Some people think of Champagne as liquid gold, and we think that’s a good description. Champagne is for drinking, certainly, but it’s also a luxury product. Like a handbag or watch, the finest Champagnes exude class, quality and attainment. They’re “objects”, not mere products or bottles of wine. At the very top end of the Champagne market, this liquid gold is taken to extremes. Here we will look at some of the most luxurious Champagnes on the market.
Gold Champagne?
When we talk about “Gold Champagne”, we aren’t talking about Champagne made of real gold. Instead, we are talking in the figurative sense, about the gold standard of high end Champagne. These wines are the best of the best, the world’s finest sparkling wines and almost worth their weight in gold!
Dom Pérignon Oenothèque
The name Dom Pérignon needs no introduction, such is its reputation throughout the world as a luxury Champagne. Dom Pérignon vintage Champagne routinely costs in excess of €150, and other cuvées can stretch into several hundreds. At the very high end of this luxury portfolio sits Dom Pérignon Oenothèque: These truly luxurious Champagnes have been aged with the utmost care by the Dom Pérignon cellar masters for many years, and are then released between 15 and 30 years after the vintage date, when the experts feel they are truly at their peak. This is decided by individually disgorging and tasting everything before it leaves the cellar. To lay hands on an example, such as Dom Pérignon Rosé Oenothèque 1992, is a bucket list experience for any wine lover, and only a precious few will ever have the privilege. The bottle may be the distinctive dark Dom Pérignon shade, but make no mistake: This is truly gold Champagne!
Krug Clos du Mesnil
Among the most luxurious Champagnes that money can be, Krug Clos du Mesnil is a single varietal and single vineyard wine from the iconic Krug Champagne house. The Clos du Mesnil vineyard is a tiny 1.85 hectare plot within Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, one of the best known Grand Cru Champagne villages in the Côte des Blancs. Krug Champagne in general commands high prices and huge prestige, though the Clos du Mesnil represents another level entirely; this is surely gold Champagne.
- Krug Clos du Mesnil 1996 received a perfect 100-point score from American critic Robert Parker and surely represents Chardonnay-based Champagne at its very best.
- Krug Clos du Mesnil 1990 and 1988 are both close to perfect vintages too, receiving 97 points each from Wine Spectator.
Piper-Heidsieck Rare Millésime
Gold Champagne in the sense of its shimmering and distinctive label, Piper-Heidsieck Rare Millésime 2002 is a luxury Champagne for those that really enjoy the finer things in life. This Chardonnay and Pinot Noir blend is rare in the sense that it is a limited release from the heralded 2002 vintage. The Piper-Heidsieck Champagne house in Reims is known throughout the world as one of the greats, and this represents the very best it has to offer.
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