The Best French Champagnes

There are about 300 champagne houses in France. Generally, tourists limit themselves to the most well-known ones: Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, and Dom Pérignon. However, there are dozens of other labels, less known, that rank among the best French champagnes. Our article shows you the 10 best French champagnes.

Yes, we know that the expression 'French champagnes' mentioned in the title of this article is a pleonasm because, for a sparkling wine to be called 'champagne', it must be produced in the French region of Champagne.

The word champagne is the second most recognized word in the French language worldwide, second only to bonjour - the famous greeting when you approach or interact with any French person.

The drink champagne is the most known and consumed French luxury product in the world. According to 2014 data, every second, 2 bottles of champagne are opened.

All this fame of champagne is due not only to its royal past but also to its festive and joyful character, always linked to celebrations and achievements.

We asked Ana Carolina Dani, a Brazilian sommelier, to make a list of ten of the best French champagnes from major producers.

When speaking with Ana over the phone, she said: 'I made the list of wines'; I replied: 'Ana, the list is of champagnes, not wines'; to which she responded: 'Champagnes are, by definition, wines'.

The owner of the maison Jacquesson, mentioned below, was asked why he referred to his product as 'wine' and not as 'champagne', to which he replied: 'Champagne is above all a great wine from exceptional terroirs, whose complexity is comparable to the best wines in the world. The bubbles are a part of its charm, but they are neither the beginning nor the end of it all: a lesser wine will always be a lesser wine, with or without bubbles. At Jacquesson, our ambition is to make great wines...'

See below the selection made by Brazilian sommelier Ana Carolina Dani.

The cuvée Vieilles Vignes Françaises is made from very few French vines - called pre-phylloxera - that were preserved from phylloxera. This plague devastated French and European vineyards in the late 19th century. Today, almost 100% of French vines are grafted with rootstocks from European varieties, resistant to phylloxera. The parcel producing Vieilles Vignes Françaises (old French vines) is less than 0.5 hectares and allows us to taste the champagne of the 19th century today.

Price: 2004 = 995€

Founded in 1920, Maison Salon began as a private producer of champagnes by its owner, fur businessman Eugène-Aimé Salon, who found the champagnes of that time to be of poor quality. The maison produces only one champagne, the cuvée S, 100% chardonnay from a parcel of just 1 hectare.

Prices:

1996 = 875€

1990 = 1,450€

Perhaps the best-known French champagne, Dom Pérignon is a tribute to the Benedictine monk of the same name - a pioneer in the production of champagne - who lived at the Abbey of Hautvillers, near Épernay. Pérignon was the first to blend various types of grapes, use thicker bottles, and utilize cork stoppers tied to the bottle with hemp cord.

Prices:

Vintage 1975 = 975€

Rosé 1996 = 550€

Rosé 2002 = 360€

Cristal champagne was created in 1876 by Louis Roederer for Russian Czar Alexander II and is considered by many to be the first cuvée de prestige. Alexander II wanted a transparent bottle that would not hide the color and bubbles of the champagne. At the same time, he required that the bottom of the bottle be flat to prevent enemies from hiding a bomb in the curvature of traditional bottles. Roederer then commissioned a Flemish glassmaker to create a champagne bottle with these specifications.

In the mid-90s, Cristal entered global pop culture through hip-hop artists like Jay-Z, Notorious B.I.G., Puff Daddy, and Tupac Shakur, who not only consumed liters of the drink but also mentioned it in their songs from a perspective of luxury and opulence.

Price: 2007 = 179€

Pol Roger was Winston Churchill's favorite champagne, to whom the famous quote about the drink is attributed: 'In victory, deserved. In defeat, necessary.' After his death in 1965, the maison placed a black border on the labels of the Brut NV bottles that would be shipped to the United Kingdom.

In 1984, the cuvée de prestige Winston Churchill was launched in tribute to the great British statesman. Predominantly made from pinot noir grapes, its exact blend is a secret, but the intention was to please Churchill's palate, who said: 'My tastes are simple, I am easily satisfied with the best.'

Price: 2000 and 2002 = 185€

The cuvée Clos du Mesnil comes from a single parcel (clos in French) of chardonnay: a vineyard of 1.84 hectares walled since 1698 in the center of Mesnil-sur-Oger, a small town in the Champagne region.

According to the maison Krug, the vineyard's location and the fact that it is walled create a microclimate that gives unique characteristics to the grapes produced there. The cuvée Clos du Mesnil is made with grapes from a single year and kept in caves for over a decade before being marketed.

Price: 2003 = 920€

The d'Ambonnay parcel - from where the pinot noir grapes used in the production of its cuvée come - is located on the southeastern slope of the Reims mountain and is even smaller than the Mesnil parcel, measuring just 0.68 hectares, walled since 1766. However, its vines were only planted there in the 20th century.

Price: 1998 = 2850€

Located in Dizy, in the Champagne region, maison Jacquesson was founded in 1798 by Memmie Jacquesson. Its fame grew during Napoleon's era thanks to rumors that it was the emperor's favorite champagne. In 1974, the maison was purchased by the Chiquet family and today produces organic champagnes.

Price: 220€

Cuvée made exclusively with chardonnay grapes from the prestigious Côte des Blanc region, produced in 1995, it spent about 17 years in the maison's cellars before being marketed.

Price: 1995 = 120€

The two founders of Maison Deutz - William Deutz and Pierre-Hubert Geldermann - were German immigrants who settled in the Champagne region attracted by France's prosperity during the reign of Louis-Philippe I.

Price: 2005 = 160€

Also check out the best champagnes from small French producers.

Now that you know the best French champagnes, watch our video and read the article with tips on how and when to serve champagne, click here.

This post is part of the series The Secret Luxury in Paris and France sponsored by Air France. Read the other posts in the series:

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Traditional and New Gastronomy in Paris

Ten Apartments in Paris with Spectacular Views

Gourmet Delivery in Paris

Spas in Paris and Surroundings

New Jewelry Designers in Paris

Nightlife in Paris

Confidential Addresses for Hair in Paris

Castles to Stay in France

Six Contemporary Art Museums in Southern France

Seven Restaurants with the Most Beautiful View in Paris

Ten Dishes of French Cuisine and Where to Eat Them