Billecart-Salmon, Blanc de Blancs Brut Vintage 2004
Price range: £868.00 through £1,008.006x750mlWhen you think of classic Champagne, you think of Billecart-Salmon Blanc de Blancs Brut Vintages. The bubbly beverage has dry fruit aromas with stone fruit at the center. This perfect partner for oysters and caviar is ready to drink on demand.
Billecart-Salmon, Le Clos Saint-Hilaire 1996
Price range: £1,642.00 through £1,902.003x750mlBillecart-Salmon Champagnes are expensive. None are pricier than Le Clos Saint Hilaire. The average bottle of this blanc de noirs Champagne retails around $450. The grapes come from a single hectare of land with 60-year-old vines and yield no more than 7,000 bottles of wine in a single vintage.
Bollinger, La Grande Annee 2000
Price range: £1,053.00 through £1,221.006x750mlIt’s safe to say Bollinger has mastered Champagne making with more than 400 years under its belt. The Grande Année vintage contains a 65-35 blend of pinot noir and chardonnay, with the 2008 vintage receiving a 99 rating from critic Jeb Dunnuck.
Bollinger, La Grande Annee 2002
Price range: £876.00 through £1,016.006x750mlIt’s safe to say Bollinger has mastered Champagne making with more than 400 years under its belt. The Grande Année vintage contains a 65-35 blend of pinot noir and chardonnay, with the 2008 vintage receiving a 99 rating from critic Jeb Dunnuck.
Bollinger, La Grande Annee 2004
Price range: £702.00 through £815.006x750mlIt’s safe to say Bollinger has mastered Champagne making with more than 400 years under its belt. The Grande Année vintage contains a 65-35 blend of pinot noir and chardonnay, with the 2008 vintage receiving a 99 rating from critic Jeb Dunnuck.
Bollinger, La Grande Annee Rose 2002
Price range: £1,190.00 through £1,380.006x750mlThe sibling of Bollinger La Grande Année, the Rosé version has a personality all its own. It leads with strawberry and raspberry aromas while maintaining the multi-layered complexity that Bollinger is known for. To quote Wine.com’s Wilfred Wong, “No one does it better.”
It was the least surprising news of the year. Critics loved 2012 Bollinger La Grande Année Rosé. Not only that, but the Champagne earned its highest aggregate scores of any vintage.
La Grande Année Rosé wins over people from the start with lavish aromas and flavors of red berries, honey, nuts, and sweet spice. Known as James Bond’s favorite Champagne, Bollinger is often described as powerful and muscular. While La Grande Année Rosé demonstrates consistent weight and power, it wields more grace and subtlety than most wines in the Bollinger portfolio.
The driving forces behind this multidimensional rosé: an immaculate 2012 growing season. A mild and sunny autumn led to richly concentrated ripe grapes. Contrary to the prevailing customs of the region, Bollinger ages the champagne in magnums rather than tanks. The result is a wine that is uniquely Bollinger.
Bollinger, La Grande Annee Rose 2004
Price range: £751.00 through £872.006x750mlThe sibling of Bollinger La Grande Année, the Rosé version has a personality all its own. It leads with strawberry and raspberry aromas while maintaining the multi-layered complexity that Bollinger is known for. To quote Wine.com’s Wilfred Wong, “No one does it better.”
It was the least surprising news of the year. Critics loved 2012 Bollinger La Grande Année Rosé. Not only that, but the Champagne earned its highest aggregate scores of any vintage.
La Grande Année Rosé wins over people from the start with lavish aromas and flavors of red berries, honey, nuts, and sweet spice. Known as James Bond’s favorite Champagne, Bollinger is often described as powerful and muscular. While La Grande Année Rosé demonstrates consistent weight and power, it wields more grace and subtlety than most wines in the Bollinger portfolio.
