Champagne · prestige cuvées and vintages
Champagne: prestige cuvées and available vintages
The prestige cuvées of the great houses, old vintages and gift boxes included, vintage by vintage, with the format, the guide price and what to expect from it today: ready to drink, or to keep. Tick what interests you, and the quote request goes with your selection.
The champagnes on the price list
Filter by budget or by “ready to drink”. Nothing is sent until you click on the quote.
Six cuvées, five houses
Prestige cuvées: the top of each house's range, most often vintage.
Cristal, Louis Roederer
Created in 1876 for Tsar Alexander II, in a clear glass bottle with no punt. A vintage champagne, fine and taut.
Dom Pérignon, Moët & Chandon
Always vintage: the house only makes it in years it considers worthy. Shown here in a gift box.
La Grande Dame, Veuve Clicquot
The house's prestige cuvée, named after Barbe-Nicole Clicquot, who ran it in the 19th century. Mostly pinot noir.
Cuvée William Deutz and Amour de Deutz
The two prestige cuvées of the Deutz house, in Aÿ: William Deutz, a blend of the three grapes; Amour de Deutz, a blanc de blancs, all chardonnay.
Ruinart Blanc de Blancs
The oldest champagne house, founded in 1729. A non-vintage blanc de blancs, all chardonnay: the most affordable on the list.
Old champagnes: what you need to know
A thirty-year-old vintage champagne no longer has the lively bubbles of a young one: the mousse is fine, discreet, and the wine has taken on notes of hazelnut, brioche, honey. Some wine lovers seek it out for exactly that; others will be surprised. The quote confirms the condition of the bottle (fill level, cork) before purchase.
Transvins is a Bordeaux wine merchant: outside Bordeaux, the selection is short and made up of big names. For a wine not in the table, the quote request is still open.
What to serve it with
- As an aperitif, a blanc de blancs: Ruinart, Amour de Deutz. With oysters (what wine with oysters).
- At the table, a vintage prestige cuvée: fine fish, lobster (what wine with fish), poultry in a cream sauce (what wine with poultry).
- An old vintage: on its own, or with parmesan, an aged comté (what wine with cheese).
Which cuvée for which occasion
As a gift, a prestige cuvée in a gift box (which wine to give); for client gifts, see end-of-year client gifts. For a wedding anniversary, a vintage from the wedding year, if the table has it (wedding anniversary). For Christmas or New Year's Eve, as an aperitif and with the oysters (what wine with Christmas dinner). For the quantities for a wedding, the wedding champagne page does the count.
What is the difference between vintage and non-vintage champagne?
A non-vintage champagne blends several harvests to keep the same taste from one year to the next. A vintage champagne comes from a single year, judged good enough, and ages longer in the cellar before release.
How long can you keep a prestige champagne?
A vintage champagne from a great house can be drunk on release and goes on developing for ten to twenty years, sometimes more, in a cool cellar away from light. A non-vintage is drunk within two or three years.
How many flutes per bottle?
Six flutes per 75 cl bottle, twelve per magnum. For the quantities for an event, see how many bottles of champagne.
Are the prices shown the prices on the quote?
They're the guide prices from the price list, incl. VAT, per bottle of the format, excluding delivery. The quote confirms the price, the availability of each vintage and the shipping; the delivery grid gives the lead times. For a cuvée or a vintage not in the table, the quote request is still open.