Collection: Fine & Rare Champagne: Our Current Picks

Champagne has never been in finer fettle, as an ever-expanding pool of growers experiment, and the houses consolidate their market position through improved viticulture and purer wines. Among the bigger producers, Roederer is the clear leader in implementing a vision for producing terroir-expressive wines in the climate change era. The current release of Cristal, 2016, is another triumph for winemaker Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon and his team.

Over at the Moët-Hennessy, Krug's Grande Cuvée always feels, to this drinker at least, the most complete of all the estate's wines; Edition 172 is based on the lovely 2016 vintage and would make for a fascinating tasting alongside the Cristal of the same year. Dom Pérignon, meanwhile, has moved on to the fresh and chiselled 2017 vintage.

Among the smaller producers, none get much smaller and more quality-oriented than Emmanuel Brochet, whose Mont Benoit vineyard on the Montagne de Reims is the source of his eponymous and brilliant two-vintage blend. Selosse and Philipponnat are two of the most established growers, but with markedly different approaches. Selosse's oxidative, honeycomb-rich style makes a sharp contrast to Philipponnat's powerful and pure Pinot Noir from the Clos des Goisses vineyard. Champagne: something for everyone!