All the medallists from The Champagne Masters 2025

Today's Champagnes may be more expensive, but they're also riper, richer, more complex and just plain better, reports Patrick Schmitt. MANY WOULD say it’s a privileged position – and I would have to agree. I’m talking about my chairing the Champagne Masters, which is 2025’s first major, comprehensive blind tasting competition for this fabled French region in the UK. As a result, it means that, by March this year, I’d tasted a generous array of the latest and impending releases from Champagne, giving me a sense of what’s coming the consumer’s way over the next few months. With that in mind, I’ve not only picked out the best performers from this year’s competition to provide an overview of the judges’ favourites from 2025 but also outlined what I think are the key trends in Champagne style right now. In essence, the following pages should give you a taste of the top pops and 10 things I learnt from this extensive sampling. Starting with the latter, one aspect to Champagne today is that low-dosage – even completely sugarless – Champagne can be balanced in character. In several instances during the blind tasting this year, it turned out that the cuvées either had very little sugar or were brut nature, and yet they weren’t lacking in terms of mouthfeel and drinking pleasure. I’m sure that a few years ago, such Champagnes would have finished with a hard, sometimes tart taste – or, indeed, with oxidative characters, perhaps because the winemaker had ditched the antioxidant sulphur dioxide along with the sugar when topping up the Champagne with wine following the disgorgement process. Secondly, and linked to the more appealing nature of sugarless fizz, is the riper and richer taste of Champagne today. Many will believe that this is a product of a warming climate – and it is in part – but it’s also a result of winemaking changes. I found myself noting more often than not the presence of yellow fruit in the Champagnes this year, peach and pineapple in particular, as opposed to green apple and bitter lemon.

Benign climate

That is doubtless a product of riper grapes, itself a function of a more benign climate in Champagne, as well as lower yields and better viticulture. As for the richness, that comes from longer lees ageing times – as well as extended post-disgorgement resting – along with more reserve wines (in non-vintage cuvées). Overall, such changes are for the better and require lower dosages – explaining the balanced nature of increasingly dry Champagne. Thirdly, in contrast to the trend towards generosity in terms of palate weight and fruit ripeness, there were a few examples where the Champagnes seemed hard, even tart, and a touch green. I later found out that such samples were those where malolactic fermentation had been blocked.

Non-vintage

Winery	Name of wine	Vint	Dosage	Medal
£10-£15
Champagne Haton	Veuve Monsigny Champagne Brut	NV	Brut	Silver
£15-£20
Champagne Jean-Noël Haton	Brut Selection	NV	Brut	Silver
£20-£30
Ferdinand Bonnet	Grande Réserve	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Haton	Veuve Monsigny Brut Champagne Premier Cru	NV	Brut	Bronze
Champagne Vollereaux	Brut Réserve	NV	Brut	Bronze
Champagne Canard-Duchêne	Brut Essentiel	NV	Brut	Bronze
Champagne Haton	Réserve	NV	Brut	Bronze
Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte	Grande Réserve Brut	NV	Brut	Bronze
£30-£50
Champagne Duval-Leroy	Fleur de Champagne	NV	Brut	Master
GH Mumm	Cordon Rouge	NV	Brut	Master
Champagne Thiénot	Brut Collection Origine	NV	Brut	Gold
Champagne Collery	Brut Grand Cru	NV	Brut	Gold
Champagne Duval-Leroy	Brut Réserve	NV	Brut	Gold
Champagne Vieille France	Brut Réserve	NV	Brut	Gold
Champagne Abelé 1757	Brut	NV	Brut	Gold
Champagne Le Brun de Neuville	La Croisée des Chemins	NV	Extra-Brut	Silver
Champagne Pannier	Extra Brut	NV	Extra-Brut	Silver
Champagne Jacquart	Signature Extra-Brut	NV	Extra-Brut	Silver
Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte	Réserve Exclusive Premier Cru Extra-Brut	NV	Extra-Brut	Silver
Champagne Joseph Perrier	Cuvée Royale Brut Blanc de Blancs	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Pommery	Brut Royal	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Jarry Héritage	Alliance	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Besserat de Bellefon depuis 1843	Bleu Brut	NV	Brut	Silver
Veuve Clicquot	Yellow Label	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Le Brun de Neuville	Autolyse Noirs & Blancs	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Boizel	Brut Réserve	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Canard-Duchêne	Léonie Iconic	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Pol Couronne	Brut 1887	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Palmer & Co	La Réserve	NV	Brut	Silver
Piper-Heidsieck	Cuvée Brut	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Castelnau	Brut	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Delamotte	Delamotte Brut	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte	Réserve Exclusive Brut	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte	Organic Extra-Brut	NV	Extra-Brut	Bronze
Champagne Lombard	Extra-Brut Premier Cru Blanc de Noirs	NV	Extra-Brut	Bronze
Champagne Castelnau	Extra-Brut	NV	Extra-Brut	Bronze
Champagne Pannier	Brut Sélection	NV	Brut	Bronze
Champagne Brimoncourt	Brut Régence	NV	Brut	Bronze
Champagne Thiénot	Thiénot X Penfolds Champagne Cuvée Brut	NV	Brut	Bronze
Champagne Deutz	Brut Classic	NV	Brut	Bronze
£50-£70
Champagne Vranken	Diamant Brut	NV	Brut	Gold
Champagne Pol Couronne	L'Envol Bleu Grand Cru	NV	Extra-Brut	Gold
Piper-Heidsieck	Essentiel Extra-Brut	NV	Extra-Brut	Silver
Champagne Billecart-Salmon	Le Réserve	NV	Extra-Brut	Silver
Champagne Telmont	Réserve Brut	NV	Extra-Brut	Silver
Frerejean Frères	Extra-Brut Premier Cru	NV	Extra-Brut	Silver
Champagne Delamotte	Blanc de Blancs	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Drappier	Carte d'Or	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Barons de Rothschild	Brut Nature	NV	Brut Nature	Bronze
Champagne Palmer & Co	La Réserve Nature	NV	Brut Nature	Bronze
Champagne Jarry Héritage	Essentielle	NV	Brut	Bronze
Champagne Gosset	Grande Réserve	NV	Brut	Bronze
Champagne Castelnau	La Solera 9.2	NV	Brut	Bronze

