Introduction
Expensive champagne has become the go-to drink for special occasions and has become synonymous with celebration and a luxury lifestyle.
With so many important occasions to mark throughout life, from weddings to birthdays, births to new jobs, we take a look at the five most expensive champagne brands.
Expensive champagne can mark any occasion in an unforgettable way. Not just a simple sparkling wine, champagne from the Champagne region of France undergoes specific treatments and processes including secondary fermentation to allow it to be classed as a champagne. The luxury brands listed below give a comprehensive list of the top five most expensive champagne brands along with their key features and history.
The Five Most Expensive Champagne Brands.
5. Pol Roger
About the Brand
Pol Roger founded the Pol Roger champagne house in 1849 with the first champagne released in 1853. The Pol Roger luxury brand champagne house is still run by the descendants of Pol Roger in the Champagne region of France in the town of Épernay. The deepest cellar is at 33m below street level, keeping the champagnes very cold resulting in the signature fine bubbles associated with Pol Roger’s expensive champagne.
Approximately 110,000 cases of expensive champagne are produced annually by Pol Roger Champagne House. The prestigious luxury brand produces the vintage champagne vintage Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill. It was introduced in 1984 in memory of Sir Winston Churchill, who was an avid fan of Pol Roger champagne. This expensive champagne is released around a decade after the vintage is collected. Pol Roger also sells three non-vintage champagnes.
The Cost:
A 75cl bottle of Pol Roger Brut Reserve costs around £35 from Amazon. A 3-litre bottle of Pol Roger Brut Vintage 2000 Jeroboam costs approximately £375. Other champagne types and sizes are available up to 15 litres, with the most expensive champagne being a 15-litre bottle of Pol Roger Brut Reserve NV Nebuchadnezzar costing around £1325.
4. Veuve Clicquot
About the Brand
French champagne brand Veuve Clicquot is based in Reims and was founded in 1772 by Philippe Clicquot-Muiron. Veuve Clicquot was the first champagne house to produce rosé champagne, which was achieved in 1775 through the addition of red wine during production.
Another historic claim to fame for the brand is that Madame Clicquot, the widow of Philippe’s son, became the first woman in charge of a champagne house. Her business skill and acumen enabled the brand to focus and enjoy great success for centuries to come, culminating in the formation of the luxury brand selling expensive champagne that it is today.
Madame Clicquot also developed the riddling rack, which made the process of dégorgement more economical and efficient. She is therefore credited with having enabled the start of mass production of champagne.
The Cost:
A 75cl bottle of Veuve Clicquot Brut costs around £40 from Sainsbury’s. A 3-litre bottle of the same costs approximately £282 from Amazon. A limited-edition set of 30 75cl bottles of different Veuve Clicquot expensive champagnes costs approximately £13,500.
3. Champagne Krug
About the Brand
The Krug Champagne House was founded in 1843 by Joseph Krug. It is located in the Champagne region of France in the main city of Reims. Joseph Krug began his expensive champagne house after moving to France from Germany in 1834.
Krug champagne utilises a mix of Pinot noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay grapes. Krug Grande Cuvée is the most popular of the Krug champagnes and is formed from at least 10 different vintages forming a blend of at least 120 different wines. The vintages are anything up to 15 years of age.
The Krug Grande Cuvée is produced over a 20 year period and is often voted as one of the world’s best champagnes worldwide. Krug champagne is fermented in a traditional manner in small oak barrels. The luxury brand has an appreciation for the tradition and history of champagne and this shows through in its formulation process.
The Cost:
A 75cl bottle of Krug Grande Cuvée costs £116. A 1.5-litre bottle of Krug Vintage 1998 costs nearly £600 from The Finest Bubble. Limited edition gift boxes consisting of 75cl bottles of champagne are also available costing the buyer around £850.
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2. Armand de Brignac
About the Brand
Armand de Brignac, more commonly known as the Ace of Spades due to its logo representing a spade, is an expensive champagne brand owned by rapper Jay Z, who acquired it in 2014. The champagnes produced by Armand de Brignac are of a multi-vintage style and contain a range of grape varieties, often blended together, including Pinot noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier.
The first bottles of Armand de Brignac, founded by the Cattier family, went on sale in 2006. All champagnes are produced from a combination of three separate vintages. The Armand de Brignac champagnes are made in France in Rilly-la-Montagne, a village located in the Montagne de Reims area of Champagne. Around 60,000 bottles of Armand de Brignac are produced each year.
The Cost:
A 75cl bottle of Armand de Brignac Brut Gold costs around £195, whereas a 3-litre bottle of Armand de Brignac Brut Gold NV Jeroboam costs £1750. The Armand de Brignac Dynastie Collection boasts the world’s largest bottle of champagne at 30L, as well as every other size of the champagne available at a price of £85,000. When this 30L bottle was first released in 2011, only 6 were available worldwide and therefore the cost of purchasing just one was £100,000.
1. Dom Pérignon
About the Brand
A notoriously expensive champagne brand is Dom Pérignon. The French luxury champagne brand boasts only the finest vintage champagnes, with grapes only being harvested in years where the crop is of the best quality and all grapes are harvested during the same year.
Dom Pérignon is the prestigious line of champagne produced by Moët & Chandon. Dom Pérignon is named after a Benedictine monk who was a pioneer for high-quality champagne, inventing many winemaking techniques and storage methods for champagne in the late 1600s. Dom Pérignon uses a combination of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes using up to 60% of each. At least 2 million bottles are produced from each vintage.
The Cost:
It has been selected as the most expensive brand not only due to the current retail costs of its stock, which range from £115 for a 2006 75cl bottle and £7500 for a limited edition 3 litre bottle of white gold Jeroboam from Champagne Direct but also for the prices it can fetch at auction.
Dom Pérignon champagne is often traded at auctions and prices can run into the tens of thousands of pounds. The oldest vintage available from Dom Pérignon is 1921 which first went on sale in 1936, three of which sold for around £20,000 in an auction in 2008. A 30-bottle lot of multiple Dom Pérignon champagnes sold for around £130,000.
Summary
In summary, the world of champagne is no stranger to luxury and opulence, as evidenced by the Top 5 Most Expensive Champagne Brands. These esteemed producers have consistently delivered excellence, craftsmanship, and a taste of exclusivity that’s cherished by connoisseurs and collectors alike.
Each champagne on this list represents the pinnacle of quality and prestige. While these extraordinary bottles may come with a hefty price tag, they offer an unparalleled experience that transcends the ordinary, making them the ultimate indulgence for those seeking the finest in the world of bubbly. Cheers to the exquisite world of luxury champagne!
