Champagne sparkling wine has long been synonym of luxury, opulence, and festivity, celebrated by kings, world leaders, and celebrities all over the globe for the past few centuries.
It is also a mark of extreme refinement when it comes to bubblies, with many prestige cuvees from all houses commanding high market prices.
Let’s remind everyone here that Champagne can only be made in France, in a relatively small and cold wine region South-East of Paris the wine was named after.
Some Champagnes, rare single vineyards or very special limited editions, top the ranking of the most expensive bubbles in the world by quite a margin.
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Prices listed below are for a 750-ml bottle equivalent, even when the cuvee is only available in a large format.
1 – Louis Roederer Cristal ‘Gold Medalion’ Orfevres Limited Edition Brut Millésimé
Average Price: $4,283 – £3,245 – €3,634
Grape Variety/Blend: Chardonnay and Pinot Noir
What is it about? Limited Edition (25 bottles only ever produced) of 2002 Roederer Cristal Champagne in special gold-plated brass packaging. Each medallion bottle is 100% hand-crafted, Four days of work, Two master goldsmiths, Twelve different trades, Seven meters of brass tape dipped in 24 carat gold, Five hundred and eight silver-weld points. Four hundred Jeroboam 2002s in the World – two hundred released in 2013. Highly technical prowess based on advanced knowhow inspired by the greatest traditions of jewelry, Roederer’s emblematic medallion is composed of a light, protective\ 24-carat latticework. The 2002 cuvée is a jewel, revealing its many facets in the shimmering reflections from this sensual, timeless, powdered gold armor. The creator Philippe Di Méo said: “When it came to designing this Cristal Jeroboam, all I could think of was the light of the wine protected in a clear bottle that was imposing due to its size. No shadows on the bottle, only reflections from a “sun”. From this idea emerged that of a delicate lattice like a jewel against the skin. Medallion links encasing the surface of the glass to create a precious, unique setting for each movement.” THE 2002 HARVEST: 2002 was an extraordinary vintage, in which all the criteria for a great vintage in Champagne were met: temperatures were uniformly warm, without excess sun or heat, with a markedly mild winter and a slight shortfall of rain during the growing cycle.
Winery Website: louis-roederer.com
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2 – Boërl & Kroff Brut
Average Price: $2,676 – £2,027 – € 2,270
Grape Variety/Blend: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier
What is it about? Arguably THE most expensive Champagne that is not a special or limited edition, although the range of the Champagne Boërl & Kroff only exists in magnum format.
The story of Boërl & Kroff is now twenty years old. It began in the mid-1990s when two childhood friends, Stéphane Sésé and Patrick Sabaté, fascinated by great French wines, had the crazy idea to create a Champagne for their very own pleasure that would give them the same incredible sensory thrill as the one they experienced when they first discovered the greatest red wines of Bordeaux and Burgundy. Michel Drappier, the magician of Urville, then accepted the challenge. The first magnum saw the light of day in 1995. That’s all we can tell you, because Boërl & Kroff are keeping the secrets of their savoir-faire. The 1996 Champagne Boërl & Kroff is composed of 90% Pinot Noir, 7% Chardonnay, and 3% Pinot Meunier.
Winery Website: boerl-and-kroff.com
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The Story of Boërl & Kroff Champagne from ed celis on Vimeo.
3 – Krug Clos d’Ambonnay
Average Price: $2,401 – £1,819 – €2,037
Grape Variety/Blend: Pinot Noir
What is it about? Krug Clos d’Ambonnay is a single vineyard 100% Pinot Noir Champagne, hence a Blanc de Noirs, made from a tiny walled 0.68-hectare plot in the heart of the Ambonnay village, one of the most praised for Pinot Noir in the region, and one that has been very important to the History of the Krug house.
Winery Website: krug.com
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4 – Dom Pérignon White Gold
Average Price: $2,206 – £1,671 – €1,872
Grape Variety/Blend: Champagne Blend
What is it about? White Gold is a special limited edition of the ultra-famous prestige cuvée Dom Perignon by Moet & Chandon. White Gold is a Jeroboam large-format numbered bottle sheathed in white gold (3 liters, or double-magnum), filled with vintage 1995 Champagne wine. A rosé gold version was also made.
Winery Website: domperignon.com
5 – Boërl & Kroff Brut Rosé
Average Price: $2,037 – £1,543 – €1,728
Grape Variety/Blend: Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir
What is it about? See description of the Boërl & Kroff production above (wine #2).
