The last Friday before Christmas is for celebrating, so that's what we'll do: one final evening at the table to close the year, with the wines made for exactly this.
Six sparkling wines, lined up by price — from the most affordable bottle on my shelf to one three times its price — so you can decide for yourself what the extra francs buy. We open in Burgundy with Verpaille's Blanc de Blancs: made exactly like Champagne, twelve months on its lees, and still not allowed to call itself Crémant, because the grapes are machine-picked. Then a sparkling Gamay from Château de Lavernette, for anyone who thinks bubbles must be white.
Then Champagne, from three growers. Yves Ruffin's L'Aspirant, the first cuvée made by Antonin, the son. Waris-Larmandier's rosé, mostly Chardonnay, with its colour from a splash of still Pinot Noir. And Ullens' L.P.M., all Meunier, aged in the estate's own oak by a Belgian architect who fell for Champagne and stayed.
We finish with something sweet: a Monbazillac, the bottle you'll want next to the Christmas dessert.
Gougères, blinis and good cheese, a toast to the year at nine, and your holiday bottles ready to take home. Dress up if you feel like it — this one's a party. Last pour of the year. Make it sparkle.