It seems to me that Champagne is yet to produce fruit ripe enough to suit such a style, unless the base wines are really rich or destined for especially long ageing, on and off the lees. In my view, allowing the wines to go through malolactic brings an appealing creaminess to the fizz that suits those lower dosages mentioned above. Indeed, the problem may be that non-malo styles have been allied to low dosages, and it would be better to choose one or the other to yield fresh-tasting fizz: in other words, a standard dosage with a non-malo cuvée or an extra brut where the malolactic conversation is desired. Another technique – favoured by non-malo maison Besserat de Bellefon – is to lower the pressure, which brings finer bubbles to the Champagne, and therefore a creamy texture, not an aggressive-feeling fizz.

Return to oak

Fourthly, I believe an element to Champagne-making that is bringing an appealing and complexing element to cuvées is the gradual return to using oak vessels for the fermentation and/or ageing of base wines. Often employed for reserve wines, it seems that the oak imparts a roundness to the wines and possibly some fine and appealing tannin too. Such an influence may also explain why lower-dosage Champagnes don’t appear as firm as they did a decade ago. Primarily, however, the use of a small proportion of oak-influenced wines brings another layer of interest to Champagne which, generally, is becoming more complex due to the greater and more varied components in a blend – sometimes due to sourcing over a wide area but, in the majority of cases, due to the greater range of reserve wines used in multi-vintage blends. Fifthly, it is my belief that one should not fear unusually ripe vintages in Champagne, nor dismiss them as incapable of ageing gracefully. I say that after tasting a host of first-rate vintage offerings from the hot and dry 2015 harvest, the record-breaking heatwave year of 2018 and an exciting taste of the extreme 2003 – a bottling now more than two decades old and still lively and delicious (yet written off at the time as being overripe).

Non-vintage (continued)

Winery	Name of wine	Vint	Dosage	Medal
£70-£100
Champagne Telmont	Réserve de la Terre	NV	Extra-Brut	Gold
Champagne Laurent-Perrier	Laurent-Perrier Héritage	NV	Brut	Gold
Champagne Pommery	Apanage 1874 Brut	NV	Brut	Gold
Moet & Chandon	Brut Impérial en magnum	NV	Brut	Silver
£100+
Champagne Cattier	Clos du Moulin Brut Premier Cru	NV	Extra-Brut	Silver

