What are the most expensive champagnes in the world?
In the immortal words of Mark Twain, “Too much of anything is bad, but too much Champagne is just right”. While champagne may already have an expensive reputation, we wanted to take some time to go through some of the most expensive champagnes in the world and see where you could get if money was really no factor.
For most people, they associate champagne with the classic brands – Moët & Chandon, Cristal, Dom Perignon, Laurent-Perrier, etc. But if you won the lottery tomorrow, what bottle would you be buying to celebrate – because we’re betting it wouldn’t be the kind of brands you can find in your everyday supermarket.
#10 1996 Krug Clos d’Ambonnay Blanc de Noirs Brut
Starting off our list with a bottle of Krug, well known for being one of the most expensive champagne brands, is the1996 Krug Clos d’Ambonnay Blanc de Noirs Brut. With notes of wheat, hazelnut, and frankly, money, it’s an ultra-refined vintage which is well deserving of it’s place on the worlds most expensive champagnes.
Although many of the other Krug vintages from the 90s are incredible bottles in their own right, it’s the 1996 which is the most famous, and at “just” $5,400 USD, by comparison to other brands coming up on the list, this is an absolute steal.
#9 1998 Dom Pérignon Rosé Jeroboam – David Lynch edition
Moving into number 9 with a classic brand renowned for making expensive champagne, we have the Dom Pérignon Rosé (David Lynch edition) in Jeroboam size. Clocking in at the bottom of our list with $8,333 USD, this 1998 Vintage features a label designed by critically acclaimed (and somewhat controversial) filmmaker David Lynch.
The ’98 bottling was an absolutely fantastic year for Dom Pérignon, and while the winemaker is one traditionally associated with very high prices, this bottle is one of only three from Dom featuring in on our list, making it the third most expensive Dom Perignon in the world.
#8 Louis Roederer, Cristal Brut 1990 Millennium Cuvee Methuselah
Currently on auction at Christies for a reasonable $18,800 USD we have a recognizable brand, Louis Roederer. While it’s low on the list for running in the most expensive champagne in the world, this year of Cristal was released only once, and only in the Methuselah size.
In preparation for the millennium celebration, only 2000 bottles were ever made and released (unsurprisingly, for the year 2000) making this a genuinely special bottle. Increasingly harder to find, and even more so in their original wooden cases, this is certainly a special champagne which would be worthy of a special occasion (before the year 3000, anyway).
#7 1959 Dom Pérignon
Coming in as the second most expensive Dom Pérignon in the world, the 1959 bottling is an absolute classic and one we’d love to get our hands on. Retailing at a handsome $29,500, it’s unfortunately going to have to be staying on our bottle bucket list for the time being.
The 69th vintage ever produced by the incredible brand, the 1959 stood out significantly with a winter frost followed by an incredibly hot summer – leading to the earliest harvest ever in the history of the wine. Each bottle of Dom is truly something to behold, but the 1959 Dom Pérignon stands out in the a world of it’s own.
#6 Shipwreck Champagne
At number 8 on our list, something for the really rogue – shipwreck champagne. Though not an actual brand, these bottles were salvaged from a 1840s shipwreck and are, incredibly, still in good condition due to the stable, cold and dark conditions found in the Baltic Sea.
Recently selling at auction for 40,000 Euros a piece, this non-traditional champagne contains higher sugar content than found in modern bottles and also, somewhat concerningly, marginal volumes of arsenic. While these bottles may be better suited to a museum than a wine room, if you’re looking to splash out (please pardon the pun) then what better way to do it than an authentic bottle of shipwreck champagne?
#5 1820 Juglar Cuvee
If we had a nickel for each bottle of champagne that features on our list of the worlds most expensive champagne which was found in a shipwreck at the bottom of the Baltic Sea we’d have two nickels. That might not be a lot of nickels, but it is weird that it happened twice.
Amazingly, found in the same shipwreck as Shipwreck Champagne, these $43,500 USD bottles come from the ancient Champagne Juglar, a house which was absorbed into Champagne Jacquesson (still available today) in the 1840s. If you’re looking to splash out on a bottle which is not only incredibly expensive, but from a Champagne house which no longer even exists in the modern world, then this is definitely the one to go for.
#4 1996 Dom Pérignon Rose Gold Methuselah
At a cool $50,000 USD, this bottle is the most expensive1996 Dom Pérignon in the world, and looking at the bottle, it’s no difficulty to see why. Presented in a wonderful rose gold dipped bottle (yes, a metal dipped bottle) the ’96 Dom absolutely oozes opulence.
Combine this with one of the best vintages ever produced by any champagne in the world (the 90s were a fantastic decade for champagne, but especially 1996) and the result is, unsurprisingly, one of the most expensive bottles of champagne in the world ever produced.
#3 2011 Armand de Brignac Nebuchadnezzar
The first nebuchadnezzar on our list, containing enough champagne for 20 standard bottles, is the 2011 Armand de Brignac. With a bottle bought by Mark Cuban in 2011 for $90,000 it is not only one of the most expensive bottles of champagne in the world, but also one of the largest ever produced.
While you don’t have to be Mark Cuban celebrating the Dallas Mavericks’ NBA Championship in order to shell out for a 15 liter bottle of the 2011 Armand de Brignac, we’d also suggest that it would be an excellent bottle to celebrate the acquisition of your startup by Facebook, or something as simple as a few hundred million in a lottery win.
#2 2013 Armand de Brignac Rose Melchizedek Midas
For those who a Nebuchadnezzar just isn’t enough, allow us to introduce the Melchizedek, holding an incredible 30 liters (or enough for 40 standard champagne bottles). Bought at auction just a few weeks after the 2011 Nebuchadnezzar listed above, this bottle was bought by the Boston Bruins, an ice hockey team, and at the time of purchase was one of only six bottles of Midas ever produced.
For $100,000, the the first bottle in our list to hit a cool six-figures, this bottle weighs an incredible 100lb and for an equivalent price you could buy a small apartment in many cities in the world – but really, which would you rather be spending your money on? Here at FineWineMaster, we’ve got an obvious preference.
#1 2013 Taste of Diamonds
Let’s get this out the way early – $1.8M USD. That’s how much you’ll be looking to shell out for the most expensive champagne in the world. Enough for a penthouse, several super cars, or a few hundred first class flights.
So what exactly is it which makes the Taste of Diamonds the most expensive champagne in the world?
Emulating a vintage style reminiscent of the roaring 20s, the bottle comes with the purchasers name engraved in 18k solid gold and a 18k white gold tag from the brand. Inside the center of this tag? Well, a 19k diamond, of course.
This bottle is far beyond champagne, it is artwork. Far more than a simple bottle of wine, the Taste of Diamonds brings together everything about wealth together into one bottle. So if you’re the next Powerball winner, you now know exactly where to look to splash your cash.