How Expensive
Is Your Taste?
The key elements in superior
Champagnes:
Before you take another sip, make sure your
champagne flute is filled with only the best
quality. Dom Perignon said it best, “Come
quickly. I’m tasting stars”. If this is not your
immediate reaction, you may be missing one of
the key elements to not only a better taste, but
a better experience. Studies show that higher
quality wines have a better buzz and a few added
health benefits.
In the world of champagne there is an elite class.
Though there are many champagne brands,
those that come from the Champagne region
in Northeast France are technically the only
true champagnes. Those created elsewhere are
considered ‘sparkling wines’ primarily because
they lack authenticity. The Champagne region
geography lends itself to wine production not
only because of its rich soil, but also because the
chalk deposits that were left thousands of years
prior now serve as underground cellars to cool
the wine during the maturation process.
The cuvee, or vats, that come from this region
have historic roots and of the four types of
champagnes, as the name gives away, the
prestige cuvee is home to the world’s most
expensive and best quality brands: Cristal,
Dom Perignon, Laurent-Pierre’s, and Moet &
Chandon. Each of these brands is made from
a blended selection of grapes that have been
gently pressed and juiced without leaving any
red residue caused by the skin. This is what gives
champagne its characteristic golden tone.
Most of the champagne produced today is
non-vintage and composed of several varieties
of grapes from different harvests. This aids in
mass production but is frowned upon by wine
connoseuirs and considered of lower quality.
Vintage wine is highly acclaimed for its rarity
but more importantly for what it ensures, a more
balanced aroma and flavor collectors desire.
The process of making Champagne is long
and complex, so don’t sell yourself short
with a cheap bottle. There’s more to superior
champagne then the price, and ultimately it boils
down to personal preference. The question is
‘How expensive is your taste’?
Most Expensive Champagnes:
5
4
Louis Roederer- Cristal Brut
1990 "Methuselah" ($17,625)
- In 2005 one bottle sold at
auction in NY for this price to
an undisclosed buyer. Critics
claim Jay-Z's personal Cristal
endorsement helped hike the price
up leaving it as one of the most
expensive bottles to date.
Dom Perignon- 1995 White
Gold Jeroboam ($40,000)
- This limited edition bottle
is not expensive because of
the brand, or the wine itself,
but for the three liter bottle
made of pure white gold.
2
Heidseick- Shipwrecked
1907 ($275,000) - These
bottles, whose roots
trace directly to the
Heidseick vineyard in the
Champagne region, never
reached their intended
destination to the Russian
imperial family. In 1997,
divers found 200 bottles
w X