Champagne

The 10 Most Expensive Champagnes in the World

Here, you’ll explore the most expensive Champagnes in the world and learn about the factors that contribute to their worth.

By 

Jillian Dara

 |  December 24, 2024

Champagne is an enduring symbol of luxury and sophistication. Everything about Champagne is celebratory, from the pomp and circumstance of popping a cork to the fizzing bubbles dancing around your glass to the sparkling feeling of your first sip. 

The fact that Champagne is a destination-specific wine adds to its exclusive allure. The sparkling wine can only be made from seven designated grape varieties grown in the Champagne Appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC) of France. The grapes include Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier — the most prominent grapes used in Champagne — and Arbane, Petit Meslier, Pinot Blanc, and Pinot Gris.

Champagne is produced in many different styles: it can be produced as a 100% variety, like Blanc de Blancs (made solely of white Chardonnay grapes), Blanc de Noirs (this style is usually made with black Pinot Noir grapes but also permits a blend of Pinot Meunier), or it can be a blend of any of the regulated grapes.

Champagne is labeled according to its dosage: the amount of added sugar to the wine after its disgorging (when the sediment from an aged bottle is released) to balance the acidity of the wine. The labels range from driest to sweetest: Brut Nature, Extra Brut, Brut, Extra Dry, Dry, Demi-Sec, and Doux. Finally, Champagne can also be labeled by vineyard or as a Grand Cru, which denotes the liquid encased is derived from grapes that matured in Champagne’s best vineyards. The different classifications ultimately factor into Champagne’s price. 

Other factors that contribute to expensive Champagnes include the legacy of Champagne houses, limited editions, collaborations with designers and artists, and special vintages. There are also more unique reasons that demand exorbitant price tags, like the nearly $2 million bottle of 2013 Taste of Diamonds, designed by Alexander Amosu and released by Shammi Shinh, which is more about the 18K gold and 19-carat diamond-clad bottle than the sparkling wine that’s in it. Rare shipwrecked bottles — including an 1841 Veuve Clicquot discovered in the Baltic Sea (sold at auction for €30,000 ($31,425)) and 1820 Juglar cuvée (sold at auction for £36,700 ($46,630)) — are also recorded as the world’s most expensive Champagnes. 

Due to the scarcity of these ultra-singular Champagnes, it’s nearly impossible to secure one for your collection. The following bottles, however, are some of the most expensive Champagnes in the world from top Champagne brands that you can actually get your hands on — no auction required — should your wallet allow.

What Is the Most Expensive Champagne in the World?

Krug

Krug Champagne regularly demands nearly $300 for its cuvées, with the more realistic average hovering above $500. A standout collection is Krug 1928, which is one of the best bottles of Champagnes in the world, explaining why its price is upward of $19,000. Krug’s 1937 cuvée, signed by Henri and Rémi Krug, sold for over $15,000 in a 2012 auction. Krug can demand these prices as it produces ultra-premium Champagne in limited quantities. The maison dates back to 1843 when founder Joseph Krug founded the house on individuality — he paid attention to the uniqueness of each plot by creating a wine from each one and ultimately built an impressive library of reserve wines, which today’s wines still use.

Dom Pérignon 

This Champagne has become synonymous with luxury. From pop culture collaborations to social media appearances in photos with the uber-wealthy, Dom Pérignon also quickly became renowned as the best champagne to gift as its shield-like label is recognizable by even the wine amateur. Despite its modern popularity, Dom Pérignon traces its history back centuries. In the 1600s, Champagne’s vineyards primarily produced still red wines, but all that changed when a French Benedictine monk, Dom Pierre Pérignon began using yeast to make wine and became known as the “Grandfather of Champagne.” 

One of the highest price tags paid for Dom Pérignon was $49,000 for a 1996 rose-gold methuselah (six liters). The 1998 Rosé Dom Pérignon by David Lynch jeroboam (three liters) demanded upward of $11,000. Recent vintages like Dom Pérignon Rosé Vintage 2009 starts at $535 for a regular 750ml bottle, and the Dom Pérignon Vintage 2008 costs $380 per bottle. 

Boërl & Kroff  

This boutique Champagne house creates only one style: a Pinot Noir-dominant blend from grapes that it imported from Champagne to Burgundy in the 12th century. One of its most expensive bottles of Champagne on the market is the 1996 magnum (1.5 liters) for over $5,000, which epitomizes Boërl & Kroff’s commitment to quality. The house prides itself on only releasing a vintage when it reaches peak maturity. In fact, the release of the 1996 vintage preceded the 1995 release. Other impressive price tags include the 1998 magnum at nearly $4,000 per bottle and the 2006 magnum for over $2,000.

