20 Best Luxury Champagnes For Gifting, Hosting and Celebrating New Year's Eve

Pommery is one of the best-selling champagnes in the world, and we can’t help but feel it’s seriously underrated. Originally headed up by Madame Pommery, the brand has a vibrant history and deep art connection, with changing contemporary exhibitions taking place in its chalk quarries.

In terms of style, the Brut Royal is perfectly balanced and consistently good, combining the brightness of lemon and gooseberry with a long-lasting biscuit note and velvety mouthfeel.

Despite the reasonable price tag, Perrier-Jouët’s signature non-vintage brut was one of our tasting panel’s stand-out favourites.

Aged for a minimum of three years, you’ll find refreshing and uplifting citrus, delicate floral notes and a touch of vanilla-flecked brioche, plus a long, rich finish to boot.

First created in the early 19th-century, Laurent-Perrier’s La Cuvée is just as iconic today, making it a fail-safe choice if you’re looking for an impressive gift.

Fresh and floral with notes of peach, bright citrus and pear, it makes an ideal aperitif, while the creamy, toasty finish also works well with delicate white fish, creamy chicken and vegan cheese.

Hailing from the Côte des Blancs, this 100% Chardonnay champagne would be a real crowd-pleaser for Christmas with the in-laws. It’s light, bright and citrus-forward to begin, followed by freshly baked brioche and a whiff of honeysuckle.

If you’re looking for a special occasion sip, make it this.

Whether Bolly brings to mind Ab Fab or 007, the brand is instantly recognisable — and for good reason. Oak-aged for at least five years, testers loved the savoury notes in this one, noting a buttery roundness that underpins crisp green apples and pears.

As such, we think this is the one to pair with smoked salmon for a boujee brunch.

This replaces the brand’s flagship (and bestselling) brut premier, but we think it’s a decision that’s paid off.

Aged for three years, this elegant multi-vintage cuvee is a pleasure to drink, with silky bubbles and crunchy green apple, underscored by a delicious buttery brioche element. Try pairing it with canapés at your next dinner party.

Stay one step ahead of the champagne curve and invest in a bottle of Telmont. The brand recently received investment from Remy Cointreau and Leonardo DiCaprio, and is in the process of going fully organic.

The liquid is a combination of seven harvests and is poetically described as ‘a love letter to the steep, sun-soaked vineyards that surround Champagne Telmont’s headquarters.’ In other words, you can expect freshly squeezed lemon on the nose, moving to baked brioche and pitch-perfect minerality on the palate. Superb.

Thought to be the choice for royal weddings, Pol Roger has an intense flavour profile, bursting with brioche. This delicious richness is perfectly balanced with crisp and refreshing minerality, thirst-quenching lemon and grapefruit.

An excellent aperitif, this brut also pairs well with spicy food, so do bear it in mind next time you’re cooking up a Dishoom-inspired storm.

This is a seriously elegant blanc de blancs, offering an intriguing nose of malted biscuit, crisp autumn pear, and tangy citrus peel, rounded off with buttery baked pastry. A stellar aperitif for any New Year’s Eve parties.

In an ideal world, we’ll be kickstarting Christmas Day with a breakfast of smoked salmon and buttery scrambled eggs topped with caviar.

This champagne by Chanoine Frères is the perfect pairing; the well-structured acidity, fine bubbles and crisp orchard fruit flavour help cut through the fattier cut of fish – and make it all too tempting to pour another glass.

A classic blend of pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot meunier, this one is wonderfully complex and balanced, with notes of marzipan, mango, ripe green apple and brioche, ending with a burst of tropical fruit. A great aperitif, or try partnering with light seafood and chicken dishes.

Aged for twice as long as is technically required, VC’s yellow label has a well-balanced combination of prominent minerality, fresh white fruit and toasted brioche. Whether enjoyed on its own or with seafood, it’s a treat.

The words eco-friendly and champagne rarely go hand in hand, but Ruinart’s blanc de blancs features recyclable ‘second skin’ packaging, made entirely of pulped paper.

Made without plastic or glue, we think it’s a beautiful alternative to your standard gift box. Inside is just as impressive, with smooth bubbles and notes of fresh white peach.

Associated with Wimbledon, Lanson is all about the bright, light, refreshing citrus and persistent bubbles. As such it’s incredibly easy drinking, and an excellent accompaniment to fish and chips — the ultimate high-low pairing.

Taittinger’s champagne is made from 50% chardonnay and 50% pinot noir, all from Grand Cru vineyards (meaning the grapes are of the highest quality possible).

The resulting wine has real elegance, with delicate flavours of white blossom, grapefruit and cinnamon, with excellent minerality from the high chardonnay content and robust bubbles.

Claiming to be the oldest wine house in Champagne, Gosset’s grand reserve has the perfect citrusy aroma according to our testers. It’s just as refreshing on the palate, making it the ideal accompaniment to cut through charcuterie or truffle-spiked salad leaves.

Special occasion coming up? You’ll need a vintage champagne for that. Dom Pérignon only makes vintage champagne, and despite seeing an insane amount of rain in 2010, the brand delivers with this elegant cuvee.

On the nose the focus is ripe tropical fruit, moving to a little spice on the palate, with a fresh, well-balanced finish.

If you’re willing to blow the budget on an ultra-special bottle, our experts think this is the one to splurge on. The 2008 ‘millesime’ (French for vintage) is super fresh, combining white blossom and apricot with more savoury elements such as hazelnuts and toasted sourdough.

And can we talk about the ornate bottle? We’ll be sticking a candle in it and keeping it on display long after the last bubble pops.

Reportedly the first carbon-neutral champagne house, forward-thinking Drappier is well-known in France, but less so on UK soil. Rich and toasty, this champagne is full of stone fruit, brioche and peach, with mousse-like bubbles.

If you consider yourself a champagne connoisseur, Billecart-Salmon's flagship reservé should pique your interest. Despite being crafted from the classic varietals, the result is wholly unique.

Tropical notes such as a touch of coconut add interest, while lemon peel, apricot and peach round-off the palate.