Those of you who follow my Guardian column will know that I've had a bit of a rant today about the relentless pressure on us to buy our 'loved ones' (loathe that expression) a bottle of pink champagne. It's not that I mind pink fizz as such I just resent the mark-ups the champagne producers put on it and the fact that the discounts are never as good as they seem.
Take Oddbins current price cut of £14 on Laurent Perrier rosé. You might reasonably conclude that makes it a fantastic bargain but at 'only' £45.99 instead of £59.99 it's still overpriced. Lanson rosé, which is by no means cheap, is £11 cheaper at £34.99 (Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Waitrose.)
You'd be better off buying a bottle of Sainsbury's own brand rosé champagne at £20 or, if you can't bring yourself to pour a bottle of own label for your beloved, take advantage of their current offer on Taittinger which they're selling at £23.32 instead of £34.99. Admittedly not pink but not bad for a grande marque. I'm less keen on Marks and Spencer's offer on Oudinot at £15 instead of £25. I've never liked the Oudinot label that much.
For real credit crunch drinking the best bargain this weekend (Cava apart and your partner will know Cava is cheap) is the attractive wild strawberry-flavoured Bluff Hill Rosé from New Zealand, down from £9.99 to £7.99 at Marks and Spencer. It's very similar to Lindauer Rosé (on sale at the same price if you buy two bottles at Majestic) which is no great surprise as it's made by the same producer, Pernod Ricard.
Showing posts with label champagne. Show all posts
Showing posts with label champagne. Show all posts
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
Valentine's Day champagne promotions
It doesn't seem more than a couple of weeks since Christmas and here we are already with more cut-price champagne offers. Today Sainsbury's is advertising a half price discount on Champagne Lanson bringing it down to £14.74 from £29.49.
Of course, as I never tire of saying, champagne is ludicrously overpriced at that kind of level which is obviously designed for discounting but this is a good price for a much improved champagne.
Sainsbury's also has the heavily-discounted but decent Charles Heidsieck Blue Top on sale at £14.29 (previously £28.59)
Expect more of the same over the coming week to 10 days.
Of course, as I never tire of saying, champagne is ludicrously overpriced at that kind of level which is obviously designed for discounting but this is a good price for a much improved champagne.
Sainsbury's also has the heavily-discounted but decent Charles Heidsieck Blue Top on sale at £14.29 (previously £28.59)
Expect more of the same over the coming week to 10 days.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Champagne offers for New Year’s Eve
Having gone quiet for a couple of weeks the supermarkets now seem to be having a last thrash to get our custom for New Year's Eve. And inevitably it’s focussed on champagne.
Tesco is now the one discounting Heidsieck Monopole Blue Top Brut NV I wrote about a couple of weeks ago down to £13 from £27.99 although my husband said it was sold out earlier. (Asda has it for £17.)
Sainsbury’s has the Etienne Dumont Brut for £10 instead of £27.99 (can’t vouch for it as I haven’t tasted it but apparently it’s a huge seller for them)
Asda has Piper Heidsieck for £14 (normally £25.88) and Jacob’s Creek Sparkling Chardonnay Pinot Noir for £6 instead of £9.49 if you’re looking for party drinking.
Waitrose is advertising the very decent Duval-Leroy Premier Cru at half-price for £14.99 instead of £29.99
Marks & Spencer has got their Louis Chaurey champagne back on promotion at £15 - again reduced by 50%. Again I haven't tasted it but apparently Jancis Robinson gave it a favourable review. (Let's hope they have more supplies than they did before Christmas).
Majestic is selling Jacquart for £15 instead of £25 but if you can run to it Louis Roederer at £25 rather than £37 is a better deal (but remember you have to buy six bottles - which can be mixed - in total)
It's interesting how similar these figures are. £14-£15 certainly seems to be the magic number although Tesco and Sainsbury's are offering deals below that and I wouldn't be surprised to see someone pop up tomorrow with another under £12 fizz. (Tip me off if you spot one!)
Expect to see the next round of offers during the first two weeks of February in the run-up to Valentine’s Day.
Tesco is now the one discounting Heidsieck Monopole Blue Top Brut NV I wrote about a couple of weeks ago down to £13 from £27.99 although my husband said it was sold out earlier. (Asda has it for £17.)
Sainsbury’s has the Etienne Dumont Brut for £10 instead of £27.99 (can’t vouch for it as I haven’t tasted it but apparently it’s a huge seller for them)
Asda has Piper Heidsieck for £14 (normally £25.88) and Jacob’s Creek Sparkling Chardonnay Pinot Noir for £6 instead of £9.49 if you’re looking for party drinking.
Waitrose is advertising the very decent Duval-Leroy Premier Cru at half-price for £14.99 instead of £29.99
Marks & Spencer has got their Louis Chaurey champagne back on promotion at £15 - again reduced by 50%. Again I haven't tasted it but apparently Jancis Robinson gave it a favourable review. (Let's hope they have more supplies than they did before Christmas).
Majestic is selling Jacquart for £15 instead of £25 but if you can run to it Louis Roederer at £25 rather than £37 is a better deal (but remember you have to buy six bottles - which can be mixed - in total)
It's interesting how similar these figures are. £14-£15 certainly seems to be the magic number although Tesco and Sainsbury's are offering deals below that and I wouldn't be surprised to see someone pop up tomorrow with another under £12 fizz. (Tip me off if you spot one!)
