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The 15 Best Champagne Brands to Try in 2022
In its simplest form, figuring out what constitutes Champagne is easy. Does it come from the Champagne region of France? If so, it’s legally allowed to be Champagne, if not, it’s a sparkling wine crafted elsewhere.
The Champagne region’s wine production is afforded the same protection of origin as Cognac (also France) or Rhum Agricole (Martinique). Every element of growth and production in the champagne industry, from the farmer in the fields, the winemaker, to the bottling and selling is protected by the Protection of Champagne Appellation.
The Champagne industry is dominated by a handful of leading winemakers, all with ties to early production of the wine that goes back as far as 500 years. Each individually is called a Champagne House and represents some of the most recognizable brand labels in the world.
The following collection of the best Champagne brands to try features a cross-section of different bubbly types, whether it’s a premium champagne bottle with an eye-watering price tag or more affordable Brut champagne options meant for everyday enjoyment.
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1. Dom Perignon Vintage Champagne
Arguably the most recognizable French Vintage Champagne brand, this bubbly is light-bodied and dry, with a fresh, floral minerality redolent of grapefruit and stone fruits. On the palate, Dom Perignon Vintage offers a zesty crispness, with a slight accent of peppers and spices, before unfolding into a minerally strong finish. The flagship of the Dom Perignon range, there are few bottles that compare in terms of style and cultural cachet – it’s the ultimate celebratory Champagne.
2. Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque Blanc De Blancs
Belle Epoque Blanc de Blancs is the most accomplished Perrier-Jouët expression, and a top-quality vintage wine meant for celebrating the rarest occasions. It’s a delicate and complex prestige Cuvee. The chardonnay grapes come from a single harvest, a single grape variety, and a single terroir, featuring floral notes of lilac blossom and white summer fruits, while on the tongue you can notice the tartness of marmalade and contrasting flavors of vanilla and cream.
Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque Blanc De Blancs is a terrific treat. It’s expensive, but tremendous, and is best suited for being enjoyed in a small gathering of family or friends, or for two lovers enjoying a special milestone.
3. Veuve Clicquot Brut Yellow Label Champagne
This bottle of Veuve offers a great Brut blend champagne at an acceptable price for bottle popping excitement. The signature Champagne house blend offers exceptional minerality and great carbonation without compromising the elements of fresh fruit, vanilla, and toasted brioche accents. While other Veuve bottles offer more expansive terroir and a price tag to match, Yellow Label is a fantastic lead-in Brut Champagne bottle well suited to newcomers or the Champagne lover looking for a reliable offering at a cheaper price point.
4. Louis Roederer Cristal Vintage
A tremendously decadent and visually stunning bottle of French Champagne, Cristal Vintage is a brilliant luxury bottle well suited to expansive gestures, whether dining, celebrating, or commiserating. Produced only during vintage years and using only exclusive grapes from Grand Cru vines, this Cristal premium champagne is aged for six years then left for a minimum of eight months to achieve perfect maturity.
It’s complex and intense on the nose, featuring candied citrus, yellow fruit, pear, and toasted almonds, with a powerful yet crisp palate and smooth mouthfeel. With the ability to keep for some 20 years, Cristal Vintage offers an expensive Champagne wine that you can cellar for those most special occasions.
5. Laurent Perrier Rose Brut NV Champagne
While white wine dominates the French Champagne market, red wine grapes (such as the pinot noir grape) can be used to make a quality red wine of rose champagne. Laurent Perrier Champagne makes some of the best expressions from pinot noir grapes, with my favorite being this Rose Brut NV Champagne. It’s affordable, tasty, and comes in a uniquely shaped bottle that makes it easy to recognize and remember.
This blended Laurent Perrier Champagne offers the aroma of fresh strawberries, red fruit, and black cherries, balanced by the carbonation and acidity that cuts through the sweetness to craft a long, dry finish.
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6. Taittinger Champagne Cuvee Prestige
If you are looking for a simple, enjoyable introductory French Champagne, Taittinger Champagne Cuvee Prestige is a good starting point if you want to take the path towards being a Champagne lover. It’s a classical straw color in glass, lively and fresh on the palate that features a light fruity flavor from the Chardonnay grapes.
Prestige Cuvee is bubble rich but yields pleasantly to the recognizable crispness of a traditional Brut sparkling wine. There are more versatile, premium bottles of Champagne on this list, but for sheer approachability, Prestige Cuvee is extremely enjoyable, especially for entertaining in groups or for sharing with a light meal.
7. Krug Champagne Vintage 2006
The premium champagne offerings on this list are crafted in the methode champenoise style. In methode champenoise, sparkling wine is produced by undergoing a second fermentation process in the bottle. This secondary fermentation produces carbon dioxide, which gives the sparkling champagne its unmistakable bubbly mouthfeel and crispness of taste. The leading bottles use grapes exclusive to the champagne house which makes it and are one of the major elements in elevating the price and vivacity of each bottle.
