Top Value CHAMPAGNE Monsigny Premier Cru back on the shelves at ALDI and still Top Value at $39.99
*Article Refreshed on 07 november 2023 with current prices
Well here we are again,..fast approaching the Festive season,..and whilst I find myself in Sydney ,..just expereinced the massive and costly OPTUS outage ,..and dreaming of my past glories in Thailand. I am still drinking too much divine Bavarian beer and about to sample/taste some excellent Dry Rieslings from the Saar valley and the Rheingau. RI recently discovered that the everpopular Monsigny champagne is no longer available at ALDI Australia ..but they have sourced another Champagne called MARIE DE MOY BRUT OR PREMIER CRUS. We have received this wine from ALDI for tasting and review,… but We are yet to publish our review.
I have just been checking our Google analytics and I see there are a lot of hits on our historic Champagne Monsigny article ,..so it’s time for a bit of an updateand refresh dear readers!.
Now as many readers will know “I have a bit of a one track mind”,.. as a former wine retailer and importer I am obsessed with finding the best Bargains for our Readers ,..especially in the current economic circumstances. Why listen to me? ,Because after 30 years in the Wine trade as Importer ,Retailer and Journalist /Publisher ,..I can cut through all the spin and BS!
Many of you may know know that I have reviewed this wine for the last 4 successive years,…the reason being that it generally comes onto the shelves in late october or even november ,..just in time for the Festive season and New Year,.. but this year however,..it seems to have arrived early,..
So after checking with ALDI’s Australia’s Wine Buyer and Manager Jason Bowyer,..He has confirmed that the same marvellous champagne has had a slight price increase to $34.99 (hardly surprising) and yes it should indeed already be available in store.
It is still half the price of the Big Brands with the Big Expensive advertising budgets!
To ensure constancy of supply is essential and one of ALDI’s strengths ,..good planning and logistics is once again in evidence.,especially with the the current difficult supply and distribution problems that seem to be causing consternation to the wine trade in the Post-Covid 19 pandemic era.
“This delightful champagne still has the toasty brioche and a lingering Pinot Noir structure on the palate,.which is energetic and focused with a tight acid line and intensity of flavour. There are hints of Citrus, honey and light toast characters fill the month,..and please the wallet. This is a fine wine of great class and style and a true bargain at a mere $39.99 which is probably equal to the 60 to 70 dollar “commercial bubbly’s” like Veuve Clicquot and Moet & Chandon,…but remember ,..you are saving $30 plus a bottle on the lavish marketing that is the major cost factor with the big Brands !
Excellent value for money if not literally the Best Value Champagne on the Sydney market,...which would make many Fine Wine Importers “creak in their boots!”
This review contains content from one of my previously published Reviews on the Sydney Times Wine Guide dating back to 2017 and 2020,..as the authors “exuberant endorsement” of this excellent Champagne,.. hasn’t changed or been withdrawn.,.”Plus ca change! “
It was a couple of years ago that I first heard about this wine from my “Insider wine connections” at the French Trade Commission),..and I was well aware of ALDI’S reputation for making a big impact on the UK market,… where they are reputed to have 10 % of the Champagne market,..simply by offering “low margin, virtually cost price champagne”.
This has caused a lot of consternation in the Wine Trade in Europe,..where the big Champagne Houses maintain high margins and practically 40 % of the price of a bottle of branded champagne goes on their spectacular, lavish and expensive marketing and brand building!
I elected to treat this champagne as wine,.. and used a RIEDEL TASTING GLASS rather than a narrow flute,…which in my opinion is not the best way to show off champagne as it restricts OR LIMITS THE EXPOSURE to the wine and reduces the olfactory experience. It also stops you swirling the wine,.. and a flute projects the wine onto the palate at a different angle,….all very limiting.
So that is my first recommendation,...throw out the champagne flutes unless you actually have a wide-rimmed Riedel Champagne flute .,..but even then I would prefer to swirl my champagne around,…even with ice cubes in it,.. to “tease and excite the bead and the yeasty and fruit aromas ” like a vinous cocktail!!
Little wonder that Moet & Chandon Ice Imperial style in the white bottle,.., created the “Intense, fruity and fresh style”,…which was “the first and only refreshing champagne especially created to be enjoyed over ice.” ,..designed to offer a champagne experience “combining free, fresh and fun sensations while remaining true to the Moët & Chandon style!”
,….Over the Festive season and on New Years Eve,..for many people,..they are not drinking serious stuff like KRUG or Bollinger Grande Annee,...and the champagne is more of a “social lubricant rather than a serious wine requiring analysis of the flavor profile!
My first impression of this wine was that it is quite a Classy champagne with the requisite style and finesse. It is a blend of 60% Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay, and 20% Pinot Meunier and definitely is replete with a certain charm and elegance.
“It has all the yeasty,..biscuity or brioche characteristics (both on the nose and the palate) that the consumer associates with quality,…together with excellent balance and intensity and I was completely satisfied in this regard.”
I am convinced that it iff you put it in a Blind Tasting amongst the big commercial brands like Veuve Cliquot, Moet&Chandon or Piper Heidsieck,..it would acquit itself very well…..especially considering it is only half the price!
So, in summary, I would say,..to use the local vernacular’,… it is a “Cracker of a French Bubbly” for this price!
Incidentally,.. the wine has won quite a few awards and recognition from other wine judges or journos,.including an award at the Sydney International Wine Challenge 2014 – and was commended at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2014
So stock up your Fridges and share this delicious stuff with friends over the Festive Season and New Year !
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