Vintage

Winery	Name of wine	Vint	Dosage	Medal
£30-£50
Champagne Gardet	Millésime Extra-Brut	2016	Extra-Brut	Gold
Champagne Vollereaux	Blanc de Blancs Millésime	2014	Brut	Silver
Champagne Haton	Noble Vintage	2020	Brut	Silver
£50-£70
Moet & Chandon	Grand Vintage	2016	Extra-Brut	Gold
Champagne Cattier	Brut Millésime Premier Cru	2015	Extra-Brut	Gold
Champagne Castelnau	Vintage	2006	Brut	Gold
Champagne Delamotte	Blanc de Blancs	2018	Brut	Gold
Champagne Castelnau	Vintage Blanc de Blancs	2009	Brut	Gold
Champagne Vieille France	Vintage	2007	Brut	Gold
£70-£100
Piper-Heidsieck	Vintage	2018	Brut	Grand Master
Champagne Palmer & Co	Grands Terroirs	2015	Brut	Gold
Champagne Laurent-Perrier	Vintage	2015	Brut	Gold
Champagne Joseph Perrier	Le Ciergelot Blanc de Noirs	2020	Brut Nature	Gold
Champagne Joseph Perrier	Cuvée Royale Brut	2015	Extra-Brut	Silver
£100+
Champagne Henriot	L'Inattendue	2018	Brut Nature	Master
Moet & Chandon	Grand Vintage Collection	2003	Extra-Brut	Master
Champagne Drappier	Réserve de l'Oenothèque	2004	Brut	Silver

Prestige Cuvée

Winery	Name of wine	Vint	Dosage	Medal
£30-£50
Champagne Gardet	Prestige Charles Gardet Blanc de Blancs	NV	Brut	Silver
£70-£100
Champagne Collery	EmpyreumatiC Grand Cru	2014	Brut	Gold
Champagne Thiénot	Cuvée Alain Thiénot	2008	Brut	Gold
Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte	Palmes d'Or Brut	2009	Brut	Silver

Prestige Cuvée (continued)

Winery	Name of wine	Vint	Dosage	Medal
£100+
Champagne Gosset	Celebris Vintage	2012	Brut	Master
Champagne Collet	Esprit Couture	2015	Brut	Master
Rare Champagne	Millésime	2012	Brut	Master
Champagne Castelnau	Hors-Catégorie	NV	Brut	Gold
Champagne Henriot	Cuvée Hemera	2013	Extra-Brut	Gold
Moët & Chandon	Collection Impériale Creation 1	NV	Brut Nature	Gold
Champagne Pannier	Egerie	2015	Extra-Brut	Gold
Champagne Besserat de Bellefon depuis 1843	Cuvée des Moines Blanc de Blancs	2015	Extra-Brut	Gold
Champagne Billecart-Salmon	Nicolas François	2012	Extra-Brut	Gold
Champagne Barons de Rothschild	Triptyque	2018	Extra-Brut	Gold
Veuve Clicquot	La Grande Dame	2015	Brut	Gold
Champagne Deutz	William Deutz	2014	Brut	Gold
Champagne Drappier	Grande Sendrée	2012	Brut	Gold
Champagne Drappier	Grande Sendrée	2015	Brut	Gold
Champagne Duval-Leroy	Femme de Champagne	2008	Brut	Gold
Perrier-Jouet	Belle Époque	2016	Brut	Gold
Champagne Abelé 1757	Le Sourire de Reims Brut Millésimé	2013	Brut	Gold
Champagne Besserat de Bellefon depuis 1843	Cuvée des Moines Millésime	2012	Extra-Brut	Silver

Blanc de Blancs

Winery	Name of wine	Vint	Dosage	Medal
£20-£30
Champagne Vollereaux	Blanc de Blancs Brut	NV	Brut	Silver
£30-£50
Champagne Le Brun de Neuville	Côte Blanche	NV	Brut	Gold
Champagne Haton	Blanc de Blancs	NV	Brut	Silver
£50-£70
GH Mumm	RSRV Blanc de Blancs	2015	Brut	Gold
Champagne Duval-Leroy	Blanc de Blancs	2008	Brut	Gold
Champagne Abelé 1757	Blanc de Blancs	NV	Brut	Gold
Champagne Besserat de Bellefon depuis 1843	Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru	NV	Brut	Gold
Champagne Collet	Blanc de Blancs	NV	Brut	Gold
Champagne Vranken	Diamant Grand Cru	2014	Brut	Gold
Champagne Boizel	La Côte Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru	NV	Extra-Brut	Silver
Champagne Haton	Extra Blanc de Blancs	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Jarry Héritage	Spirituelle	NV	Extra-Brut	Bronze
Champagne Vieille France	Blanc de Blancs	NV	Brut	Bronze
Champagne Canard-Duchêne	Blanc de Blancs Iconic	NV	Brut	Bronze
£70-£100
Piper-Heidsieck	Essentiel Blanc de Blancs	NV	Extra-Brut	Gold
Champagne Laurent-Perrier	Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature	NV	Brut Nature	Silver
Champagne Lombard	Brut Nature Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Grand Cru	NV	Brut Nature	Silver
Champagne de Venoge	Princes Blanc de Blancs	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Palmer & Co	Blanc de Blancs	2018	Brut	Silver
£100+
Champagne Thiénot	Thienot X Penfolds Blanc de Blancs	2014	Brut	Master
Champagne Barons de Rothschild	Rare Collection Blanc de Blancs	2014	Extra-Brut	Gold
Champagne Gosset	Celebris Blanc de Blancs	2012	Brut	Gold
Champagne Deutz	Amour de Deutz	2014	Brut	Gold
Champagne Telmont	Blanc de Blancs	2015	Extra-Brut	Gold
Champagne Drappier	Quattuor	NV	Brut	Gold
Perrier-Jouet	Belle Époque Blanc de Blancs	2017	Brut	Gold
Frerejean Frères	VV26 Grand Cru	NV	Brut	Silver

