Champagne is the ultimate celebration wine, adding some bubbly spirit to holidays, birthdays, or even an average Tuesday night. But the category’s premium price tag can sometimes be intimidating. To help make sure you’re shelling out for the right bottle, we’ve compiled a list of the best Champagnes to buy right now, whether you’re looking to splurge on bubbles well over $100 or find a great value for $50.
The bottles on this list range from classic blends made from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier, to sparkling rosés and blanc de blancs. There are also some new wines that hint at the future of the region, focusing on organic agriculture and single-vineyard or vintage expressions. The list also showcases some notable bottles made with 100 percent Pinot Meunier, a grape that has historically been considered the third wheel of the region, but now has a growing presence.
All bubbles here were judged non-blind by VinePair’s tasting panel in order to determine the best wines across all price points and categories. Here is VinePair’s list of the best Champagnes for 2023.
Best Champagnes Under $50
Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label Champagne Brut NV
This wine needs no introduction. Its iconic yellow label has made it one of the most recognized wines on the planet. And for good reason. It’s ripe and fruit-forward with lively bubbles and slight hints of richness. The palate is balanced, refreshing, and ready to please a crowd.
Average price: $49
Rating: 90
Best Champagnes Under $100
Champagne Chavost Blanc de Meunier NV
Chavost used to be a typical cooperative winery in Champagne, making volume-oriented, conventional wines. But when the spirited chef de caves Fabian Daviaux took over the winery in 2019 he shifted the estate’s mindset. He urged all of the winery’s growers to convert to organic farming and started making wine with no added sulfites, no fining or filtering, and no dosage. This wine is the perfect example of Chavost’s new direction. It’s made from 100 percent Pinot Meunier grapes, and is tart and bright with a slight hint of strawberry fruit. The bubbles are assertive, but not overwhelming, showing off a softened tartness.
Average price: $55
Rating: 90
Champagne Chavost Assemblage NV
Chavost’s Assemblage bottling is a blend of 50 percent Chardonnay and 50 percent Pinot Meunier, and we’re over the moon with the balance in this wine. The nose is alive and mineral-driven with notes of fresh apples. The palate is crisp and structured with good texture and overall balance. A wonderful value for Champagne.
Average price: $60
Rating: 93
Champagne Legras & Haas Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs NV
A fruit-forward and citrusy blanc de blancs, this wine lands with creamy texture and complex depth. Savory notes arrive on the finish, along with a heavy helping of rich brioche. This wine is made using only fruit from grand cru vineyards and showcases multiple details surrounding its production on the back label — Champagne geeks will love this wine.
Average price: $65
Rating: 93
Champagne Mandois Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru Brut 2017
Vintage Champagne this good, coming from several prestigious villages, at this price? It’s a triumph. This Champagne sees a little bit of oak and some stainless-steel aging to bring us a wine with great depth balanced by bright appley notes. The bubbles are even and persistent — a great value, but also simply a great wine.
Average price: $66
Rating: 90
Vincent Charlot La Dune 2019
Vincent Charlot makes this wine from certified organic and biodynamic Pinot Meunier vineyards. His goal is to show this variety’s sense of place. The nose is all apple tartness that calms on the palate, giving it a creamy mouthfeel. The laser-like acidity keeps the palate refreshing while still showing some depth.
Average price: $69
Rating: 90
Champagne Billecart-Salmon Brut Réserve NV
One of the most expressive and textured non-vintage Champagne bottles out there. It delivers some serious bang for your buck. It’s very mineral-driven with crispy bright fruit vibes on the nose. The palate is creamy yet somewhat austere, allowing it to fit many different palate preferences.
Average price: $70
Rating: 93
Champagne Jeeper Cuvée Blanc de Blancs Grande Réserve Brut NV
If you’re a basketball fan, this is the Champagne for you. Hall of Famer Tony Parker is a partner in this historic Champagne estate, but that’s not the only reason we love this wine. This blanc de blancs is straightforward with a lovely nose and crisp palate. There are some floral notes and sliced apples to boot. The palate is serious yet casual with active bubbles and balanced fruit. A great glass to serve as a welcome to guests or to serve with food.
