LOVELY JUBBLY, HERE’S THE BEST VALUE BUBBLY!

Never mind Santa and the elves, the real question this Christmas is where to get the best-value bubbly.

At the top end of the market sits Piper-Heidsieck Brut Champagne (€45.49, Molloy’s) and Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label (€59, O’Briens) according to Which? magazine. Both topped its champers table with a score of 81%.

Moët & Chandon Brut Imperial (€45, Tesco), below, came joint third on 79%

No surprises there. But the supermarket branded versions of bubbly take the next four places for much less outlay.

Marks & Spencer’s branded Delacourt Brut Champagne was joint third on 79%, closely followed by Sainsbury’s for £25 and £21 respectively (if you shop in the North.)

South of the border there’s even better value at Lidl where Comte de Senneval Brut sells for just €19.99 but scored an impressive 77% – in fifth place out of 170 glasses of bubbly sampled by the magazine’s picky reviewers.

Tesco Finest Premier Cru at €35 a bottle joined the party on 75%, while Aldi’s Veuve Monsigny Brut also gets an honourable mention with a 70% score and a €20 price tag.

■ THIS week’s official enquiry into the €800,000 printer ordered for the Dáil is a classic example of State nincompoopery.

The behemoth arrived last December but couldn’t fit through the Dáil door. It had to be put in storage for a year at considerable cost. Then another €230,000 went on knocking walls to stuff it into the building. But Dáil staff apparently now want a special allowance before they will use it. And who could blame them, when they get such a close-up view of so much money wasted.