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​François Secondé, Brut Grand Cru NV Champagne

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From 24 Swiss francs in bond, £26.60, €31.90, $39.99, HK$320, 4,830 Japanese yen 

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It’s rather fashionable to knock champagne at the moment, what with all the praise being heaped on English sparkling wine and massive demand for Prosecco, both of which seem perfectly socially acceptable today in a way that only champagne was once. And particular popular scorn seems to be being widely heaped on standard brands of champagne whose producers show no signs of striving for quality but instead seem to be hoping that the C-word will do all the work for them.

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