Pop Stars: Six Champagnes For Every Festive Moment
From office parties to NYE fireworks, here are the bottles that deserve pride of place in the ice bucket this season.
3 min
If you are planning to celebrate properly this year, your Champagne list needs to work as hard as your social calendar.
So we asked Tamara Grischy, General Manager at LANGTONS, to curate a line-up of bottles tailored to every key moment of the festive season, from the end-of-year company party to that final New Year’s Eve toast.
Her selection moves from richly styled magnums and Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs to benchmark prestige cuvées, with each Champagne chosen to shine in a specific setting, whether a seafood-laden long lunch, a beach escape, or an evening with a serious wine collector.
All you need to do is pick your occasion, chill the bottle and let the celebrations take care of themselves.
To open at the end of the year work party
GOSSET Grande Reserve Brut, Champagne MV Magnum, $275
Gosset Grande Reserve Brut from magnum makes a celebratory statement at any end-of-year party thanks to its rich winemaking heritage—blending Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Meunier sourced from premier and grand cru vineyards, and aged for a minimum of four years, all from the oldest winemaking house in Champagne, established in 1584.
With top critic scores (91 Robert Parker, 92 James Suckling, 90 Wine Spectator) and a style that avoids malolactic fermentation to preserve freshness and a racy tension, the team will love the vibrant orchard fruit, subtle pastry notes, and a long, elegant finish in every glass.
To enjoy during a long weekend away at the beach
BLIARD-MORISET Brut Blanc de blancs Grand cru, Champagne NV, $85
Bliard-Moriset Brut Blanc de blancs Grand cru is made entirely from Chardonnay grown in the renowned Grand Cru village of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger—a perfect match for seafood or a fresh beach lunch, with elegant balance and lively citrus freshness shaped by over 40% reserve wine and a minimum 24 months’ ageing on lees.
Produced with careful manual harvesting and sustainable, integrated viticulture, this Champagne offers precise orchard fruit and a crisp, lingering finish, making it an uplifting companion to a relaxed coastal escape.
To pair with a fresh seafood platter during summer
VAZART-COQUART & FILS 82/15 Blanc de Blancs, Champagne, $260
Vazart-Coquart & Fils 82/15 Blanc de Blancs, crafted entirely from Grand Cru Chouilly Chardonnay and based on a perpetual reserve dating back to 1982, delivers exceptional
freshness, finesse, and complexity—making it a standout match for a summer seafood platter.
Fine notes of citrus, white flowers, and sea spray, along with an energetic and saline finish, cut perfectly through the richness of shellfish and oysters, celebrating the bounty of the season with precision and style.
To share with loved ones at the Christmas lunch table
KRUG 171st Edition, $471.99
Krug 171st Edition is the choice for Christmas lunch, blending 131 wines from 12 different years, including reserve wines as old as 2000, to deliver a deep and complex Champagne with bright freshness and layers of festive spice, citrus, brioche and toasted almond.
Awarded 99 points by leading critics, its vibrant mousse and long, elegant finish provide the perfect toast to family and togetherness, enhancing every special dish and sparkling conversation at the festive table.
To open with the fellow wine fanatic in your life
JACQUES SELOSSE Champagne Selosse Brut Rosé, $1,600
Jacques Selosse Brut Rosé is the perfect bottle to open with a fellow wine fanatic, offering rare complexity from an artisanal blending of two vintages of Avize Chardonnay with Pinot Noir from Ambonnay, aged in Burgundian barrels and matured for six years on lees before release.
This Champagne, often described as one of the world’s most thrilling rosés, serves up layers of wild strawberry, pomegranate, honey and spice, with electric acidity and a notably long finish—a benchmark grower Champagne that invites discussion and admiration from even the most seasoned enthusiasts.
To pop when the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve
TAITTINGER Comtes de Champagne Rosé, Champagne 2011, $579
Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Rosé from 2011 is a prestige vintage, made only in exceptional years and comprising Grand Cru Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, including a generous proportion of still red wine from Bouzy to achieve a beautiful depth of colour and aromatic intensity.
