De Castellane

Champagne De Castellane is an old family-run Epernay Champagne House that produces exceptionally well-balanced, delicious Champagnes. The house, located at the top of the Avenue de Champagne, is noted for its famous tower with spectacular views across the region. Almost as famous is the red cross of St Andrew on the labels - one of the iconic Champagne logos.

Owned by the Merand and de Nonancourt families, de Castellane has very close ties to Laurent Perrier and the wines are made by the same team, headed by LP's talented chef de cave Michel Fauconnet.

The style of the wines is fresh, forward and very drinkable. The Brut NV is a crowd pleaser in the best possible sense with lovely balance and citrus fruit and, unlike many other NV wines, is not packed with sugar. In fact, the dosage is quite low (around 8g/l) making the wine dry and elegant as well as immensely enjoyable.

The other star is the Brut Rose NV, which given Laurent Perrier's influence should not be surprising. We were delighted when it swept the board at the Decanter World Wine Awards in 2009 picking up not only a gold medal but also the Trophy for best Rose Champagne leaving a trail of bigger names in its wake. If you are looking for a fantastic pink fizz then this is the place to look.