abbey of Hautvilliers

France

Champagne Only Comes From Champagne Champagne is a unique winemaking region in France. Ninety miles northeast of Paris, the region’s climate, chalky soil, strict regulations and long history of winemaking combine to produce a sparkling wine that can only be produced in one place: Champagne.

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The 10 Best Champagnes for Every Occasion (2021)

• Best Blanc de Blancs Champagne: Champagne Delamotte Blanc de Blancs.
• Best Vintage Champagne: Champagne Henriot Millésimé 2008.
• Best Esoteric Champagne: Billecart Salmon Sous Bois.
• Best Sweet Lovers’ Champagne: Laurent-Perrier Harmony Demi-Sec.

The World’s Most Expensive Champagne

Wine Name	Score	Ave Price
Louis Roederer Cristal Gold Medalion Orfevres Limited Edition Brut	N/A	$3355
Krug Clos d’Ambonnay Blanc de Noirs Brut	96	$2643
Dom Pérignon P3 Plénitude Brut	95	$2610
Dom Pérignon P3 Plénitude Brut Rosé	90	$2351

10 Best-Selling Champagne Brands in the World

1. Moët & Chandon. Thought by many to be the best champagne brand in the world, the LVMH brand is also the best-selling champagne brand.
2. Veuve Clicquot.
3. Nicolas Feuillatte.
4. G.H.
5. Laurent-Perrier.
6. Taittinger.
7. Pommery.
8. Piper-Heidsieck.

Champagnes don’t have any best-before date or expiration. Unopened non-vintage champagne can last up to three to four years while an unopened vintage champagne will last longer for five to ten years at room temperature. Once opened, a bottle of champagne, vintage or non-vintage, will only last up to three to five days.

Why is Dom Pérignon so expensive? Dom Pérignon only uses the finest grapes from the best vineyards in Champagne, France. Its vintages are aged for a minimum of seven years before they’re released onto the market and the brand follows a strict manifesto when it comes to its growing, ripening and ageing requirements.

That said, most critics agree that the best recent Dom Pérignon vintage was 2002 and so we will focus on it. Even though it is a relatively rare Champagne, you may still find it for sale on wine-searcher.com for an average of $200. James Suckling gave it 97 points; Decanter and Wine Spectator, 96.

Moët has a much more generous, giving style whereas Dom Pérignon is more complex and subdued. They are made as much different champagnes.” Lots of lemon, creaminess and bright fruit. Good ripeness and great texture on the mouth.

From its traditional, antique-style label to its distinct, historical bottle shape, Dom Perignon is a symbol of luxury embedded in popular culture. It stands out among vintage wines because it is never produced in weak years, and all the grapes used to make each bottle are always harvested in the same year.

• 1959 Dom Perignon – $42,350.
• 1996 Dom Perignon Rose Gold Methuselah – $49,000.
• 2013 Taste of Diamonds – $1.8 million.

2000 isn’t the best vintage of Dom (or a great vintage in general), but the Dom team did a nice job and slightly changed the style with the 2000. Most vintages of Dom go down like water when young and really need 10-20 years of post release aging to get good and interesting.

As Dom Pérignon is a vintage champagne, it lasts a lot longer than non-vintage types and usually lasts 7 to 10 years after the time of purchase if stored correctly. However, if you leave it longer than this, the quality can start to deteriorate over time.

Does champagne go bad? Eventually, yes. Certain champagnes, as detailed below, can last beyond 20 years. The shelf life of champagne depends on a variety of factors, such as the label and how the champagne was stored.

Unfortunately, Champagne does eventually go bad even if you have kept it unopened in the refrigerator (or in a cool and dry place), but it will take a number of years before that happens. This doesn’t mean it’s no longer safe to drink, it just means that it will lose its lovely bubblies.

The 1998 seems young still, but is certainly a great pleasure to drink and will be for many years. During a visit at Dom Pérignon in Hautvillers in March this year, I tasted the three recent vintages of the prestige cuvée plus the often-underrated 1998.

While the current 2004 Dom Perignon sells for about $169, the 1998 P2 will be around $375, more than double the price.

The 1995 Dom Pérignon, another great vintage, is broader and even more powerful than the 1996 DP at this moment which is rather closed. It is very rich in flavor, very Pinot Noir, and undoubtedly will last for many decades. Right now it might be better than the 1996 for most people.

Non-vintage champagne has a pretty decent shelf life too. When stored unopened, it can remain good to drink for three to four years from purchase (not from the date on the label). When properly stored opened, non-vintage champagne can last for three to five days without spoiling.

1988 Vintage: Champagne The 1988 vintage for Champagne was by most accounts excellent. Overall, the 1988 Champagne vintage was superb and there should still be some wines, particularly from the top estates, drinking extremely well now, however, their window is likely to be closing.

With differences in style, production and taste, vintage champagne is much more than an expensive version of regular fizz. Non-vintage champagne is generally revered for being fresh, acidic and very fizzy. Vintage champagne is often less fizzy, much richer and more like a good white Burgundy.”

Are 100-Year-Old Champagnes Even Drinkable? Common convention says to drink Champagne as soon as possible after its release. But in the last 10 years, wine collectors have realized that Champagnes can age quite gracefully. The Bollinger wines should be no exception.

The latter half of the decade saw some very good results in Champagne, with the 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999 are scoring solidly in the 90s with Robert Parker – the 1996 is perhaps the most legendary of this period, with a dry summer with long bursts of sunshine producing a vintage of outstanding quality.

They may be opened between 7 and 10 years after purchase, or even later than that. There is no benefit in keeping champagne longer than the recommended time. All the bottles of champagne that we sell have been aged in our cellars and they can be opened as soon as they are purchased.

Old champagne (or any sparkling wine for that matter) will not make you sick (unless of course, you overindulge). If it looks unpleasant, smells unpleasant, and a few small drops on your tongue taste unpleasant, then yes, the wine has gone bad but won’t make you sick.

But whiskey can expire. You just have to open the bottle. Most whiskey scientists believe that an opened bottle of whiskey lasts about 1 to 2 years—if it’s half full. Whiskey expires about 6 months if it’s a quarter or less full.

Take care if you are planning to toast the New Year with champagne – the bubbles in this most celebratory of tipples really do get you drunk more quickly. Many people say that champagne bubbles “go straight to their head”, making them giggly and light-headed.