With layers of wild strawberry, cherry, orange zest, pastry and a fine mineral finish—plus a 96-point rating from James Suckling—its energy, elegance, and celebratory flair make it the ultimate bottle for that first toast of the new year.
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From floating saunas and glow worm caves to snow kayaking beneath Cradle Mountain, Tasmania’s Off Season is turning winter into the ultimate outdoor escape.
3 min
Tasmania is encouraging Australians to stop hibernating this winter and embrace the cold, unveiling 20 of the island’s wildest Off Season adventures across the state.
The experiences range from kayaking across Dove Lake beneath the snow-covered peaks of Cradle Mountain and cruising through ancient rainforest waterways on the Gordon River to glow-worm cave encounters, alpine scenic flights, and floating sauna cruises.
Here are some of the standout experiences luring travellers south this winter:
• Cradle Mountain Canyons is offering adventurous travellers the rare opportunity to kayak across Dove Lake beneath the snow-covered peaks of Cradle Mountain.
The three-hour guided experience, limited to just eight people at a time, uses handcrafted King Billy pine kayaks and includes hot drinks and snacks on a secluded shoreline surrounded by misty alpine wilderness.
Tours only operate when winter weather conditions allow, adding to the unpredictability and atmosphere of the experience.
• Kuuma Nature Sauna, Australia’s first floating sauna boat, has launched a series of winter sauna cruises on the icy waters south of Hobart.
Guests alternate between the crackling warmth of a wood-fired sauna and freezing ocean plunges while drifting through the still waters of North West Bay. One experience runs entirely after dark beneath the stars, while another combines sunrise cruises with cold-water dips in secluded coastal bays.
• Mole Creek Caves is inviting travellers underground for an immersive glow worm encounter deep beneath Tasmania’s limestone landscapes.
Limited to just eight guests per tour, the after-dark experience allows visitors to help scientists count glow worms as part of a citizen science initiative before lying beneath thousands of shimmering blue bioluminescent lights inside the cave system.
• World Heritage Cruises has unveiled a range of dramatic winter Gordon River experiences designed to embrace Tasmania’s famously moody weather.
One cruise offers a “Rain Guarantee”, allowing guests to return for free if rain falls continuously throughout the journey, while another includes upgraded upper-deck seating overlooking mist-covered waterways and rainforest-lined riverbanks. Families can also take part in a themed “Tiger Hunt” cruise inspired by the Tasmanian tiger.
• King Island Walks is leaning into the island’s rugged winter conditions with multi-day expeditions tracing the coastline walked by survivors of the Netherby shipwreck in 1866.
Guests trek through remote beaches, dunes and weather-battered headlands before retreating to warm accommodation each evening. Another winter experience sees visitors wrapped in puffer jackets, sipping Tasmanian pinot noir as they watch little penguins emerge from the surf at dusk.
• Par Avion is offering travellers access to some of Tasmania’s most isolated wilderness through two-day journeys into Bathurst Harbour and Port Davey.
Reached only by light aircraft, the experience combines scenic flights, guided boat tours and remote eco-cabin accommodation in the heart of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, far removed from roads, mobile reception and modern distractions.
• Ben Lomond Alpine Resort is embracing the alpine atmosphere with fireside mulled wine, skiing and snowboarding experiences, plus a Christmas in July celebration held high above Tasmania’s north-east plateau.
Following recent snowmaking upgrades, the resort says it now offers Tasmania’s most reliable snow season, with visitors able to drive directly into the ski village throughout winter.
Tourism Tasmania said the Off Season campaign was designed to encourage travellers to embrace the colder months rather than avoid them.
More than 500 bookable winter offers and events are running across the state as part of the initiative, spanning wilderness adventures, whisky tastings, dark-sky cruises, wellness escapes, long-table feasts and snow holidays.
The Off Season runs across Tasmania until August 31.
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