The driving forces behind this multidimensional rosé: an immaculate 2012 growing season. A mild and sunny autumn led to richly concentrated ripe grapes. Contrary to the prevailing customs of the region, Bollinger ages the champagne in magnums rather than tanks. The result is a wine that is uniquely Bollinger.
Charles Dufour, Le Champ du Clos Blanc de Blancs 2014
Price range: £356.00 through £415.006x750mlMost of Charles Dufour’s pinot blanc goes into the Champagne blend Bulles de Comptoir. That was until 2011 when he siphoned some to make the now iconic Le Champ du Clos. As his flagship wine, it’s the rare Blanc de Blanc that only uses pinot blanc.
Dom Perignon 2000
Price range: £1,302.00 through £1,510.006x750mlDom Pérignon is the granddaddy of all Champagne. Named after the legendary Benedictine monk that pioneered the style, this blend of chardonnay and pinot noir is an essential part of any wine collection. The $200+ bottle has graced the tables of kings and queens and is the third most popular wine globally on Wine-Searcher.com.
Dom Perignon 2010
Price range: £950.00 through £1,102.006x750mlDom Pérignon is the granddaddy of all Champagne. Named after the legendary Benedictine monk that pioneered the style, this blend of chardonnay and pinot noir is an essential part of any wine collection. The $200+ bottle has graced the tables of kings and queens and is the third most popular wine globally on Wine-Searcher.com.
Dom Perignon, Luminous Rose 2006
Price range: £2,090.00 through £2,420.003x750mlInvestors often focus on what’s in the bottle. In this case, investors should also consider what’s outside of it. Dom Pérignon Rosé 2006 Luminous offers a one-of-a-kind ode to innovative winemaking. The interior contains a pure presentation of the 2006 vintage, while the exterior features a luminescent label.
Dom Perignon, Rose 2003
Price range: £821.00 through £951.003x750mlDom Pérignon Rosé is a vintage Champagne, meaning that Moët & Chandon only makes it in strong years. The commitment to quality ensures immaculate final products that offer a seamless blend of pinot noir and chardonnay. This sparkling wine, which retails around $400 per bottle, is a must-have part of the Dom Pérignon portfolio.
Dom Perignon, Rose 2003
Price range: £1,703.00 through £1,974.006x750mlDom Pérignon Rosé is a vintage Champagne, meaning that Moët & Chandon only makes it in strong years. The commitment to quality ensures immaculate final products that offer a seamless blend of pinot noir and chardonnay. This sparkling wine, which retails around $400 per bottle, is a must-have part of the Dom Pérignon portfolio.
Dom Perignon, Rose 2008
Price range: £1,815.00 through £2,103.006x750mlDom Pérignon Rosé is a vintage Champagne, meaning that Moët & Chandon only makes it in strong years. The commitment to quality ensures immaculate final products that offer a seamless blend of pinot noir and chardonnay. This sparkling wine, which retails around $400 per bottle, is a must-have part of the Dom Pérignon portfolio.
Joseph Perrier, Cuvee Royale Brut Vintage 2008
Price range: £263.00 through £307.006x750mlJoseph Perrier Cuvée Royale Brut Vintage is the most popular of the estate’s Cuvée Royale series. The wine, which features fruits from 20 different villages, is an equal blend of pinot noir, chardonnay, and pinot meunier. The Champagne blend’s 1998 vintage earned three stars from Guide Hachette des Vins.
Krug, Clos d’Ambonnay 1998
Price range: £2,263.00 through £2,619.001x750mlKrug Clos d’Ambonnay is a vintage blanc de noirs that compliments the estate’s Krug Grande Cuvée. The legendary Champagne house only releases its pinot noir-dominant sparkling wine during single years, cultivating all the grapes from a 0.68-hectare plot. The wine ages for 12 years before its release, with bottles retailing around $3,000.
Krug, Clos du Mesnil 1998
Price range: £1,233.00 through £1,427.001x750mlFew wines rival the investment-worthiness of Krug Clos du Mesnil. It’s a pure expression of a single plot of chardonnay made only during the finest vintages. According to Wine-Searcher.com, the sparkling wine ranks as the third most expensive blanc de blanc in the world. The price tag eclipsed the four-digit barrier in 2017.
