R.D., L.D. or D.T. – more and more Champagne bottles seem to be bearing these enigmatic acronyms, but what do they mean? We asked Champagne Specialist Edwin Dublin to explain what exactly late disgorgement is and why the trend has seized the industry. R.D., récemment dégorgé and dégorgement tardif all refer to that niche Champagne […]

Ahead of Champagne Taittinger’s release of their 2006 Comtes de Champagne, Gareth Birchley – Fine Wine Buyer for Asia – looks into the future of the Champagne market’s most prized bottles, the Prestige Cuvées. The release of the very first Prestige Cuvées from the much-lauded 2002 vintage proved a perfect storm for the boom of […]

How do you launch an iconic champagne? Well, you can have a light extravaganza on the hallowed grounds of the Abbaye Hautvillers from whence the Dom himself came, and which set Twitter alight with affirmative sparkling commentary. This then becomes a fascinating backdrop on screens for those of us attending the London launch at an […]

It is now a full two years since your correspondent selflessly embarked on a fortnight’s voyage of discovery of the vineyards of Champagne. Accompanied by the equally selfless Alun Griffiths MW, I set off on the long and frankly sometimes rather uneventful drive through the badlands of the Pas de Calais, taking advantage of the […]