Champagne has become the go-to luxury beverage for special events and festivities. When it comes to luxury, food and drink often separate the wealthy from the rest, especially their ability to afford the most extravagant and expensive food items in the world.
I wrote this article with the intent of acquainting you with some insight into the upper echelons of the champagne world: a world where some bottles are the equivalent of the annual salaries of workers in certain fields. So, without further ado, let us see some of the most expensive champagnes on earth in no particular order of excellence.
Most Luxurious and Popular Champagne Brands:
1. Moet & Chandon Dom Perignon White Gold
Moet & Chandon is a champagne brand known worldwide; therefore, it is at home on a list such as this one. The average bottle costs $2,467 per bottle.
It is a drink guaranteed to excite the taste buds. This white gold variety is a limited edition bubbly that is sure to excite the taste buds. The drink is encased in a plated white gold bottle sheath with the iconic Dom Perignon label laser engraved. Not only is the champagne a taste sensation, but it arrives in such elegant packaging that one could almost perceive it as edible art.
2. Boerl & Kroff Brut
This one costs $2,498 per bottle. Believe it or not, this expensive champagne is the most basic version the legendary Boerl and Kroff have on offer for sale.
The high price it commands is due to the iconic name attached to the champagne and the superb quality of the drink itself. Only the very best would do for Boerl and Kroff, with their champagne being made only from the grape juice squeezed from the very first press of the season. Boerl and Kroff are so in demand that it is only sold in magnum-sized or larger bottles, which could explain the handsome price tag per bottle.
3. Krug Clos D’ambonnay
This Krug Champagne, in particular, is celebrated as one of the few genuinely remarkable red varieties on the market. The tempting, unusual coloring of Clos D’ambonnay comes from the luscious Pinot Noir grapes from which the wine is processed.
In its relatively short lifetime, the champagne has drawn followers and fans from all over the world. If you have never tried Champagne from Pinot Noir, there is hardly any better place to start than this sensational vintage. You only just need to pay out $3,500 for the privilege.
4. Moet & Chandon Dom Perignon Charles & Diana 1961
Over 35 years ago, in 1981, Dom Perignon was selected to be the official Champagne provider for the much-anticipated wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer. In their search for something unique that added meaning to the occasion, the Magnums of Dom Perignon from 1961: the year of Diana’s Birth: were served on the wedding day with a custom symbol created specially for the royal ceremony.
As you can imagine, bottles from the actual day of the wedding are impossible to find. However, several limited replicas were released later, and due to the collector’s fever for anything related to British Royalty, a bottle of the wedding Champagne would cost you around $4,309.
5. Champagne Cristal Brut Millennium Cuvee 1990
Cristal is a name you might have heard in at least 10 or 20 hip hop songs over the years, as it is a legendary favorite with rap superstars in the music industry. We can’t argue with the likes of P. Diddy when it comes to loving Cristal, as the taste and quality is almost unrivaled.
The particular Cristal creation on our radar today is a mammoth six-liter bottle known as Methuselah. The bottle sports a stunning gold label and contains Cristal brooch Champagne from 1990, and in 2005 it was put up for auction at Sotheby’s New York, where an anonymous buyer purchased it for $17,625. The outrageous price makes you wonder whether the secret bidder was indeed one of the hip-hop stars known to rap about it.
6. Krug 1928
The unusually named Krug 1928 is a bottle of champagne that would set you back by a cool $21,000. But, in one of those quirky stories that only make a product more memorable, the first bottle of this champagne was released for sale, not as one might think in 1928 but ten years later in 1938. What heralds the 1928 date on the beverage name is that it used grapes from 1928 to produce the vintage.
It’s these unique 1920 grapes that make all the difference when it comes to taste and value, making a bottle of champagne made from 1920s grapes worth well into the $20,000 price range.
7. Dom Perignon White Gold Jeroboam
In 1990, interestingly the same year that the Cristal Brut 1990 Methuselah bottles sold for a record-breaking amount, Dom Perignon also released a limited edition bottle that became one of the world’s most expensive champagne.
The Dom Perignon White Gold Jeroboam, sold in mammoth 3-liter bottles, was released to commemorate the new year’s coming. While the champagne is obviously of high esteemed quality, much of the value of this beverage is because most of its bottle is coated in white gold, a truly luxurious touch for an exquisite drink. A single bottle goes for $40,000.