The 2006 Krug Clos du Mesnil defies easy categorization. On the one hand, it’s supple and graceful with an ethereal weightlessness. On the other hand, it’s powerful and muscular with uncommon richness for the region.
Cultivated from a single plot of chardonnay in the heart of Mesnil-sur-Oger, this iconic Champagne survived a challenging growing season in 2006. Fortunately, the extreme heat and rainfall let up at the right time, producing beautifully ripe chardonnay. According to cellar master Julie Cavil, “This Champagne is a combination of outstanding purity and freshness with tension, vivacity, and great balance.”
Upon release, wine critics Yohan Castling and James gave the vintage 99-point ratings, with the former calling it “a work of art!” Investment opportunities are limited, though. Krug released fewer than 15,000 bottles of this already hard-to-get Champagne.
Krug, Collection 1988
Price range: £879.00 through £1,018.001x750mlKrug Collection is the best way to access vintage bottles of Krug. The series contains a limited number of Krug Vintage bottles and has been praised for its outstanding structure, elegance, and aging potential. Currently, investors pay well north of $1,000 for this Brut Champagne.
Krug, Vintage Brut 2008
Price range: £2,790.00 through £3,232.006x750mlKrug Vintage Brut represents the expression of the year, according to Krug. It features different wines from a single year, blended and aged for at least a decade before release. The wine, which debuted in 2000 to celebrate the new millennium, earned Grand Gold from Mundus Vini in 2000 and 2001.
“Classic Beauty.” That is the nickname bestowed on 2008 Krug Vintage Brut by the Champagne house’s tasting committee. The cuvée of pinot noir, pinot meunier and chardonnay has a chiseled frame and ultra-expressive nose that makes it an instant classic.
The 2008 vintage benefited from immaculate weather. The mild conditions produced perfectly fresh fruit with outstanding heterogeneity between the vineyards of Aÿ, Bouzy and Ambonnay. With the touch of cellar master Julie Cavil, the fruit reaches a harmonious balance while preserving the complete spectrum of flavors and aromas.
Critics have lobbed praise at 2008 Krug from all angles. James Suckling awarded it a 100-point rating, calling it “a perfect 2008.” Others have called it “a supernova of sensation” and “(with) perfect balance.” At Vinovest, we call it a must-have.
Louis Roederer (Starck), Brut Nature 2009
Price range: £369.00 through £431.006x750mlLouis Roederer may be best known for Cristal, but this Champagne house is far from a one-trick pony. Brut Nature, also known as the Starck label, is far a cry from traditional Roederer. It was born out of abstraction and finest grapes the estate had seen in years. The result is a sparkling wine that’s a must-have among Champagne lovers.
Philipponnat, Clos des Goisses 1993
Price range: £589.00 through £682.001x750mlIf you’re familiar with any of Philipponnat’s famous cuvées, it’s probably Clos des Goisses Brut. The prized pinot noir-chardonnay blend is only available during exceptional vintages. The Champagne house uses extensive aging to add energy, intensity, and an exceptionally long finish to its wine. This top-tier Champagne earned three stars from Guide Hachette des Vins in 2006 and 2008.
Philipponnat, Clos des Goisses 2000
Price range: £1,454.00 through £1,685.006x750mlIf you’re familiar with any of Philipponnat’s famous cuvées, it’s probably Clos des Goisses Brut. The prized pinot noir-chardonnay blend is only available during exceptional vintages. The Champagne house uses extensive aging to add energy, intensity, and an exceptionally long finish to its wine. This top-tier Champagne earned three stars from Guide Hachette des Vins in 2006 and 2008.
