Wine of the week: Champagnes to welco me the New Year

NV Paul Goerg, Premier Cru à Vertus, Brut Blanc de Blancs, Champagne, France

£180 (inc. VAT) for six bottles (£30 each), goedhuis.com

In this MoneyWeek double issue, I have two wines for you to consider, especially with New Year celebrations around the corner. They are both exceptional Champagnes that are incredible value for money and also are entirely different in style. First, my headline wine is Paul Goerg, a 100% Chardonnay grown in the village of Vertus in the Côtes des Blancs; 60%ofthiswineis drawn from the 2013 harvest, and 40% is reserve wine, making for a lip-smacking cocktail of generosity and drama.

With perfect balance, matching crystalline fruit with an unnerving crispness, and a discreet, chalky scouring of the palate offset with faint wildflower tones, this wine possesses the magical charm of a thoroughbred Côtes de Blanc classic. Goerg is a superbly classy and ravishingly adroit sparkler, and if you are a fan of rapiersharp Chardonnay dressed in exquisite citrus and floral finery, this wine is for you. Secondly, NV Pierre Paillard, Les Parcelles, Bouzy, Grand Cru (£35.82, justerinis.com) is a 70% Pinot Noir/30% Chardonnay concoction from the Montagne de Reims and, more specifically, the Grand Cru village of Bouzy.

Not surprisingly, this is a much richer and more ostentatious style of wine with a commanding, pink-tinged hue, superb class and length. If Paul Goerg welcomes your guests performing perfect aperitif duties, then

Pierre Paillard takes over when the food hits the table and wows all-comers with its sheer class and volume of flavour.