8. Penod-Ricard Perrier-Jouet
The Penod-Ricard goes for a whopping $50,000 per bottle. This might be because only a hundred sets of this beautiful champagne were ever created, with each pack containing 12 bottles of the refined liquid.
In a truly luxurious touch, the makers allowed a personalized touch, enabling the customers to pick what kind of liquor they wanted in their batch and fly to Eastern Europe to check them out. Naturally, this made the brand highly sought after by the wealthy. It’s one of the most customizable champagne buying experiences one can ever hope to have. The price tag even includes a unique storage nest where your recently acquired bottles can rest and age to maturity for up to eight months.
9. Shipwrecked 1907 Heidsieck
Shipwreck Heidsieck is a bottle of champagne that would set you back in time; this makes it perfect for a food connoisseur who enjoys the occasional side dish of history. Unfortunately, these hundred-year bottles took 80 years to reach their final destination, thanks to a tragic shipwreck in 1916 intended to be delivered to the Russian royal families.
Instead, the bottles were lost at sea until they were eventually rediscovered during a dive in 1997. Over 200 usable bottles were salvaged, and they were sold to millionaire guests at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Moscow. With such an age and distinguished history, the price tag becomes justified. The price depends on where you buy it. At an auction once, a bottle was sold for $275,000
10. Gout De Diamants
Regarded as the most expensive champagne in the world, the Gout De Diamants or “Taste of Diamonds” is worth a whopping $2.7 million per bottle. It was released by Shammi Shinh, the London-based founder of the Prodiguer brand, in 2013. The insanely luxurious drink is made from 100% Grand Cru grapes and is produced at a small 8-hectare, family-owned vineyard Champagne shop in France.
So what makes this champagne worth millions of dollars more than the rest? It could be because each bottle is beautified with a brilliantly-cut Swarovski crystal in the center of a diamond-shaped pewter design that shares a striking resemblance with the iconic Superman logo.
However, a limited edition of Gout De Diamant designed by legendary luxury designer Alexander Amosu featured a bespoke bottle design that replaced the Swarovski crystal with a flawless 19-carat white diamond. That particular model is the one that is worth a jaw-dropping $2.07 million.
11. Delamotte Blanc de Blancs
This champagne is made from Grand Cru Chardonnay. The Delamotte Blanc de Blancs exhibits extreme purity, likely because the vinification process occurs in stainless steel tanks. As a result, this champagne is a bottle of mineral champagne with a chalky sensation.
This note, in particular, is the very essence of our vineyard and its Chardonnays, which grow in pure chalk soil. Delamotte Blanc de Blancs is the best Brut. This brut has lively and fresh aromas of Meyer lemon, sweet-tart candy, kiwi, and wildflowers, creamy on entry, and is supported by zesty acidity.
12. Ruinart Brut Rose
This french champagne was crafted from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes. The Pinot Noir was cultivated between the Reims Mountain and the Marne valley, and the Chardonnay grapes were grown at the Côte des Blancs vineyards of the Reims Mountain. Furthermore, the wine bases used in this champagne were fermented in stainless steel vats at controlled temperatures.
Ruinart Brut Rosé was aged in its bottle in the “crayères” caves underneath the Ruinart House of Champagne, and there were 9 grams of sugar per liter added after its disgorgement.
Ruinart Brut Rose is the best rose brut. The rose champagne by Ruinart blend Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with a fresh, fruity flavor profile.
13. Perrier-Jouet Belle Epoque
Perrier-Jouet Belle Epoque is the best vintage-dated champagne. This champagne offers fresh white flowers and orchard fruit notes, and lemon zest with a creamy mouthfeel and mineral finish.
The Belle Époque Cuvée is the jewel of the House of Perrier-Jouët. It is no coincidence that experts consider it to be among the finest prestige cuvées in the world. Cuvée Belle Epoque is the perfect aperitif, as its freshness and floral scents blend beautifully with the salty flavors of shellfish and fish or light white meat dishes. It can also be had during a meal.
The sensual and silky flavors mingle to leave a long, refined finish. Perrier Jouet Belle Epoque is the perfect gift for a Christmas present, anniversaries, birthdays, and other special occasions.
14. Vevue Clicquot La Grande Dame x Yayoi Kusama
Vevue Clicquot La Grande Dame would be an excellent choice for a gift to someone. The iconic Japanese artist, Yayoi Kusama, sends a powerful message to the whole world by producing a unique, joyful, and colorful creation specifically for Veuve Clicquot. Its bottle is beautified with iconic symbols: a plush flower that symbolizes love, vital energy, and celebration of life. He reworked the polka dots, his signature patterns to mimic champagne bubbles.
