Prince Laurent Champagne Sparkling Brut

Prince Laurent Champagne is light yellow with green reflections and a generous, fine-beaded mousse; a fruity nose of ripe orchard fruit and a fresh palate of white-fleshed fruit finishing on spice. Chalky, marl-inflected soils give it a mineral tension — and the point of this bottle is that it delivers real Champagne character at a price that lets you open it on a Tuesday.

A traditional-method Champagne from vineyards largely in the Marne, hand-harvested, fermented under temperature control and then aged nine months on the lath after the second fermentation in bottle

Food pairing: Aperitifs and canapés — plus fried food of every description, sushi, and salty snacks