Average price: $70
Rating: 90
Champagne Louis Roederer Collection 244 NV
Though Louis Roederer is best known for Cristal, this Champagne house also has a long line of more affordable wines that still hit. It has a density on the nose and palate with hints of pastry dough that’s contrasted by bright pear notes and nice active bubbles. Mouth-watering acidity livens up the palate.
Average price: $70
Rating: 91
Champagne Delamotte Brut NV
Chardonnay acts as the structural backbone of this wine, with the Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier adding great depth of fruit. It has an earthy nose that evokes the unctuous aroma of an artisan cheese shop with subtle hints of flaky baked pastry dough. The palate is drying and refreshing, with lively acidity keeping everything balanced.
Average price: $71
Rating: 92
Champagne Lanson Le Green Label Organic NV
This Pinot Noir-based blend comes from Champagne Lanson’s certified organic and biodynamic vineyards. It has some nice depth, with aromas of toast and golden apples. It’s the palate that brings the focus with great acidity and lively bubbles.
Average price: $75
Rating: 90
Best Champagnes Over $100
Champagne Laurent-Perrier Millésimé 2012
This expressive vintage wine is made from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay harvested across multiple grand cru vineyards. The 2012 vintage presented an exceptional harvest after a dry and sunny summer season. There’s a hint of pastry on the nose tinged with fresh citrus. It has a finesse on the palate with fine bubbles and a slight mineral edge. The wine is aging nicely and will only improve and deepen with time.
Average price: $100
Rating: 91
Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage 2015
Since 1842, Moët & Chandon has released 76 vintage Champagnes, each expressing the cellar master’s interpretation of a specific year. The 2015 vintage is a blend of 44 percent Pinot Noir, 32 percent Chardonnay, and 24 percent Pinot Meunier that’s aged for six years. The result is a bright nose of apples and lemon zest with a mineral tinge. The palate is quite tart and assertive with smooth bubbles and well-balanced acidity.
Average price: $110
Rating: 94
Ruinart Blanc Singulier NV
Winegrowing is an industry on the frontlines of climate change. Ruinart is seeing it firsthand and has created a new wine in its lineup to reflect the fluctuating environmental conditions in Champagne. Ruinart’s Blanc Singulier is made every year with 80 percent base wine from the current vintage and 20 percent from reserve wines to show how Chardonnay expresses itself in Champagne at the current time. This wine shows bright candied fruit aromas on the nose with hints of honeysuckle blossom. The palate is tart and fresh with tight perlage. A very cool Champagne with a message.
Average price: $122
Rating: 91
Champagne Palmer Grands Terroirs 2015
This cuvée is crafted as an expression of Champagne Palmer’s sense of place across Montagne de Reims. The blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier comes together in this delectably rich Champagne. Notes of brioche, lemon curd, and cheese rind rise out of the glass, and the palate brings an incredible creamy texture with even perlage.
Average price: $145
Rating: 94
Champagne Henriot L’Inattendue 2016
Champagne Henriot is one of Champagne’s last family-operated houses. Today, eighth-generation Gilles de Larouzière Henriot continues the estate’s tradition, while also starting new cuvées. For example, this bottle is the first in the estate’s history to feature a singular terroir. This wonderfully expressive wine is the definition of what the world has come to expect from quality Champagne. A nose of pastry dough welcomes the senses and is balanced by subtle citrus lifted by the bubbles. The palate is aging nicely with well-integrated brioche and a delicious note of lemon curd.
Average price: $155
Rating: 95
Champagne Billecart-Salmon Louis Salmon 2009
This blanc de blancs is named in tribute to Louis, Elisabeth Salmon’s brother, who was passionate about winemaking. An annual expression of the best parcels of the estate’s holdings in the Côte des Blancs, this wine is all about minerality. It’s refreshing with hints of citrus and lemon oil, but finishes with a creamy mouthfeel that has just the right amount of depth. It’s aging wonderfully, and is a pleasure to sip now.
