When Carr left Southcorp for Hardy's several years ago it signalled Hardy's emergence as a major force in bubbly at all price levels of the market. Its Seaview premium brands, not long ago scooping up armfuls of awards, aren't any more and the cheapie Seaviews, Seppelts and Minchinburys are looking very ordinary indeed. It is still very good indeed. When Domaine Chandon came on the scene in the late 1980s it stymied the big companies' plans to expand their premium bubbly sales, and now sells a whopping 80,000 dozen bottles of premium-priced bubbly a year. Hardy's premium bubbly sales are still small compared with Chandon's, but it has emerged as Chandon's future competitor in quality.
Freshness is paramount.
With champagne, which endures a long sea voyage to get here then may sit around in a warehouse for a long time, it's critical to avoid badly stored bottles. If you're buying an expensive champagne, such as a fine vintage or deluxe cuvee, insist that it comes out of its original case. Don't even think about buying a bottle that's been on display in sunlight or standing up in a lit refrigerator. Light damages wine, especially fragile wine like champagne. And the dearer the bottle, the longer it's likely to have been waiting for a buyer.