Indeed, if I am to name my personal favourite Champagne of the competition, it would be the fizz from that latter anomalous harvest: Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage Collection 2003. If you want to experience what long-lees-aged Champagne can taste like from a heatwave harvest, then this provides a delicious insight – albeit an expensive one.

Sulphurous odours

Sixthly, on a negative note, in this year’s competition, as last year, there were a few high-priced Champagnes that did not win medals and therefore do not feature in this report. Why did they fail to make the grade? They had sulphurous aromas – like cabbage water in a couple of cases. At the time, I marked them down as fine Champagnes that had possibly suffered from light-strike, which can yield these unpleasant characters in fizz. Later, I checked the bottles and found – as expected – that they were housed in clear glass. In both cases, they were blanc de blancs, a style that has become associated with transparent packaging due to the success of Ruinart Blanc de Blancs in its beautiful, bulbous, clear bottle (which was not in the tasting). While I can understand the commercial reasons for wanting to house Champagne in clear glass – it looks so enticing – all I will say is that it does come with a risk: that of a disappointed consumer. Seventhly, pink Champagne appears to be getting better, while there is little consistency in appearance. In terms of quality, this category of Champagne used to be the most disappointing – with high-priced cuvées attracting just ok scores. Today, some of these pretty Champagnes are really serious sparkling wines. In terms of look, while still rosé now almost entirely looks like its Provençal template, with the pale hue of poached salmon, when it comes to Champagne, some are a delicate peach in colour, others almost translucent ruby. This lack of standardisation is exciting – a wine should not be judged on its colour, and some of the darker rosés from Champagne are exceptional. If they were in the still wine category, they would struggle commercially. I suppose it helps that a lot of great pink Champagne is sold in green glass, just with pretty, colourful labels to signal their style.

This lack of standardisation is exciting – a wine should not be judged on its colour

Blanc de Noirs

Winery	Name of wine	Vint	Dosage	Medal
£20-£30
Champagne Fallet Dart	Cuvée de Réserve Brut	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Haton	Classic	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Vollereaux	Blanc de Noirs Brut Nature	NV	Brut Nature	Bronze
Champagne Charles de Cazanove	Happy Holidays #3 Blanc de Noirs	NV	Brut	Bronze
£30-£50
Champagne Cattier	Blancs de Noirs Premier Cru	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Vieille France	Blanc de Noirs	NV	Brut	Silver
Ferdinand Bonnet	Blanc de Noirs	NV	Brut	Bronze
Domaine Alexandre Bonnet	Blanc de Noirs	NV	Extra Brut	Bronze
£50-£70
Champagne Pannier	Blanc de Noirs	2016	Brut	Gold
Champagne Collery	Blanc de Noirs Grand Cru	NV	Brut	Gold
Champagne Canard-Duchêne	Blanc de Noirs Iconic	NV	Brut	Gold
Champagne Pannier	L'ôde au Meunier - Venteuil	NV	Extra-Brut	Silver
£70-£100
Piper-Heidsieck	Essentiel Blanc de Noirs	NV	Extra-Brut	Gold
GH Mumm	RSRV Blanc de Noirs	2018	Brut	Silver
£100+
Champagne Telmont	Blanc de Noirs	2015	Brut	Master
Champagne Thiénot	Penfolds X Thienot Blanc de Noirs	2014	Brut	Gold