Louis Roederer 

At over $7,000 a bottle, Louis Roederer Cristal Brut 1947 is one of the world’s most expensive Champagnes.  Cristal is Louis Roederer’s signature wine, produced only in the finest years from around 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay. The brand created the cuvée in 1876 for Tsar Alexander II and further distinguished the wine by encasing it in a flat-bottomed, transparent lead-crystal bottle, a tradition they continue today. In 2002, Louis Roederer released a limited edition Cristal “Gold Medalion” Orfevres Brut Millesime that at the time warranted a $4,000 price. The 2016 Cristal release is on the market for about $360.

Bollinger 

Bollinger Champagne has produced a majority of Grand Cru sparkling wines since 1829. They have a vast collection of releases for over $1,000, including Bollinger La Côte aux Enfants Champagne 2013 and Bollinger Vieilles Vignes Francaises 2012. Two of the most expensive Champagnes the maison has created are the Bollinger R.D. Extra Brut “Spectre” James Bond 007 Edition that starts at $2,500, and Bollinger 1996 Vieilles Vignes Françaises that averages $5,000 per bottle. Bollinger also has a reputation for its collection of large-format wines, including a reserve of 800,000 magnums. 

Champagne Salon

The first vintage of Champagne Salon was 1905 but only for founder Eugène-Aimé Salon’s own pleasure. In the 1920s, the rest of the world could taste Salon’s creation, and it received immediate respect for its pronounced singularity. The maison has since garnered a cult following for its linear production method. Salon only creates single vintages sourced from a single terroir, the Côte des Blancs; from a single cru, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger; and with a single grape variety, Chardonnay. Salon further differentiates itself by aging its wines in cellars for an average of 10 years; it produced only 37 vintages in the 20th century, which is why it’s recognized as “a unique phenomenon in the world of wine.” The 2013 Salon Cuvée “S” is the maison’s current release and starts at an average price of $1,000.

Armand de Brignac

Armand de Brignac, also known as “Ace of Spades” Champagne, is well-recognized by its metallic bottles in differing shades, from liquid gold to hot pink. The original founders of Armand de Brignac, the Cattier family, are a multigenerational Champagne family who has owned and operated vineyards since the late 1700s. Today, Jay-Z is a co-owner along with LVMH. Today, the lowest price tag in the core collection is $300 for the Armand de Brignac Brut Gold but grows to $37,999 for a nebuchadnezzar (15 liters) of the brut rosé. The prices are defined by the brand’s extremely limited production of under 100,000 bottles per year. 

Pol Roger

The most expensive bottle of Pol Roger tops the list of most expensive Champagnes ever sold; the 1921 Pol Roger Vintage Brut sold for $3,406. Today, the entry-level 750ml Champagne starts at around $140, but there are plenty of special editions and large-format bottles that keep Pol Roger among the top most expensive Champagne brands in the world. For example, the Pol Roger Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill 2013 starts at $375 per bottle, whereas the same cuvée as a 2015 magnum starts at $880.

Perrier-Jouët

In 2021, Perrier-Jouët set a record for luxury auction house Christie’s when an 1874 vintage sold for £42,875 (nearly $57,000). In 2002, Perrier-Jouët released 100 12-bottle cases of its beloved Belle Époque Blanc de Blancs priced over $64,000. Cellar master Severine Frerson describes this Champagne as “the jewel of the collection” because it expresses the Chardonnay grape in its purest form. A 2010 jeroboam of Belle Époque Blanc de Blancs currently costs around $2,800. Other cuvées begin at $880, such as the Perrier-Jouët Epoque Rosé 2012 magnum, or at $650 for the Perrier-Jouet Belle Epoque Brut 2012 magnum. 

Veuve Clicquot 

Veuve Clicquot holds one of the top spots of most expensive Champagnes ever sold with its shipwrecked 1841 cuvée that sold for €30,000 ($31,425). When it comes to more readily available bottles, Veuve Clicquot continues to honor the woman who defined the brand with its Grande Dame label that demands some of the highest price tags for the house. The 2008 Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame magnum is currently on the market for about $530, while the 2015 La Grande Dame Rosé (traditional 750ml bottle) costs $310. Of course, larger formats beckon a higher price tag, including the balthazar (12 liters) Veuve Clicquot Brut Yellow Label, which currently costs $3,400. 

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