£19 Co-Op fizz better than £34 Moet & Chandon, experts find

A SUPERMARKET’S bargain bubbly is the toast of the town after beating a posh brand costing £15 more.

The Co-op’s £19 Les Pionniers champagne was rated better than £34-a-bottle best seller Moet & Chandon in a blind taste test.

A panel of five judges including three masters of wine from consumer watchdog Which? awarded it 78/100 and Best Buy status – the same as Mumm’s £35-a-bottle Cordon Rouge.

They said it was “elegant and well balanced” as well as “intense and reminiscent of honeycomb and nectarines” while the Mumm was “fine” with “soft bubbles” and tasted of apples and pears.

Market-leading champers Moet & Chandon was awarded 77/100, with the panel judging it to be “less sophisticated” than Les Pionniers or rival Mumm.

Spar’s “bland and characterless” £17.50 Marquis Belrive got the lowest score of 66/100.

Which? magazine editor Harry Rose said: “We’re delighted to be raising a glass to a Best Buy champagne for less than £20. You don’t have to pay through the nose for delicious fizz.”