Winery Website: boerl-and-kroff.com
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6 – Dom Pérignon P3 Plénitude Brut
Average Price: $1,691 – £1,281 – €1,435
Grape Variety/Blend: Champagne Blend
What is it about? Each vintage of Dom Pérignon is disgorged and (re)released only when I consider it has reached a new Plénitude, a privileged period of time when Dom Pérignon attains its radiance. Its development comes in successive plateaux which define as many windows of expression I decided to call Plénitudes: the wine then tells us a story that is new and exciting enough to be worth sharing. After around nine years, Dom Pérignon reaches its first Plénitude and is called Dom Pérignon Vintage. The first Plénitude shows promise, completeness and harmony. Everything is in place. Our new release is Dom Pérignon Vintage 2006. Some years later, the wine reaches its second Plénitude: this is Dom Pérignon P2. Stored deep into our cellar, the slow yeast maturation taking place in the bottle is inimitable and irreproducible. Dom Pérignon in its second Plénitude is more intense, precise and vibrant, energized by the transformation. A true metamorphosis: its universe has expanded. Dom Pérignon P2 1998 is being currently released. Finally, the third Plénitude, Dom Pérignon P3, is reached after a longer period of over twenty five years. At this venerable age, all the components are completely integrated and the wine has become more streamlined and complex than ever. The third Plénitude reveals the heritage of Dom Pérignon, a living memory passed down through the generations of Chefs de Cave.Many Dom Pérignon lovers like to compare the trajectories of a bottle of Dom Pérignon Vintage, stored at their place, side by side with a bottle of Dom Pérignon P2 or P3 longer stored on its lees in our cellars in Epernay. The three Plénitudes side by side is the ultimate horizontal tasting of one and only vintage. Each wine—each Plénitude—will reveal a different facet of Dom Pérignon: P2 and P3, thanks to the extra time spent maturating on their lees under our careful attention, will grant you an experience ever closer to the Spirit of Dom Pérignon. Text source: https://www.creatingdomperignon.com/a-sense-of-plenitude
Winery Website: domperignon.com
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7 – Dom Pérignon P3 Plénitude Brut Rosé
Average Price: $1,580 – £1,197 – €1,341
Grape Variety/Blend: Champagne Blend
What is it about? See description of the Plenitude concept above at wine #6 Dom Pérignon P3 Plénitude.
Winery Website: domperignon.com
8 – Dom Pérignon Œnothèque Rosé
Average Price: $1,135 – £860 – €963
Grape Variety/Blend: Champagne Blend
What is it about? Dom Pérignon Œnothèque has now been rebranded as Plénitude.
Winery Website: domperignon.com
9 – Krug Clos du Mesnil Blanc de Blancs
Average Price: $1,117 – £846 €948
Grape Variety/Blend: Chardonnay
What is it about? Krug Clos du Mesnil is a single vineyard (walled since 1968) 100% Chardonnay Champagne wine from a 1.84-hactare plot located in the heart of Mesnil-sur-Oger village in the Cotes des Blancs area.
Winery Website: krug.com
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10 – Dom Pérignon Réserve de L’Abbaye
Average Price: $1,081 – £819 – €917
Grape Variety/Blend: Champagne Blend
What is it about? Dom Pérignon Réserve de L’Abbaye (also known as Dom Pérignon Gold, or Gold Reserve) is a stand-alone series of vintage releases for the Japanese market only (also available in Hong Kong). The vintages are released at circa 20 years of age which puts them on a vague par with the P3 releases (Plenitude, formerly Oenothéque). Reference: vinesight.me
Winery Website: domperignon.com
Related Article: The Best Prestige Cuvée Champagne Wines : AWARDS
11 – Dom Perignon Œnothèque Brut Millésimé
Average Price: $814 – £617 – €691
Grape Variety/Blend: Champagne Blend
What is it about? Dom Pérignon Œnothèque has now been rebranded as Plénitude.
Winery Website: domperignon.com
12 – Dom Pérignon P2 Plénitude Brut Rosé
Average Price: $810 – £614 – €688
Grape Variety/Blend: Champagne Blend
What is it about? See description of the Plenitude concept at wine #6 Dom Pérignon P3 Plénitude.
Winery Website: domperignon.com
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13 – Bollinger Vieilles Vignes Françaises Blanc de Noirs
Average Price: $784 – £594 – €665
Grape Variety/Blend: Pinot Noir
What is it about? 100% Pinot Noir (Blanc de Noirs) from two single plots adjacent to the House in Aÿ: Non-grafted vines grown in the traditional en foule layering system and worked entirely by hand.
