Which Magazine loves own label fizz but not Moet and Chandon

The best supermarket own-label champagnes have beaten many well-known and more expensive brands in a blind tasting test. Experts voted Sainbury’s £17.99 Taste the Difference Premier Cru Vintage 2000 top, praising its ‘elegance and class’. It just pipped Somerfield’s Prince William Premier Cru, which at £14.99 won the award for Exceptional Value. This bubbly was also noted for its ‘maturity’ and ‘elegance’. Big-name brands Lanson Black Label and Veuve Cliquot managed respectable fourth and fifth positions. However, Moet and Chandon’s Brut Imperial, which costs £23.94 at Tesco, was beaten by all but two of the 16 champagnes as well as by some, much cheaper, sparkling wines. The taste test of 32 bottles was carried out by consumer magazine Which? using six wine experts. Editor Nick Fowler said, ‘It does reinforce the message that, where champagne is concerned, own labels are no Charlies.’