Eighthly, I’ve always thought that Champagne needs at least a generous dollop of Chardonnay to be really delicious, but increasingly, I’m changing my view. Why? Blancs de Noirs are so much better than they once were. They are often just as refreshing as blancs de blancs, yet with more apple richness – as opposed to citrus bite – and lovely, toasty, autolytic note,s too, as well as appealing, smoky, reductive characters in some cases. It did help that the blancs de noirs we tasted this year weren’t from the entry level but vintage and prestige cuvée expressions. In other words, they should be good. Nevertheless, making Champagne just with red grapes need not be seen as a restriction on quality. Ninthly, blancs de blancs still represent a reliable, finely crafted aperitif. Indeed, this style offers the ultimate pre-dinner fizz, with a chalkycitric-nutty combination that provides immediate palatecleansing appeal. More producers of this style seem to be striking this lovely balance of grilled nuttiness with linear freshness. Meanwhile, the dull, buttery characters that can be found in pure Chardonnay Champagnes, particularly with a bit of age, seem to be far less common. Finally, Champagne is becoming more phenolic, particularly the brut NVs. I have noticed more often in my notes that I’m recording the presence of tannins in the wine. In most cases, they are fine, giving a dry, chalky sensation to the finish, which in my view adds appeal – not only making the mouth water, but also increasing the versatility of the fizz: a bit of fine-grained texture to Champagne helps clean the palate if one is having something to eat with the drink. After all, when fizz is served as an aperitif, it’s rarely without something to munch on, even if it’s just some crisps. In essence, Champagne is riper, richer, better, a touch chewier, as well as more complex and drier. It’s also more expensive. And I have to say that I was somewhat amazed to see how many of the grandes marques we tasted in the brut NV category were over £50. In other words, even the base level of Champagne is now a luxury. Thankfully, it tastes like one.

Rosé

Winery	Name of wine	Vint	Dosage	Medal
£30-£50
Champagne Joseph Perrier	Cuvée Royale Brut Rosé	NV	Brut	Gold
Champagne Vieille France	Brut Rosé	NV	Brut	Gold
Domaine Alexandre Bonnet	Rosé	NV	Extra Brut	Silver
Champagne Canard-Duchêne	Rosé Essentiel	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Brimoncourt	Brut Rosé	NV	Brut	Bronze
Champagne Castelnau	Rosé	NV	Brut	Bronze
Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte	Réserve Exclusive Rosé	NV	Brut	Bronze
Champagne Jacquart	Signature Rosé	NV	Brut	Bronze
£50-£70
Champagne Telmont	Réserve Rosé	NV	Extra-Brut	Gold
Champagne de Venoge	Princes Brut 3rd Edition	NV	Extra-Brut	Gold
Champagne Henriot	Rosé	NV	Extra-Brut	Gold
Champagne Thiénot	Thiénot X Penfolds Brut Rosé	NV	Brut	Gold
Champagne Deutz	Brut Rosé	NV	Brut	Gold
Champagne Besserat de Bellefon depuis 1843	Rosé Brut	NV	Brut	Gold
Piper-Heidsieck	Brut Rosé	NV	Brut	Gold
Champagne Thiénot	Rosé Collection Origine	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Palmer & Co	Rosé Solera	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Collery	Rosé Brut	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne de Venoge	Cordon Bleu Rosé	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Abelé 1757	Rosé	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Duval-Leroy	Rosé Prestige	NV	Brut	Silver
Champagne Pommery	Brut Rosé	NV	Brut	Silver
Frerejean Frères	Rosé Premier Cru	NV	Extra-Brut	Bronze
Champagne Gardet	Prestige Charles Gardet Rosé de Saignée	2013	Brut	Bronze
Champagne Canard-Duchêne	Rosé Iconic	NV	Brut	Bronze
Veuve Clicquot	Rosé	NV	Brut	Bronze
£70-£100
Moet & Chandon	Grand Vintage Rosé	2016	Extra-Brut	Gold
Champagne Laurent-Perrier	Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé	NV	Brut	Gold
Champagne Delamotte	Delamotte Rosé Brut	NV	Brut	Gold
Champagne Drappier	Rosé Brut Nature Les Riceys	NV	Brut Nature	Silver
£100+
Perrier-Jouet	Belle Époque Rosé	2014	Brut	Master
Veuve Clicquot	La Grande Dame Rosé	2015	Brut	Gold
Rare Champagne	Rosé Millésime Magnum	2012	Brut	Gold
Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte	Palmes d'Or Rosé Intense	2008	Brut	Gold
Champagne Gosset	12 Ans de Cave à Minima Rosé	NV	Brut	Silver

Judges