This weekend, I was lucky enough to try three new chamapgnes which I never had before. Once you get above a certain level of quality, I’ve found it’s very difficult to tell apart different champagnes. They’re all very smooth, with very fine bubbles and always magnificently balanced, so that it’s rare to find any with a sharp edge or a bitter aftertaste. I’ve previously tried and enjoyed Veuve Clicquot, non-vintage and twice very nice vintages. The difference between the standard version and the vintage version is pronounced. It has more depth and many more flavours, carefully designed to be revealed one after the next. This weekend, however, I drank non-vintage stuff and for the first time tried Bollinger, Taittinger and once, very specially, a small glass of Dom Perignon, which was magnificent (and only comes in vintage versions, meaning all the grapes used to make it were harvested in the same year). Many thanks to a generous friend who funded all this consumptive iniquity.