Own-brand champagne and mince pies top blind taste test

December 2015

Own-brand champagne and mince pies top blind taste test: A recent consumer taste test by Which? has revealed that supermarket own-brand champagne and mince pies have been voted the best tasting, despite being considerably less expensive than some of the upmarket, luxury items included in the taste test.

A team of expert tasters sampled 14 traditional mince pies, along with 15 brands of champagne (all of which cost less than £35). The tasters rated each item against several categories and added their marks together to form a total percentage.

The Which? taste test, which takes part every year, revealed the “must have” champagne and mince pies for consumers.

Of the 15 brands of champagne in the taste test, the Co-operative’s Les Pionniers NV Champagne, which costs just £16.99, was rated the best tasting.

As for the mince pies in the taste test, Lidl’s £1.15 packs ranked second in the research, narrowly beaten by Harrods’ classic mince pies with brandy, at £8.95 for a pack of 6.

The team of samplers described Lidl’s mince pies as “beautifully crisp” and scored it 67 per cent over all.

In Joint second place with Lidl was Waitrose’s short crust mince pies (£1.70 for 6), which the tasters hailed for their “handmade” appearance and generous helping of mincemeat.

On the other end of the scale, luxury retailer Fortum & Mason came 11th place with 58 per cent, costing £13.95.

The taste team scored the Co-operative’s Les Pionniers NV Champagne 85 per cent, ranking in first place. The champagne was described as “rich, complex flavour”.

Moët & Chandon’s Brut Imperial Champagne came in 10th place (74 per cent), costing nearly twice as much as the Co-operative’s £16.99 bottle, at £33.

Mince pies  

1. Harrods Classic Mince Pies With Brandy – £8.95 (score 72 per cent)
2. Lidl Snowy Lodge Luxury Mince Pies – £1.15 (67 per cent)
3. Waitrose Deep Filled Shortcrust Mince Pies – £1.70 (67 per cent)
4. Asda Extra Special Luxury Mince Pies – £1.89 (66 per cent)
5. Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference All Butter Mince Pies – £2.50 (64 per cent)
6. Spar 6 Luxury Mince Pies – £2 (62 per cent)
7. Iceland Luxury 6 Mince Pies – £1.49 (61 per cent)
8. Morrisons M Signature All Butter Deep Filled Mince Pies – £1.74 (61 per cent)
9. The Co-operative Truly Irresistible Mince Pies – £2 (59 per cent)
10. 1M&S Star Mince Pies – £2.50 (59 per cent)

Champagne

1. The Co-operative Les Pionniers NV Champagne – £16.99 (score 85 per cent)
2. Waitrose Blanc de Blancs Brut NV – £24.99 (83 per cent)
3. Lanson Black Label Brut Champagne – £30 (81 per cent)
4. Laurent-Perrier Brut Champagne – £38 (79 per cent)
5. Tesco Finest Premier Cru Champagne – £18 (78 per cent)
6. Lidl Bissinger & Co Premier Cru Champagne – £15.99 (77 per cent)
7. Sainsbury’s Blanc de Noirs Brut Champagne – £20 (76 per cent)
8. Piper-Heidsieck Brut Champagne – £30 (76 per cent)
9. Asda Extra Special Louis Bernard Premier Cru Champagne NV – £19.75 (75 per cent)
10. Moët & Chandon Brut Imperial Champagne – £33 (74 per cent)