The aroma is reminiscent of white flowers, followed by apple, pear, and peach, and then almond and frangipane. However, on the palate, one can perceive dried apricot, hazelnuts, and honey. The plush flower symbolizes love, vital energy, and celebration of life. This is an elegant, silky cuvée with depth thanks to a period of aging.
15. Dom Perignon Vintage
If you want French Champagne, Dom Perignon Vintage is the sensible choice. This complex Champagne offers both warmth and freshness and is enhanced by aniseed and crushed mint, with aromas of spicy, woody, and roasted notes.
Its aromas consist of powdered cocoa, almond which gives way to notes of white fruit with hints of dried flowers; it has a potent and pleasant flavor, which is structured, focused, firm and dense, with a flowery finish on every sip. In addition, it has a well-rounded finish that denotes its full maturity.
16. Taittinger Brut Le Francais
This Chardonnay is blended with Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, yellow peach, acacia flowers, and Madagascar vanilla bean notes. The high proportion of Chardonnay (40%) in this particular wine is unique among fine non-vintage champagnes. After a manual harvest, the presses located in the vineyard are used for immediate pressing of the fruit, then it is cold fermented under carefully controlled temperature conditions.
After resting till the end of winter, the wine is blended, and then the final cuvée undergoes a second fermentation in their bottles in Taittinger’s cool cellars. The aging of Brut La Française on the lees for almost 48 months more than doubles the legal minimum of 15 months. The extra time in the cellars enables the wine to reach the peak of aromatic maturity, and the result is a well-balanced Champagne, famous for its consistently excellent quality.
17. Laurent Perrier Harmony Demi-Sec
Laurent Perrier Harmony Demi-Sec is the best sweet champagne available to man today. This sweet Champagne tastes like someone took an excellent meringue pie, a strawberry tart, and chocolate mousse and blended them into a well-fermented liquid mixture.
Laurent-Perrier Demi-Sec Harmony has an intense, elegant, golden yellow color. Its aroma is pleasant and inviting, besides being rich on the nose, opening with top notes of dried fruit, almonds, and hazelnuts. After several years in the bottle, the notes evolve towards rich hints of honey and pine sap. The wine feels well-rounded and generous. On the palate, it feels warm, rich, and whole.
18. Charles Heidsiek Brut Blanc de Blancs
Charles Heidsiek Brut Blanc de Blancs is the best non-vintage brut. Non- vintage Champagnes are blends of grapes from the most recent harvests, and they are typically the most affordable.
Charles Heidsieck Blanc de Blancs is a pale, crystalline gold colour. The nose is characterized by aromas of mature Chardonnay, consisting of white peach, candied citrus with honeysuckle, fresh hazelnuts, and lime, giving way to subtle hints of tangerine and lemon. The palate displays appealing mineral, slightly salty, iodine notes and has a creamy, silky texture that leaves a pleasant, lasting impression.
19. Alfred Gratien Brut
Alfred Gratien Brut has the best palate value. It is effervescent with a delicate mousse.
This champagne is a classic from the Champagne house of Alfred Gratien. The blend is an eclectic mix of the elegance of Chardonnay combined with the fruitiness of Pinot Meunier.
The wine is crafted from a process that involves: rigorous grape selection, vinification, and aging in small oak barrels in keeping with tradition. As a result, this champagne is dynamic and uncompromising and evokes a baroque style. It is best taken with firm texture meals, such as game birds, lobster, and old Gouda cheese.
20. Krug Grande Cuvee Brut
Krug Grande Cuvee Brut Champagne is arguably the best of them all. It is a bottle of exceptionally rich & bubbly champagne bursting with lush notes of hazelnuts, toast bread, dry fruits & almonds, accompanied by tangy notes of grapefruits and lemons.
The wine is subtly powerful and pure, exuding youthful energy. It is a seamless Champagne, effortlessly integrating a strong spine of racy acidity with the detailed range of raw almond, toasted saffron, and candied ginger flavors. The texture is fine and silky, with subtle hints of salty mineral and rich hints of coffee, toasted brioche, and mandarin orange peel. It is worth its weight in dollars.
The word champagne evokes images of high life and glamorous living, and when one gets a sip of this unique vintage, one realizes that the reputation is well deserved. This list is not designed to show the best or the worst of the best; it is intended to offer the sheer range of options available should one decide to treat themselves to some high-end party nectar.
