London Wine Truthful’s Battle of the Bubbles

The 2025 London Wine Truthful (LWF) opened on 19 Might with the Battle of the Bubbles, a blind tasting of 13 Champagnes pitted towards premium glowing wines from past France.

It follows final yr’s Judgement of London, a tasting of European wines towards ‘New World’ counterparts, which paid homage to Steven Spurrier’s landmark 1976 Judgement of Paris occasion.

In what’s going to now be generally known as the LWF’s Icon Tasting, with the theme altering annually, the goal is to determine whether or not there’s a stage platform internationally’s finest wine areas.

And the Battle of the Bubbles revealed some surprises when outcomes have been introduced on the honest on 21 Might.

Conceived by Hannah Tovey, head of the LWF, the wines have been chosen by Ronan Sayburn MS, Decanter World Wine Awards co-Chair and CEO of the Court docket of Grasp Sommeliers, and Sarah Abbott MW, wine advertising marketing consultant, co-founder of The Previous Vine Convention.

Forward of the tasting, in explaining their causes for selecting the Battle of the Bubbles theme, Sayburn mentioned glowing wine producers the world over had ‘raised their sport’ with their most interesting expressions. However ‘can they compete with the standard and status of Champagne?’

‘Glowing wine is a booming and dynamic class which is outperforming Champagne within the UK market,’ famous Abbott. ‘But, the hegemony of Champagne in status notion appears unassailable. I’m excited to see how these nice wines are assessed by our judges when tasted blind.’

Tasting the wines in two flights over 90 minutes, the panel of 16 judges included Decanter’s Champagne correspondent Tom Hewson, Grasp of Wine couple Peter Richards and Susie Barrie, Grasp Sommelier and Decanter World Wine Awards choose Matthieu Longuère and famend wine critic, broadcaster and author Oz Clarke.

The 26 wines have been tasted in pairs comprising one Champagne and one glowing wine from the remainder of the world, matched ‘like for like, as a lot as potential’, in line with value, model, grape varieties, terroir, age and manufacturing strategies.

Sayburn inspired the judges to not give attention to whether or not wine A was higher than wine B, to attempt to guess the id of a wine, or to be swayed by an ‘unconscious bias’ in the event that they did recognise the Champagne in a pair, however to evaluate each wine on its inherent qualities.

Blind tastings are all the time an enchanting (and sometimes humbling) train, so when the wines’ identities have been revealed after the tasting (however earlier than scores have been calculated and outcomes introduced) there was a lot pleasure.

Tina Gellie. Credit score: Anthony Upton © Copyright 2025 / Courtesy of Relish PR

Of the 13 pairs, I most well-liked the Champagne within the majority, with Bollinger’s RD 2008 and the Taittinger’s 2013 Comtes Blanc de Blancs my total prime scorers.

However there have been a few notable exceptions. I gave the nod to Cloudy Bay’s critical, savoury and growing Pelorus Rosé over the richer, fruitier saignée rosé from Laurent-Perrier. And one other New Zealand wine – the 2017 Blanc de Blancs from Quartz Reef – additionally acquired my vote, although sadly as a result of Agrapart’s Minéral Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Additional Brut 2018 was corked.

However the actual thrill was the standard of the English glowing wines. I a lot most well-liked Gusbourne’s 51° North 2016 to Pol Roger’s Sir Winston Churchill 2018, and gave an additional level to Nyetimber’s 1086 Status Cuvée 2018 over Dom Pérignon 2013. All are across the £200 mark although, so the standard shone via.

And when it comes to worth, I believed Graham Beck’s 2019 Cuvée Clive from South Africa (£45) and Roederer Property’s Quartet from California (£30-£40) actually stood out towards Dom Ruinart 2010 (£220-£280) and Krug’s Grande Cuvée (£160-£250) respectively.

Credit score: Tina Gellie

A number of pairs have been fairly difficult, and slightly unfair, particularly when the grapes, ageing and dosage of the wines have been so disparate. The Sekt and Corpinnats would possibly really feel onerous achieved by with their matches, however particularly the Prosecco: 100% Glera with 8g/L residual sugar tasted alongside a 70% Pinot Noir-dominant Grand Cru Champagne with 1g/L dosage and 7 years of ageing on lees.

However, celebrating premium bubbles, whether or not Champagne or top-quality glowing wine from throughout the globe, is one thing everybody can elevate a glass to.

Battle of the Bubbles: Pairs listed so as of tasting

Flight 1

Gramona, Enoteca Brut Nature, Corpinnat, Catalunya, Spain 2011
Eric Rodez, Cuvée de Crayères, Champagne, France NV

Bollinger, RD, Champagne, France 2008
Home of Arras, EJ Carr Late Disgorged, Tasmania, Australia 2009

Laurent-Perrier, Rosé, Champagne, France NV
Cloudy Bay, Pelorus Rosé, Marlborough, New Zealand NV

Ca’ del Bosco, Cuvée Annamaria Clementi, Franciacorta, Italy 2016
Taittinger, Comtes de Champagne, Blanc de Blancs Brut, Champagne, France 2013

Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon Rosé, Champagne, France 2012
Cruse Wine Co, LC18 Custom Rosé, Sonoma Coast, California, USA NV

Graham Beck, Cuvée Clive, Western Cape, South Africa 2019
Ruinart, Dom Ruinart, Champagne, France 2010

Flight 2

Roederer Property, Quartet, Anderson Valley, Mendocino County, California, USA NV
Krug, Grande Cuvée (172ème version), Champagne, France NV

Agrapart, Minéral Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Additional Brut, Champagne, France 2018
Quartz Reef, Blanc de Blancs, Bendigo, Central Otago, New Zealand 2017

Pol Roger, Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill, Champagne, France 2018
Gusbourne, 51° North, England 2016

Nino Franco, Rustico, Valdobbiadene, Prosecco Superiore, Veneto, Italy 2015
Egly-Ouriet, VP Vieillissement Prolongé, Grand Cru Additional Brut, Champagne, France NV

Weingut Karthäuserhof, Karthäuserhof Brut, VDP Sekt, Ruwer, Germany NV
Drappier, Quattuor, Blanc de Blancs, Champagne, France NV

Recaredo, Turó d’en Mota, Corpinnat, Penedès, Spain 2011
Roederer, Philippe Starck, Brut Nature, Champagne, France 2015

Dom Pérignon, Champagne, France 2013
Nyetimber, 1086 Status Cuvée, West Sussex, England 2010

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