Bosco
We are talking about Franciacorta, which, to be precise, should not simply be classed as sparkling wine. Among the producers that have best embodied the spirit of this famous area over the years, and among the first to obtain the DOC, is Ca’ del Bosco, born of an idea and a dream of Maurizio Zanella.
Ca’ del Bosco carries forward a great love for wine and for the traditional farming of Franciacorta through a constant pursuit of excellence. Ca’ del Bosco Franciacorta wines have always expressed the potential of their homeland thanks to exclusive, inimitable and perfectly recognisable organoleptic qualities.
From a story that began with a house in the woods on a hill in Erbusco to one of the most thriving and advanced wineries in the country: with Ca’ del Bosco, values such as passion, time, hard work and dedication take shape in incomparable wines.
Cuvée Prestige Ca’ del Bosco is certainly the most representative.
A Franciacorta first made with the Ca’ del Bosco method in 2007, drawing on a good thirty years of know-how. Balanced and fresh, Cuvée Prestige is made from the best selections of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc, vinified separately and blended with the reserves of the best vintages in the magical ritual of the Cuvée.
The final result comes after at least 24 months’ ageing on the lees: a classic Franciacorta that embodies the identity of its winery and its homeland, a perfect bottle for the finest occasions.
Ferrari
Let’s move to Trentino, to one of the best-known names internationally too: Ferrari. In Ferrari sparkling wines we find Italian craftsmanship, the art and philosophy of this country, and a quality born of the innovative spirit and courage of its founder, Giulio Ferrari.
Ferrari sparkling wine is marked by a fine perlage that caresses the palate and by the strong, very territorial character of Trento DOC, which takes shape with different nuances in every single Ferrari wine.
Ferrari sparkling wines have always been among the best in our catalogue, a must for our customers’ toasts, especially popular during the festive season and as gifts for acquaintances, friends and relatives on special occasions. Not only with an outstanding toast, but also with a made-to-measure bottle: among our Ferrari wines, in fact, there is the brut sparkling wine with a customisable label!
It is the winery’s most iconic wine, awarded along with its other bottles at the latest international competition, The Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships. It was an important event for Ferrari, which received the prestigious title of Sparkling Wine Producer of the Year 2021, winning no fewer than 12 gold and 8 silver medals.
This is the fourth time Ferrari sparkling wines have ranked among the best bubbles in the world, and it marks an important victory for our country too: not only for Trento DOC, but with the Ferrari win Italy symbolically overtakes France in the competition.
A fine sign that confirms how the best Italian sparkling wines can easily match the successes of Champagne, and at times even surpass them.
Uberti
And finally, back to Franciacorta. Here, in fact, it is not only the best-known wineries that deserve attention; the work of the winegrowers in this area is so passionate, hard and devoted to quality at all costs that it is worth tasting and discovering the fruits of each one’s labour.
Among them, our customers’ palates reward Uberti, another historic Franciacorta producer that stands out for the determination with which it pursues a winemaking approach that protects the territory, essential for absolute quality. Elegant and delicate, but also innovative and strong, Uberti Franciacorta wines are the natural expression of the territory, of tradition and of family history.
Particularly popular with wine lovers are the two Uberti Cuvées: the first, Quinque, is made from five Chardonnay harvests; the second, Dequinque, from ten harvests of Chardonnay grapes. Two exclusive bottles that sum up the finest qualities of a unique and unmistakable territory like Franciacorta.
Among the best sparkling wines and Champagnes of 2021, there are many more still to be told. From Opera’s sparkling wines from Val di Cembra to the Champagnes of de Castelnau or Belle Epoque, there are a great many bottles with excellent feedback which, as the new year approaches, would be ideal for an opening toast in the name of quality and prestige.
We leave you the pleasure of discovering them and the freedom to award your favourites the title of best Champagnes and sparkling wines: here are all our sparkling wines!
