Champagne Trends: Big News from Big Producers

Here, F&W's Megan Krigbaum offers a visual guide to buying Champagne for New Year's Eve, and the latest news from the region's top producers.

Photos, clockwise from top left: Courtesy of Chartoque-Taillet, Gimonnet & Fils, The Rare Wine Co., Krug, Maisons Marques & Domaines, Perrier-Jouët, Bollinger, Moët, Nicholas Feuillatte.

This house’sBrut Réserve ($65)has long been a favorite among Champagne insiders. Now it’s even better. By raising the amount of reserve wines in the blend (which have an average age of 10 years) to 40 percent, newchef de caveThierry Roset has given it remarkable depth and complexity for a basic brut.

Lanson recently released a terrifically complexExtra Age Brut ($100), a blend of wines from three great vintages. Even more enticing: The house has also started selling library vintages from its cellars in Reims, some dating back to the 1970s.

With new Interprétation kits, Ruinart helps neophytes judge scents like sommeliers. TheNV Brut Rosé kit ($99)has eight vials of scents, from pomegranate to rose, for you to sniff; then you can look for the same aromas in the wine.sherry-lehmann.com.