Krug Champagne Vintage 2006 is a decadent bottle made from the Pinot Noir grape (45%), Chardonnay (35%), and Meunier (20%). It is a tremendously rounded, well-balanced Champagne that captures the elements of summer fruit flavor balanced by minerals and acidity.
8. Moët & Chandon Impérial Brut Champagne
This Moet and Chandon Imperial Brut is a classic semi-dry champagne, golden straw yellow in color but with lovely green highlights reminiscent of summer grasses. The nose of this Chandon Brut is redolent with green apple and citrus, hints of mineral freshness and flowers, brioche accents, and nuts. The palate features white fruit and citrus, while the lively bubbles add to a bright, companionable finish.
Moët & Chandon Brut Champagne is perfect for spur-of-the-moment celebrations, or to make a lunchtime glass more enjoyable. It’s a fantastic stepping-off point for the famous brands’ more expensive varieties.
9. Ruinart Rosé Champagne
Ruinart Rosé is one of the signature bottles from one of France’s oldest companies, known for its gentleness within the complexity of red fruit flavor. Ruinart Rosé blends Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes, including grand cru reserve wine from the previous two years. The tasting notes describe: “Chardonnay provides finesse, elegance, and freshness; the Pinot Noir provides a subtle fruitiness.”
Its terroir and craft make Ruinart rose champagne a great tasting, yet affordable expression that’s great for cheese and deli meat platters, especially those featuring saltier, sharper flavors.
10. G.H. Mumm Grand Cordon Champagne
It may be the cheapest bottle on this list, but Grand Cordon should not be underestimated. It’s a bottle of comparatively sweet champagne made bolder by the use of Pinot Meunier grapes to contrast to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
It’s lively, bubbly, and good fun, with plenty of crispness in the glass and on the palate, suitable for newcomers, or those unaccustomed to the nuances of more expensive varieties. If you are having a wedding or large-scale celebration and want real French Champagne in bulk, this is the bottle I’d choose to keep the budget down and yet impress your guests.
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11. Alexandre Penet Extra Brut Champagne
The Maison Penet is a family-owned Champagne grower. A Champagne grower owns and maintains its vineyards, produces and releases its Champagnes under its own brand label. Alexandre Penet Extra Brut Champagne is a tremendous, niche grower Champagne made expression.
Being extra Brut, it’s very dry on the palate with a lot of minerality, but being a grower champagne style, it means you also get a lot of character and individuality. If you are looking to get into harder to find, but equally authentic Champagne varieties guaranteed to spark comment and conversation, this Alexandre Penet is a great dry champagne option to sample.
12. Armand De Brignac Demi Sec
Demi Sec is one of the sweetest types of French Champagne. Armand De Brignac, with its metalized, handmade bottles, impeccable luxury boxes, and stylized Ace of Spades label, is almost impossible to miss. Armand de Brignac spares no expense, either in grapes, manufacture, or presentation of the premium Champagne.
The liquid within this Demi Sec offers a candy-like sweet Champagne that is truly unique and decadent, featuring toasted brioche, candied citrus, honey, and blackberries. If you are looking to make a splash and have the money to purchase a premier label (with a truly epic-looking bottle), Armand De Brignac expressions are certain to get tongues wagging.
13. Pol Roger Brut Reserve
Pol Roger Brut Réserve NV “White Foil” is the brand’s most famous Champagne, a favorite of Sir Winston Churchill, and bottle served at all British Royal Weddings (including Meghan and Harry’s). A dry champagne, its longer than the normal resting period in bottle lends Pol Roger a toasty, fruit-laden aroma and palate, balanced by stone accents and high acidity. It’s an excellent, mid-priced Champagne in which all types of drinkers will recognize its sturdy quality, whether for a large gathering or at a more intimate setting.
14. Nicolas Feuillatte Réserve Exclusive Rosé
If you seek rose champagne bursting with fruit flavor, this Nicolas Feuillatte expression is highly recommended. A lovely salmon pink color, it offers the sweetness of red fruit, yet is well rounded and complex both aromatically and on the palate, while still finishing with mineral notes and quenching carbonation. A great Champagne to match with pates and seafood, you’ll find Réserve Exclusive Rosé cuts through even the strongest of food flavors to deliver an enjoyable taste.
15. Bollinger Special Cuvee Brut Champagne
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Bollinger Special Cuvee Brut Champagne is definitely a bottle for those who enjoy the acidity and minerality of a classic Brut. Heavier than many other champagnes from leading houses, there is a yeasty bread aroma in the blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier grapes.
On the palate, it’s strong and has a zesty citrus flavor backed by a hint of roasted nuts. If you aren’t a sweet tooth, Bollinger Special Cuvee is a powerful and intense style of Brut that melds well with seafood and rich sauces. It’s definitely one to garner a reaction.
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