At the recent London Wine Fair, a notable blind tasting event named "Battle of the Bubbles" took place, focusing on top Champagnes and other esteemed sparkling wines. The tasting was designed to allow judges to evaluate the wines without any biases regarding their origins, with a specific briefing to avoid guessing the wines’ regions. This approach aimed to create a neutral environment where pure taste drove the judgments.
Ronan Sayburn MS, from The Court of Master Sommeliers, and Sarah Abbott MW from Swirl Wine Group organized the event. They selected 26 wines to evaluate, striving for a comprehensive representation of styles from both Champagne and global sparkling wines. The tasting’s goal was not merely about declaring a winner but examining whether sparkling wines from non-Champagne regions are gaining ground.
Participants enjoyed the tasting experience, measuring each wine using a 100-point scale and adopting a scoring system that reduces bias in favor of certain wines. The tasters explored a variety of vintage and non-vintage wines over two separate flights, divided into pairs of one Champagne and one global sparkling wine.
Despite the tasting environment being categorized as a “battle,” it was clarified that there was no intention to declare one style superior to the other. Instead, the event showcased the vibrancy of the sparkling wine market, particularly in the UK.
The tasting concluded with some surprising results. English wines dominated the top two spots, with the 2010 Nyetimber 1086 and the 2016 Gusbourne Fifty-One Degrees North topping the charts, followed by the renowned 2013 Dom Pérignon. Overall, the results indicated a noteworthy performance for Champagne, which still maintained a strong presence on the leaderboard.
Results Summary
- Top-scoring Champagne: 2013 Dom Pérignon
- Top-scoring global sparkling: 2010 Nyetimber 1086, UK
- Top overall wine: 2010 Nyetimber 1086, UK
- Overall winner: Champagne
- Best value wine: Cloudy Bay Pelorus Rosé, New Zealand
Battle of the Bubbles: Top 10 Wines
- 2010 Nyetimber 1086, UK
- 2016 Gusbourne Fifty-One Degrees North, UK
- 2013 Dom Pérignon, Champagne
- 2010 Ruinart Dom Ruinart, Champagne
- 2013 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne, Champagne
- Krug Grande Cuvée 172ème Édition, Champagne
- 2008 Bollinger R.D., Champagne
- Egly-Ouriet V.P Vieillissement Prolongé, Champagne
- Roederer Estate Quartet, USA
- 2019 Graham Beck Cuvée Clive, South Africa