Our self-confessed Champagne snob puts Aldi’s restocked Veuve Brut Champagne Premier Cru as it hits shelves for party season
I’ll happily curl up with a crisp Sauvignon Blanc or pour a generous glass of Montepulciano on a Friday night, but when it comes to Champagne, I’m fussy to the point of stubborn. I like the good stuff– the Bollinger, the Veuve, the bottles that feel like a special occasion the moment you ease out the cork. So when Aldi announced it was restocking its Veuve Monsigny Premier Cru Champagne for £22.99, complete with a trophy cabinet of awards and a reputation for out-tasting the likes of Moët, I was sceptical in the way only a self-confessed wine (well, fizz) snob can be.
Still, timing is everything. With my parents tasking me with the job of bringing the Champagne this Christmas (cheers, Mum), I picked up a bottle partly for research but also because I certainly don’t have the budget to be supplying ten people with Veuve. Especially considering my sister will, by her own admission, “drink anything” passed to her in a glass.
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It’s interesting that while sales of big-name bottles fall across the board in 2025, Aldi’s Champagne sales are climbing– and its Premier Cru regularly cleans up in blind tests. So I poured myself a glass, ready to judge.
The first surprise came before I even tasted it: elegant bubbles, steady and fine, not the aggressive froth you sometimes get from cheaper bottles. The nose (a word I learned from my dad, and one I’ve been waiting to use!) was unexpectedly pretty, with a mix of red apple, minerality and a whisper of something floral.
One Vivino reviewer described it perfectly as “soft golden liquid with fine bubble streams… a clean mineral bite with apple & lemon rind flavours,” and I found myself nodding along. Toasted nuts, citrus, a touch of brioche — all the things you expect from a good Premier Cru, even if some reviewers question the legitimacy of the label. One summed it up neatly: “Well-balanced… good mouthfeel and a refreshing finish. Not sure about the Premier Cru status, but a great value champagne.” Another praised its “peach, old apple, fine bubbles that peep up the brioche and white bread notes.” The brioche I can definitely taste.
Where I usually wince at cheaper Champagne is the finish, when the liquid fades into an unpleasantly acidic tang. But the finish on Aldi’s offering is clean, slightly honeyed– “a nice Chardonnay honey flavour,” as another buyer put it– and doesn’t drift into a cloying sweetness.
By the time I finished the glass, I understood why Aldi shoppers clear shelves of this stuff every year. It doesn’t taste like a £23 Champagne at all. I’m not abandoning my beloved Bollinger, let’s not get carried away, but I will be going back for a few bottles for Christmas. And if you’re planning to stock up, don’t leave it too long. The wine snobs are already whispering.
