Welcome to Champagne Tips - a blog all about champagne, but not what you’re expecting…

Review: Canard Duchene P181 Organic Extra Brut NV
Canard-Duchéne is a champagne house from Ludes, Champagne. Founded in 1868 by Victor Canard and Leonie Duchéne, the house and vineyard sits within the Montagne du Reims National Park. The founders originally ran the house as a family oriented business with limited official supply engagements and modest profits. This worked very well for the house just …
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Review: Canard Duchene Rosé NV
Canard-Duchéne is a champagne house from Ludes, Champagne. Founded in 1868 by Victor Canard and Leonie Duchéne, the house and vineyard sits within the Montagne du Reims National Park. The founders originally ran the house as a family oriented business with limited official supply engagements and modest profits. This worked very well for the house just …

Review: Lanson Extra Age Brut Rosé
Champagne Lanson is the ninth largest house in Champagne, and certainly one of the richest in terms of history. Founded in 1760 by Francois Delamotte, the house became “Lanson” after the appointment of close family friend Jean-Baptiste Lanson to the helm of the company in the early 1800’s. Second-generation owner Nicolas-Louis Delamotte, who was a …

Review: Castelnau Reserve Brut NV
Champagne Castelnau Brut Reserve is a cooperative made champagne whose "house" is based in Reims, Champagne. It is a brand under Castelnau Wine Agencies umbrella, a London, UK based worldwide wine distribution group. Despite being part of a large international entity, the wine in question is produced in Champagne within the rules of the appellation …

Best Christmas and New Years Champagnes 2020
We are in the last throes of 2020 - what a year it's been. In Australia, we are very fortunate to have ridden out the wave of COVID-19 to a place where (for now) we can spend time with family. And this is worth celebrating. Mindful of the fact that this year has been tough …
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Champagne Cheat Sheet – Christmas 2019
"What is the best champagne for a Christmas gift?" It's that time of the year again, the run into Christmas and New Years. Life is busy and you're pretty much in need of a few drinks come December 25th for either the lunch table or to wrap up as a gift. Let me save you …

Champagne Tours: Taittinger
The fourth tasting tour that I did on my recent trip to Champagne was with the family owned Taittinger; another famous house based in Reims. The house has several properties; the Saint-Nicaise house in downtown Reims, as well as the Château de Lamarquetterie - the anchor estate located in Pierry. I visited Saint-Nicaise; Taittinger HQ. …

Champagne Tours: Ruinart
The third tour on my recent trip to Champagne was with LVMH's Ruinart; another esteemed house based in Reims. The oldest champagne house (others produced still wines first) was founded in 1729 by Nicolas Ruinart, after his uncle Dom Thierry Ruinart convinced the family that the bubbly wine was the future. Ruinart was also a pioneer …

Champagne Tours: Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin
My second tour on my recent trip to Champagne was with LVMH's Veuve Clicquot; a world famous house in Reims. Founded in 1772 by Philippe Clicquot, the house's proud widow ("Veuve" in french) that it is synonymous for is actually his daughter in law; Barbe-Nicole. She inherited the business on the untimely death of her …

Champagne Tours: Lanson
Recently I had my first trip to Reims, Champagne and it certainly won't be my last! While there I made the most of my two and a half days and visited as many house tours as I could fit in. My first stop was Lanson. Founded in 1760, the house is situated across the canal …