Expect to see the next round of offers during the first two weeks of February in the run-up to Valentine’s Day.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Good champagne buys from Sainsbury’s
You do have to wonder what kind of margins supermarkets are putting on their wine - and food - if they can afford to keep running these 25% offers but take advantage!
The one I’d definitely snap up is the offer on Sainsbury’s Blanc de Blancs (*****) an elegant all-Chardonnay champagne which has been made for them for a while by the reputable house of Duval Leroy. It’s normally £16.99, currently reduced to £14.99 and down to £11.24 if you buy 6 or more bottles (which needn’t all be champagne).
There are also offers on Heidsieck Monopole Blue Top Brut NV down from £24.98 to £18 or £13.50 when you buy six or more, Lanson Black Label for £16.12 (normally £29.49) and Tattinger at £17.91 as part of a purchase of 6 (though I have to say I’d never pay the full price of £33.88 for it). None of them significantly better than the Blanc de Blancs IMHO.
The offer lasts until December 7th (now extended to December 10th FB)
I'll be highlighting more Sainsbury's deals tomorrow
The one I’d definitely snap up is the offer on Sainsbury’s Blanc de Blancs (*****) an elegant all-Chardonnay champagne which has been made for them for a while by the reputable house of Duval Leroy. It’s normally £16.99, currently reduced to £14.99 and down to £11.24 if you buy 6 or more bottles (which needn’t all be champagne).
There are also offers on Heidsieck Monopole Blue Top Brut NV down from £24.98 to £18 or £13.50 when you buy six or more, Lanson Black Label for £16.12 (normally £29.49) and Tattinger at £17.91 as part of a purchase of 6 (though I have to say I’d never pay the full price of £33.88 for it). None of them significantly better than the Blanc de Blancs IMHO.
The offer lasts until December 7th (now extended to December 10th FB)
I'll be highlighting more Sainsbury's deals tomorrow
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Why it's not worth bothering with cheap champagne
This year has been a vintage one for cut price champagne offers. Good for us, the punters? No, not really.
Very few cut price champagnes are worth the money. As a matter of interest we tried a bottle of Nicole d'Aurigny (No score) a champagne that Somerfield is selling for £9.99, more than 50% off. Frankly we'd have done better to buy a cut price bottle of Cava. It was thin and weedy with none of the complexity you have a right to expect from a bottle that originally cost over £20. Think what kind of a still wine you could have got for that.
The best cheap bottle we tried was H. Blin (RATING:***) which costs £15.99 from Oddbins if you're buying a mixed case (£19.99 if you're not). It was elegant and fresh and even at the full price a good deal less than the amount you'd pay for a better known brand such as Laurent Perrier or Taittinger (£31.99 and £33.99 respectively) A better bargain still was a bottle of Philipponnat Royal Reserve (RATING:****) which sells at £22.39 at Oddbins if you buy a mixed case, £27.99 if you don't) which really is the real deal with all the honeyed, toasty richness one expects from champagne.
The moral? If you're not spending more than £15 on fizz buy a less expensive sparkling wine instead. And if you are, be prepared to buy lesser known names and the supermarkets' own brands which tend to be much better quality than the cheap brands.
Very few cut price champagnes are worth the money. As a matter of interest we tried a bottle of Nicole d'Aurigny (No score) a champagne that Somerfield is selling for £9.99, more than 50% off. Frankly we'd have done better to buy a cut price bottle of Cava. It was thin and weedy with none of the complexity you have a right to expect from a bottle that originally cost over £20. Think what kind of a still wine you could have got for that.
The best cheap bottle we tried was H. Blin (RATING:***) which costs £15.99 from Oddbins if you're buying a mixed case (£19.99 if you're not). It was elegant and fresh and even at the full price a good deal less than the amount you'd pay for a better known brand such as Laurent Perrier or Taittinger (£31.99 and £33.99 respectively) A better bargain still was a bottle of Philipponnat Royal Reserve (RATING:****) which sells at £22.39 at Oddbins if you buy a mixed case, £27.99 if you don't) which really is the real deal with all the honeyed, toasty richness one expects from champagne.The moral? If you're not spending more than £15 on fizz buy a less expensive sparkling wine instead. And if you are, be prepared to buy lesser known names and the supermarkets' own brands which tend to be much better quality than the cheap brands.
Monday, December 8, 2008
A good champagne offer
The big lure in the run-up to Christmas is always the special offers on champagne but most of them leave me cold. For a start the prices from which they're discounting are so ridiculous that even 40% off is no big deal. If you're having a party and want to drink fizz there are many cheaper options about which I'll be writing shortly.
If you do want a bottle to celebrate Christmas morning or see in the New Year there is however one particularly good offer for the next two days at branches of Budgens which is selling 2002 Heidsieck Monopole for just £18.99, less than half the original purchase price. And you don't have to buy more than one bottle to get the discount.
2002 is a very good vintage and the champagne has had 6 years to mature which means it will have acquired a honeyed richness that cheaper sparkling wine simply can't match. If you've got a branch of Budgens nearby I'd snap it up.
If you do want a bottle to celebrate Christmas morning or see in the New Year there is however one particularly good offer for the next two days at branches of Budgens which is selling 2002 Heidsieck Monopole for just £18.99, less than half the original purchase price. And you don't have to buy more than one bottle to get the discount.
2002 is a very good vintage and the champagne has had 6 years to mature which means it will have acquired a honeyed richness that cheaper sparkling wine simply can't match. If you've got a branch of Budgens nearby I'd snap it up.
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