For many, summer rhymes with rosé. But don't forget the fine bubbles of champagne. Ideal as an aperitif when well chosen, champagne opens the senses and whets the appetite. Choose a champagne with a low sugar content, brut nature or extra-brut, and if possible young enough to retain all the freshness of the fruit and avoid honey or stewed fruit flavors. It should be served slightly cooler than usual, at around 9°C, to enjoy it to the full, as it will quickly warm up in the glass.
Grand Millésime 2015
Brut
A summery cuvée for this 2015 vintage that smells of citrus fruits on opening, before developing complex notes of rhubarb and fresh grapes. On the palate, we find the house's signature splendid fullness balanced by an insane freshness. A top cuvée to open this summer as an aperitif with a few langoustines in lime mayonnaise.
https:// boutique.champagne-gosset.com
L'Inattendue 2016
Extra-brut
Grand cru
This "L'Inattendue" cuvée was the brainchild of Henriot president Gilles de Larouzière. While tasting the vins clairs, he came up with the idea of isolating the vat that would most appeal to his tasting committee and creating a cuvée from it. Against all odds, in 2016, it was a parcel of Avize that most appealed to the house. This is a true white wine with a distinct personality. At once very rich, with a bewitching, enveloping side, the wine retains that taut, mineral frame that characterizes the village. Particularly racy, with a touch of rock water, this cuvée is a fine discovery to be opened immediately this summer on its own or with a noble fish.
https:// www.boutique.champagne-henriot.com
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Champagne Pierre Moncuit (3)
Pierre Moncuit-Delos
Extra-brut
Grand Cru
A lovely nose of clean freshness - citrus, white pepper, fine chalky notes - makes you want to drink it immediately. The palate matches it, with a fresh, delicate wine of exemplary drinkability. With very little sugar and a long finish, it's perfect for opening this summer with grilled fish.
http://w ww.pierre-moncuit.fr
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Champagne Pierre Gimonnet & Fils (4)
Cuis
Brut
Premier cru
Produced mainly from the warm 2018 vintage, this vintage is a perfect success. The nose oscillates between fresh fruit, citrus and an exotic touch. On the palate, the champagne favors freshness, but the fruit remains clean and greedy. The almond notes on the finish make it ideal as an aperitif, but it could also be opened with a crab salad.
https:// www.champagne-gimonnet.com
Reserve
Extra-brut
Grand Cru
A model of blanc de blancs, this "Réserve" offers a nose that's at once gourmand and highly distinguished, all finesse and lightness. The palate is in the same spirit, with a champagne that is chiselled, precise, but never austere. A true gourmand of flavors, not sugars. The chalky finish makes you want to open it for itself.
https:// www.champagnedesousa.com/champagne-de-precision-a-avize/
News & Events
Aube, a den of gastronomes
If you think of Champagne, do you think of the bubbles from the great houses of Reims or Épernay? And yet, further south, an intimate, winegrowing and gastronomic Champagne is available to gourmets with a fine nose.
News & Events
Follow the chenin
The king of the Loire grape varieties, also widespread in South Africa, "ch'nin", as the people of the Loire pronounce it, has the extraordinary ability to produce dry white wines as well as semi-dry, sweet, syrupy and even sparkling wines, commonly known as fines bulles. Complex and demanding, it is nonetheless endearing.
News & Events
What temperature should I serve my wine at?
If you break out the ice bucket at the slightest bottle of white and the reds never leave your kitchen, here's a simple guide to avoiding these wine temperature faux-pas.
Wines & Spirits
Top 10 wine bars in Bordeaux
To coincide with primeur week, we've put together a selection of great places to taste Bordeaux wines.
News & Events
Should we trust the medals on the bottles?
On a supermarket shelf, similar-looking bottles of wine are lined up at slightly contrasting prices. Without a salesperson, in a time-constrained food shopping area, a sticker placed like a jewel cuts through the act of purchasing. Gold, silver or bronze medals flash more brightly than a label that's not always easy to decipher.
Award-winning wine, featured wine
An award-winning wine is one that has been presented by the winery at one of the 127 competitions that award these precious badges (in 2024, according to the DGCCRF).
The famous Concours Général Agricole, founded in 1870, the world's best Chardonnay or Sauvignon competitions, the Brittany or Mâcon wine competitions, the Millésime Bio challenge... There's an embarrassment of riches to choose from, with no limit on participation, but not without a heavy hand in the wallet. For each cuvée entered, you'll need to pay between 10 and 150 euros, depending on the competition, not including postage and packaging costs and the purchase of macaroons in the event of victory.
Attractive spin-offs
A potentially interesting calculation, given the commercial visibility these awards bring. In the year following the award, sales of the vintage tend to increase by between 20% and 40%. A boon for the estate, event organizers and supermarkets alike.
All the more so as the medals are pouring in. In 2025, at the Concours Général Agricole, of the 12129 wines entered, 3361 were awarded medals, almost half of them gold. French legislation prohibits the awarding of more than a third of the samples presented. A quota with which most competitions flirt.
Amateur jury Who awards these accolades?
A volunteer jury, at their own expense. Mostly amateurs. The great need for people leaves little room for rigor or traceability. In 2025, at the Concours Général Agricole, over 7,000 people were needed to taste charcuterie, cheeses, jams and wines. At this year's Chardonnay du Monde competition, more than 300 jurors took part, with a limit of 20 samples per person.
The most famous estates, which don't need to boost their sales, tend to neglect these competitions. Artisanal wineries, on the other hand, may shy away from these competitions as a matter of distinction, since the shiny stickers are associated with supermarkets. A place where it takes the place of good professional advice. A wine merchant, for example, capable of selling the uniqueness of a cuvée he has followed over the years.
News & Events
Fabrice Pouillon: his champagne method
Fabrice Pouillon is the third generation to run the family domaine at Mareuil-sur-Aÿ in the Marne region of France, and he has an intrinsic respect for the heritage he has inherited: respect for the vines and for fine work. Constantly questioning himself, curious and eager to experiment, the Champenois celebrates his 26th harvest this September.
