Grande Cuvee 1531 de Aimery Brut Rose

Champagne might be France’s most famous sparkling wine but it ain’t the oldest – or the most affordable!

They reckon that title goes to the monks of the Saint Hilaire monastery in Limoux in the Languedoc region of southern France, who discovered the secret of creating fizz long before Dom Perignon (another monk, now quite famous, you might’ve heard of him?).

Limoux is where this little beauty comes from. Grand Cuvee 1531 de Aimery is an absolute lesson in looking for bang for your buck outside of Champagne. A fresh, vibrant style bubbly with what snobby types would tell you has “yeasty complexity” (that’s because of 18 months on lees, a winemaking technique used to add texture and flavour).

Thrown in some stylish packaging and hey presto – it’s a Champagne look-a-like at a third of the cost! We started to tally up the number of Gold medals this one’s won at major wine shows and lost track after ten. Needless to say, this is an utter bargain.