Winery Website: champagne-bollinger.com
14 – Armand de Brignac Ace of Spades Silver Blanc de Noirs
Average Price: $772 – £585 – €655
Grape Variety/Blend: 100% Pinot Noir
What is it about? Champagne Armand de Brignac Blanc de Noirs Assemblage Two (A2), is crafted with exceptional fruit sourced from some of the best Pinot Noir producing villages of Champagne, including Bouzy, Verzenay, Chigny-les-Roses, Ludes and Rilly-la-Montagne. The full production of 2,333 bottles was disgorged on June 20, 2016. Each bottle of Armand de Brignac Blanc de Noirs A2 is inscribed with its unique number (1 to 2,333).
Winery Website: armanddebrignac.com
15 – Ruinart L’Exclusive Blanc de Blancs Brut
Average Price: $700 – £530 – €594
Grape Variety/Blend: Chardonnay
What is it about? Ruinart L’Exclusive is a rare cuvee made from vintage 2000 to celebrate the new millennium, only available in magnum. It is a blend of 3 great vintages from grand cru vineyards of the celebrated and famous Ruinart Champagne house. The bottle is meant to recall 18th century packaging, with a futuristic metal cage craft by French silversmith Christofle.
Winery Website: ruinart.com
16 – Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle Les Réserves Cuvée 571J
Average Price: $655 – £496 – €556
Grape Variety/Blend: Chardonnay and Pinot Noir
What is it about? Since the first Grand Siècle cuvée was unveiled in 1959, a small number of bottles have been preciously preserved, neck down, in a secluded gallery in our cellars known as the «Galerie des Moines» or «Monks Gallery». The Galerie today houses a part of the Laurent-Perrier heritage and perpetuates the memory of the Grand Siècle style, inspired by the ideal of a unique «Art de Vivre à la française». Les Réserves Grand Siècle N°571J were kept for 16 years in our cellars for ageing, before being manually riddled on traditional racks. This cuvée is to be released once, and once only, in limited edition magnums, and, for the first time ever, in jeroboams. Cuvée N° 571J: To mark the Bicentenary of the House and as a tribute to Bernard de Nonancourt, the man who created Grand Siècle, Laurent-Perrier has decided to release a special limited edition of the most symbolic of its Réserves wines, Cuvée N° 571J.
Winery Website: laurent-perrier.com
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17 – Dom Pérignon Brut Rose Creator Edition by David Lynch
Average Price: $635 – £481 – €539
Grape Variety/Blend: Champagne Blend
What is it about? Limited edition pink Dom Pérignon with packaging designed by David Lynch.
Winery Website: domperignon.com
18 – Jacques Selosse Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Millésimé
Average Price: $610 – £462 – €517
Grape Variety/Blend: Chardonnay
What is it about? A single vintage Blanc de Blancs (100% Chardonnay) from Grand Cru vineyards in Avize, Le Mont de Cramant, and Les Chantereines.
19 – Armand de Brignac Ace of Spades Silver Blanc de Blancs
Average Price: $587 – £445 – €498
Grape Variety/Blend: Chardonnay
What is it about? This very small production 100% Chardonnay cuvée is crafted from fruit sourced from traditional Chardonnay territory, the Côte des Blancs, and almost half of the blend is from the lauded Montagne de Reims. Dosage: 8 g/L.
Winery Website: armanddebrignac.com
20 – Salon Cuvée S Le Mesnil Blanc de Blancs
Average Price: $517 – £392 – €439
Grape Variety/Blend: Chardonnay
What is it about? This Champagne is produced by Salon Delamotte from a 1-hectare parcel owned by Salon: “Salon’s garden”, and from 19 other smaller vineyards in Mesnil-sur-Oger, all Grand Crus selected by Aimé Salon at the beginning of the century. The wines are cellared in the bottle for an average of 10 years, gaining in complexity and finesse.
Winery Website: salondelamotte.com
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Also Read the Top 50 Most Expensive Wines in the World
This list of the Top 25 most expensive Champagne wines in the world was retrieved from the biggest wine price database in the world at Wine-Searcher.com as per November 2017, you can see the original list here. Note that to be included on the list, a wine must have at least 10 offers worldwide across at least four vintages. Prices are ex-tax worldwide averages for 750ml bottles.
Sources and References
Pricing Data from wine-searcher.com
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