Average price: $220
Rating: 93
Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 2015
It is impossible to overstate how influential Madame Clicquot is to the Champagne industry as well as our enjoyment of this bubbly wine region. This is the latest vintage release of the Veuve Clicquot Grande Dame (named after the pioneering widow herself) line of Champagne and does not disappoint. There are slight hints of brioche with some candied pineapple and pear on the nose. That fruit is countered on the palate with extremely bracing acidity that calms the sweetness. The mouthfeel has a nice texture beneath the rapidly rising bubbles. The perfect bottle for your next celebration.
Average price: $220
Rating: 93
Champagne Christophe Baron Le Dessus du Bois Marie 2018
In Champagne’s Marne Valley, Christophe Baron makes a case for wines made with 100 percent Pinot Meunier. The result is something quite special. This wine is refreshing in its depth. Across the nose and palate, a saline quality lingers among citrus and slight marzipan aromas. The fine mousse on the wine gives it a supple mouthfeel. For a wine made from the third most popular of the three mainstays in the region, it’s a success. And as a plus: It’s only available in magnum format, so it’s ideal for larger get-togethers.
Average price: $250
Rating: 91
Krug Grande Cuvée 171ème Édition NV
Every year Krug makes the best wine it they can based on that year’s harvest with a different proportion of their reserve wine that harmonizes with that year’s vinification. It’s like freeform jazz — every wine is different. This bottle is the 171st edition and it is beguiling. The rich bready nose is contrasted with hints of red berries and tart white cherries. The mouthfeel has elegance, finesse, and depth. The easy perlage takes a back seat to the creamy texture and rounded fruit notes.
Average price: $250
Rating: 96
Best Rosé Champagnes
Champagne Palmer Rosé Solera
This unique rosé is made from Pinot Noir drawn from a solera system, a technique most widely known for its use in sherry production in southern Spain. The result is a wine with exceptional depth and character. The nose is deep with notes of pastry dough and the brambly aroma of wild strawberries. But the fine bubbles do the work of keeping the wine refreshing and lifted.
Average price: $92
Rating: 93
Champagne Delamotte Rosé NV
This wine is crafted with a special selection of the house Chardonnays, which makes up 88 percent of the blend, and the remaining 12 percent is rounded out with Pinot Noir that’s vinified red. The nose is welcoming with floral and red berry notes. The palate shows depth with good acidity, but not so much as to take away from that concentrated fruit.
Average price: $96
Rating: 93
Champagne Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé NV
Laurent-Perrier’s deeply hued rosé is iconic, and one of the best you can find in the category. Made with 100 percent Pinot Noir, this Champagne smells like strawberry jam on a doughy croissant. It has good, balanced bubbles with a mouthwatering palate. It’s a great bottle to gift — but make sure you get a sip.
Average Price: $100
Rating: 94
Louis Roederer et Philippe Starck Brut Nature Rosé 2015
This is part of Louis Roederer’s limited-edition lineup created in collaboration with Philippe Starck where they focus on zero-dosage bottlings. The result is a mineral-driven wine with focused notes of guava and honeysuckle. The palate is angled with sharp corners softened slightly by that round Pinot Noir fruit. It has wonderful acidity and will awaken the senses.
Average price: $105
Rating: 92
Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame Rosé 2012
While all the wines under this legendary house are unique, this line is named after the matriarch herself. It has so much fruit depth with a savory note flitting about the rich raspberry jam and hints of cream. That depth is undeniable on the palate as the wine shows just the right amount of weight. Gentle yet persistent bubbles rise gracefully, adding refreshment. A wine that is worthy of the Dame herself.
Average Price: $320
Rating: 94
Krug Rosé 27th Edition
The dedication to quality in each of Krug’s wines is apparent in this outstanding rosé. The nose is shy at first but tart berry notes emerge with some unique notes of cranberry and the most artisanal sea salt you can find. The palate has a comfortable depth with an almost umami vibe that really sinks into your senses. The classic hint of brioche is there but as a supporting player. An impeccably balanced wine, well worth the splurge.
Average Price: $399
Rating: 96
