Retailers slash Champagne prices ahead of bank holiday weekend

Consumers looking to toast the weekend ahead (the last bank holiday until August) can take advantage of some deep Champagne discounts, reports Giles Fallowfield. As we have seen from db's recent analysis of Champagne shipments, volume is moving ahead much faster than value as retailers slash prices. In early 2025, prior to key selling periods like Valentine’s Day, Mother's Day and Easter weekend, neatly spread out from the retailers’ point of view over February, March and April this year, we have seen some very large single bottle discounts (some reduced by more than £15) and a wave of 25% Champagne discounts on larger wine purchases, often running concurrently. Prior to Mothers’ Day in March, Morrisons slashed the price of GH Mumm Cordon Rouge NV to half price at just £18 a bottle, doing the same with Piper Heidsieck which was reduced to just £15.50 a bottle. At the same time, Morrisons offered three further brands that feature in Nielsen’s 14 top-selling marques in the UK off-trade at their full, relatively new, retail prices of £48 for Veuve Clicquot, £45 for Moët & Chandon and £43 to Taittinger. No guesses as to which wines were flying off the shelves.

Aggressive pricing

Earlier this month Sainsbury’s, which has had some pretty aggressive pricing, running at least three periods of 25% off six-bottle purchases already this year, at the same time as single bottle reductions, had GH Mumm Cordon Rouge again one of its main discounted lines offered at just £25 a bottle (down £15), while Piper Heidsieck was also cut once more, via Nectar card this time, from its ‘normal’ price of £40 to £29. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Mumm sales volume is now up in the year to date (to 19/04/2025) by nearly 30%, compared with a drop in volume and value of between 15 and 17% in the whole of 2024. While Bollinger has moved the regular price of its flagship wine Special Cuvée up to around the £55 mark, it has fairly often been on offer a little below or above the £40 mark. This has certainly helped boost the brand’s market share, outperforming all other international brands in calendar 2024 (up 32.6% in volume and 22.9% in value) and it is understood that in the first part of 2025 Bollinger's volume growth is now in the region of +60%. And with another May bank holiday looming the 25%-off deals on purchases of six bottles or more have gone into overdrive, with such deals currently running at Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda and Waitrose. At Asda, Nicolas Feuillatte Rosé, which was priced at just £14.97 for a single bottle, has dropped to only £11.23 under the 6-bottle deal, but online its currently showing ‘out of stock’, unsurprisingly. The regular Feuillatte Brut NV vintage at £20.9, £15.72 with the volume discount, is, however, available. Of the bigger names already discounted, Taittinger Brut Réserve, with a single-bottle price dropping for £42.96 to £34.97, can be bought for £26.23 under the deal. Heidsieck & Co Rosé is a touch cheaper, reduced to £31.97, or £23.98 as part of six-bottle purchase.

Vintage find

At Sainsbury’s, Moët & Chandon Brut Impérial is down £8 to £37 with a Nectar card, and thus £27.75 if you buy six. Mumm, meanwhile, is back at £40 for a single bottle, £30 if you buy six, while sister brand Perrier-Jouët is discounted by £10 so you can pick up a bottle for £40, or £30 for six. Taittinger single bottles are cut to £37 in Sainsbury's, £27.75 with the extra loyalty card discount. Meanwhile, Heidsieck Monopole Blue Top drops £9 to £25 with Nectar, and £18.75 for six. If you like vintage Champagne, Lanson’s very fine 2013 has fallen by £4 at Sainsbury's to £47 a bottle, and thus £35.25 each for a case of six, which is great value. Tesco has Lanson Le Rosé reduced by £9 via their Clubcard to £38 or £28.50 if you buy six or more bottles, while Lanson's Le Black Creation is also down £9 to £32, £24 is you buy six. Both are great Champagne discounts on wines that are on excellent form at the moment. Lanson's lovely Blanc de Blancs style has dropped from £63 to £56 a bottle or £42 for six, presenting a great chance to try it. At Waitrose there are no single-bottle price reductions but it’s a good time to buy Palmer Blanc de Blancs at £42 with the 25%-off deal, or Waitrose Own label No 1 Vintage at £29.25.