Why is champagne considered a “luxury” product?

Champagne is a wine, whose grapes are obtained in an artisanal way, which basically means they must be harvested manually.

The quantity of champagne produced every year is limited. Reasons for these limitations are due to the Comité Champagne (regulator of the Champagne appellation) that sets the maximum level of harvest allowed, and also due to the limited geographical area. Producers cannot make more bottles than the vines planted in the Champagne appellation area will allow. The supply of Champagne is therefore necessarily limited and this explains its exclusive and “luxury” side.

Are the best champagnes the most expensive?

No and fortunately! I think we can put them into four categories:

Less than 30 euros: Bottom end of the range (I will say no more – I’m not interested)

30 to 100 euros: good champagnes, sometimes surprisingly so

100 to 300 euros: great Champagne wines, with some examples below

More than 300 euros : great Champagne wines with rare, very exceptional vintages, which include original features (diamond in the bottle, gold flakes in the bottle or on the bottle, …)

Which are the most expensive champagnes ?

Bollinger – Spécial Cuvée – Methuselah 600ml – 898€ (French)

Ruinart – R de Ruinart – Jéroboam 300cl – 495€ – Ruinart’s signature cuvee

Pol Roger – Sir Winston Churchill 2012 – Jeroboam 300cl – 2000€ – very rare – collector’s item

Charles Heidsieck – Collection Crayères – Brut 1981 – Magnum 150cl – €1425

Krug – Vintage 2002 -Magnum 150cl – €1200

Veuve Clicquot – Carte Jaune Nabuchodonosor – 1500cl – €2176

Louis Roederer – Cristal 2006 – Jeroboam 300cl – €3,150

Dom Pérignon – Vintage 2008 – Magnum 150cl – €698

Jacques Selosse – Vintage 2008 – Bottle 75cl – 658

Deutz – Amour de Deutz 2000 – Methuselah 600cl – €4010

Nicolas Feuillatte – Brut réserve Nabuchodonosor – 1500cl – 1349€ (French)

Which are the best champagnes?

A good way to answer this question is to look at the scores that the champagnes reach, once they are tasted by the reference oenologists. I’m going to compile a short list according to the notes I could find. It aims at the census of the wines whose note is superior to 95 points out of 100, that is to say what we consider to be the exceptional champagnes. Compared to still wines, few champagnes have scores above 95. This makes them all the more interesting!

Grande Charte – GC-5 Collection 2007 : 97 out of 100 (K Ohashi MW, Japan, A Pritzker, MW)

Grande Charte – GC-5 Collection 2004 : 96 out of 100 (K Ohashi MW, Japan, A Pritzker, MW)

Krug – La Grande Cuvée : 95 out of 100 (Parker)

Agrapart – Mineral 2007: 95 out of 100 (Parker)

Ulysse Collin – Les Maillons 95 out of 100 (Parker)

Champagne Lanson -Green Label bio : 95 out of 100 (J. Suckling)

Champagne Dom Perignon Vintage 2012: 97 out of 100 (Parker)

Champagne Laurent Perrier – Cuvée Rose: 95 out of 100 (Decanter)

Champagne Taittinger – Prelude Grands Crus: 97 out of 100 (Decanter)

Champagne Gosset -Grand rose: 95 out of 100 (Wine Spectator)

Champagne Krug – Jeroboam Edition 161 : 95 out of 100 (Parker)

Champagne Lanson – Le Clos Lanson 2007: 95 out of 100 (Parker)

What is the price of the most expensive bottle of champagne in the world?

Goût de Diamants sells the most expensive bottle of champagne in the world, worth a staggering 1.838 million euros. 

 

Now you know why champagne is considered a luxury product and how it has conquered the world. To learn more, I invite you to consult the articles: the history of champagne and where champagne is made.