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, $471.99Â
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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A new study models a potential $80.6 billion lift in Australian GDP after a decade, as national testing shows a decline in Year 10 digital literacy.
2 min
Australia trails Singapore and Malta in a new Commonwealth index, while national testing shows fewer than four in 10 Year 10 students meet the standard for digital literacy.
Australia has ranked third among 56 Commonwealth countries for youth AI readiness, with researchers estimating that artificial intelligence could lift the level of Australian GDP by $80.6 billion after a decade under their middle scenario.
The Ayre Think Tank released the index at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua and Barbuda. Australia scored 71 out of 100, behind Singapore on 77.6 and Malta on 75. The United Kingdom followed closely on 70.8, with Canada fifth on 70.2. Only 15 countries reached the study’s benchmark of 53.
What the $80.6 billion figure measures
The researchers applied International Monetary Fund estimates for broad groups of economies to Australia’s 2025 GDP. The resulting scenarios put the potential lift in Australian GDP after 10 years at between $40.9 billion and $120.3 billion, with $80.6 billion representing the midpoint.
The figures describe how much larger the economy could be at the end of the period under each scenario. They represent a change in the level of GDP in year 10.
Digital literacy falls as schools roll out AI tools
Australia scored 8.7 out of 10 for access to technology and 7.5 for digital, data, media and AI capability. Separate national testing found that 37 per cent of Year 10 students met the proficient standard for information and communications technology literacy in 2025, down from 46 per cent in 2022. About one in 10 students reported receiving substantial teaching on AI-related tasks. National assessment results
The report points to two state initiatives aimed at building those skills. Queensland began rolling out an AI education platform in state schools in 2026, while Victoria introduced free specialist training for workers looking to develop AI skills or move into related roles.
The index draws on 1,128 sources and examines the conditions facing people aged 15 to 29, including access to technology, education and pathways into work. Australia had usable data for 76 of the 102 indicators used in the rankings. The researchers found too little comparable evidence to score an eighth area covering critical judgement and people’s ability to exercise control over AI systems.
Professor C. Justin Robinson, campus principal of the University of the West Indies’ Five Islands Campus, said young people should be equipped to question and improve AI tools and supported in building alternatives suited to their needs.
The report calls for affordable access to technology, more practical education and stronger links between training, employment and entrepreneurship. It also urges governments and educators to support AI tools suited to local languages and give young people ways to challenge automated decisions.
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