Champagne Péhu Simonet

A ‘vintner’s champagne’ is a champagne where the person who pruned the vines has also signed the bottle. There are several thousand of these in Champagne; around thirty have found their way into our cellar, and not by chance. Here is our 2026 selection, region by region, with the cuvée to start with and its price for each one.

A white champagne made exclusively from black grapes: this is the ‘blanc de noirs’, the opposite of the ‘blanc de blancs’ and, for a long time, the poor relation of Champagne. It has become the favourite cuvée amongst lovers of everyday champagnes. What it is, what it tastes like, what to pair it with, and sixteen cuvées from our cellar, ranging from a winemaker’s Meunier at €32 to a Pinot Noir from a single vineyard produced by the great houses.

‘Cheap’ and ‘good’ aren’t mutually exclusive — provided you don’t look in the same places as everyone else. Whilst the shelves are lined with supermarket own-brand wines, Champagne producers are selling grand crus from Bouzy, Cramant and Verzenay for between €22 and €40. Here is our selection of twenty cuvées, with prices.