Pol Roger, Blanc de Blancs Vintage 2002
Price range: £696.00 through £809.006x750mlPol Roger Blanc de Blancs Vintage Champagne is a fresh and elegant wine with fine-texture and a long-lasting finish. Composed exclusively of grand cru chardonnay, the cuvée ages for six years in Pol Roger’s cellars before its release. The highly sought-after Champagne is also known as a favorite of former British prime minister Winston Churchill.
Pol Roger, Brut Vintage 2000
Price range: £665.00 through £773.006x750mlBalance, finesse, and a touch of sweetness are on full display in Pol Roger Brut Vintage. The limited-release Champagne requires three years of aging before it can be disgorged. The result is a classic Champagne with a steadily rising price tag.
Pol Roger, Sir Winston Churchill 2004
Price range: £965.00 through £1,120.006x750mlFormer British prime minister Winston Churchill loved Pol Rogers Champagne. He loved it so much that they named their top cuvée after him. The brut vintage features 50 chardonnay and 50 pinot noir, with the latter coming exclusively from grand cru vineyards. If this Champagne is good enough for Winston Churchill, it should be good enough for you.
Pol Roger, Sir Winston Churchill 2015
Price range: £975.00 through £1,131.006x750mlFormer British prime minister Winston Churchill loved Pol Rogers Champagne. He loved it so much that they named their top cuvée after him. The brut vintage features 50 chardonnay and 50 pinot noir, with the latter coming exclusively from grand cru vineyards. If this Champagne is good enough for Winston Churchill, it should be good enough for you.
Salon, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Grand Cru 2012
Price range: £2,600.00 through £3,009.003x750mlMany Champagne houses add pinot noir or pinot meunier to round of the flavor of their cuvée. Champagne Salon begs to differ. It produces Le Mesnil-sur-Oger entirely from chardonnay, with 2021 representing the 100th anniversary of the cuvées debut. During that time, the estate has only released 37 vintages, never producing more than 60,000 bottles in a single year.
Few estates have higher standards than Salon. As a result, few estates command higher prices. This legendary Champagne stands out as the gold standard for bubbly, with critics comparing it to a white Burgundy with bubbles.
The 2012 Salon vintage almost didn’t exist. In 2014, Salon’s president Didier Depond had reportedly said there were no great vintages since 2008. Time has a way of changing people’s minds, though. The evolution of the 2012 vintage was undeniable, yielding a sweeping and structured Champagne with a tightly knit core of stone fruit, acids, oyster shells, brioche, and creamy mousse.
Critics have uniformly praised 2012 Salon since its release. The Wine Advocate’s William Kelley called it “after the 2008, the finest Salon produced this millennium.” Meanwhile, wine critic James Suckling gave the vintage a 98-point rating, praising it as “layered and refined with wonderful complexity.”
Salon, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Grand Cru 2013
Price range: £915.00 through £1,059.001x750mlMany Champagne houses add pinot noir or pinot meunier to round of the flavor of their cuvée. Champagne Salon begs to differ. It produces Le Mesnil-sur-Oger entirely from chardonnay, with 2021 representing the 100th anniversary of the cuvées debut. During that time, the estate has only released 37 vintages, never producing more than 60,000 bottles in a single year.
Few estates have higher standards than Salon. As a result, few estates command higher prices. This legendary Champagne stands out as the gold standard for bubbly, with critics comparing it to a white Burgundy with bubbles.
The 2012 Salon vintage almost didn’t exist. In 2014, Salon’s president Didier Depond had reportedly said there were no great vintages since 2008. Time has a way of changing people’s minds, though. The evolution of the 2012 vintage was undeniable, yielding a sweeping and structured Champagne with a tightly knit core of stone fruit, acids, oyster shells, brioche, and creamy mousse.
Critics have uniformly praised 2012 Salon since its release. The Wine Advocate’s William Kelley called it “after the 2008, the finest Salon produced this millennium.” Meanwhile, wine critic James Suckling gave the vintage a 98-point rating, praising it as “layered and refined with wonderful complexity.”