BOXING DAY SPARKLING

NV La Gioiosa, Etamorosa, Prosecco, Treviso, Italy £8.99, reduced to £6.99 each in a ‘mix six’ deal, until Jan 30, Majestic IF YOU are having a big party, choose your wines carefully to keep costs within reason. This smartly packaged wine, which also works with festive grub, retains a real air of sophistication and elegance. NV Château de l’Aulée, Crémant de Loire, Cuvée Jeanne d’Arc, Loire, France £13, Oddbins MADE from chenin blanc, this is one of the finest value French sparklers of the year and if you were served it ‘blind’ you would swear it was champagne. Bursting with fruit and finished with a long, dry, haunting aftertaste, this is a wondrous creation. NV Les Pionniers, Champagne, France £16.99, reduced to £15.99, until Jan 3, Co-op GOSH, just when you think it can’t get any cheaper, Les Pionniers shaves a quid off its already punchy price. This is the finest budget ‘champs’ in the land, and while it is not the most complex wine, it is leagues ahead of many of its competitors because it is clean, smooth, delicious and rewarding. NV Furleigh Estate, Dorset Coast Special Reserve, England £22.50, 11 branches and waitrosecellar.com I AM a huge fan of top-flight English sparkling wine and this one missed out on my collection, featured in Daily Mail Weekend in September (see matthewjukes.com), so I am thrilled to introduce it to you now. With class, elegance and delicacy on the finish, this is not only keenly priced, it also boasts world-class flavour. NV Waitrose, Blanc de Blancs, Champagne, France £22.99, reduced to £17.99, until Jan 24, Waitrose MADE from 100 per cent chardonnay, this is a lean, dry, slim style of champagne which I recommend for smoked salmon, sushi, seafood canapés and starters. I say this because the rapier-sharp acidity cuts through these dishes brilliantly while other champagne styles simply don’t stand a chance.