The general opinion is not the best counselor. Here are 3 signs to check if a sparkling wine is really premium and deserves a bunch of cash:
1 – check the level of residual sugar. The real premium has a low level of sugar.
If it’s “Brut”, take it! If it’s Dry, Extra-Dry, or Sweet, forget about it. In Wine industry they use high levels of sugar to replace missing things, or to cover bad ones.
2 – check signs of a attested quality level. The standard words are: “Reserve”, “Grand/Große Reserve”, “Premier Cru” and “Grand Cru”.
“Champagne” is just a geographical indication. In the region called Champagne, they use “Grand Cru” or “Premier Cru” to indicate the premium products. In most countries of Europe they use “Reserve” and “Grand Reserve” to indicate their premium products. A sparkling wine without a quality class classification is not real-premium, regardless if it comes from France, Spain or wherever.
3 – check if there is a harvest year on the label. If not, it is a non-vintage product.
The sparkling wines with a vintage year are best of the best.
Products used for this video:
– Austrian Reserve with 1995 Vintage from Spar Retailer On-Line Shop
– French sparkling wine from Champagne, no class, no vintage from Spar On-Line Shop:
The links are placed here only for conformity, perhaps you may want to check if I am right ;)))
I have no financial gain from your eventual purchase.
A link to the dedicate video about sugar levels in champagne and sparkling wines:
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