Great growers' champagnes

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I can’t stress enough what great value is to be found among the better growers’ champagnes – those made by the people who grow the vines, as opposed to the wines blended by the big houses from grapes they buy in (and, in some cases, grow themselves). I don’t mean that these growers' champagnes are necessarily cheap. If you want champagne under £15 a bottle then scour the big retailers’ special offers (http://www.quaffersoffers.co.uk provides a useful guide to them). But if you want wines with real personality and balance – not tart, astringent, sweetened-up fizz – then look carefully at...