Drink Prestige Cuvée Champagne before you die!
Why? This is the pinnacle of luxury beverages. Plus, you don’t want to end up like John Maynard Keynes, with your only regret in life being that you didn’t drink more Champagne!
Ten Second Summary
- What it is: Prestige Cuvée Champagne is a producer’s flagship Champagne — the wine intended to represent the pinnacle of the house.
- Tastes like: Usually more depth, complexity, finesse, texture and length than the standard non-vintage wine. Think citrus, brioche, chalk, roasted nuts, white flowers, red fruit, cream and ridiculous polish.
- Buying shortcut: Start with the icons: Cristal, Dom Pérignon, Krug, Sir Winston Churchill and Comtes de Champagne ↓
- Best with: Celebration, seafood, roast chicken, caviar, triple cream cheese, or frankly just the joy of being alive.
- When to drink: Most are wonderful on release, but the best Prestige Cuvée Champagne can age beautifully for 10, 20, or even more years.
What’s on this page
- What is Prestige Cuvée Champagne?
- What does cuvée mean in Champagne?
- Why drink Prestige Cuvée Champagne before you die?
- The best Prestige Cuvée Champagne producers and bottles to try
- How to buy, serve and drink Prestige Cuvée Champagne
- Prestige Cuvée Champagne FAQ
1. What is Prestige Cuvée Champagne?
Champagne is what most would call a luxury wine. And Prestige Cuvée Champagne is the most luxurious of the luxurious.
A prestige cuvée is a producer’s flagship wine — a wine created to represent the pinnacle of their range. Unless, of course, you’re Krug, then you only create prestige cuvée Champagne.
There are a lot of these wines to choose from and, as the name would suggest, most are pretty expensive. But unlike many cult wines and Grand Cru Burgundies, there is usually a reasonable amount to go around, so the best Prestige Cuvée Champagne is often fairly accessible around the globe.
I’ve often tried a standard Champagne and thought, Ah, this is the life. But Prestige Cuvée Champagnes really are next level.
2. What does cuvée mean in Champagne?
The word cuvée can be confusing because it gets used in a few different ways.
In the simplest sense, a cuvée is a blend or a particular bottling. In Champagne, a house may have a non-vintage cuvée, a vintage cuvée, a rosé cuvée, a blanc de blancs cuvée, and then, sitting proudly at the top, a prestige cuvée.
So, is cuvée Champagne better? Not automatically. A basic “cuvée” on a label does not necessarily mean luxury. But a Prestige Cuvée Champagne usually means the producer’s most ambitious, most carefully selected, and most expensive wine.
That is why wines like Louis Roederer Cristal, Dom Pérignon, Krug Grande Cuvée, Taittinger Comtes de Champagne and Pol Roger Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill have become such famous names. They are not just bottles of bubbles. They are calling cards.
3. Why drink Prestige Cuvée Champagne before you die?
Because life is short, Champagne is glorious, and Prestige Cuvée Champagne is often where the region’s ambition is most clearly expressed.
These wines are not merely about fizz. They can be creamy, chalky, vinous, floral, nutty, smoky, saline, citrusy, powerful, delicate, and deeply complex — sometimes all at once. The best examples have the energy of great sparkling wine, the texture of great white Burgundy, and the occasion-making magic that only Champagne seems to possess.
Are they expensive? Yes. Are they always worth it? Not always. But when they are good, they are unforgettable.
And if you are building a bucket list of the world’s best wines, a few of these belong very near the top.
4. The best Prestige Cuvée Champagne producers and bottles to try
1. Louis Roederer — Cristal
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| Louis Roederer Cristal — the original Prestige Cuvée Champagne. |
The original prestige cuvée. Created in 1876 to satisfy the demanding tastes, and ego, of Russian Tsar Alexander II. The Tsar had asked Louis Roederer to reserve the House’s best cuvée for him every year.
To distinguish the Tsar’s wine, and no doubt flatter his ego, the special cuvée was put in a super-special flat-bottomed crystal bottle. Legend has it this was done so the paranoid royal could see if it had been tampered with. Others suggest it was so his courtiers would have no doubt they were drinking a special wine not commercially available.
Of course, the Russian Revolution in 1917 meant Roederer lost both its sole customer for Cristal and its principal export market. But demand for this legendary wine was strong and incessant. So, in 1924, Roederer re-released the famous Cristal wine, and this time, thankfully, did not limit its availability to a single customer.
Typically a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, Cristal is clean, pure, precise, aromatic, and a whole lot more.
Find Louis Roederer Cristal on Wine-Searcher.
2. Moët & Chandon — Dom Pérignon
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| Dom Pérignon — the wine that made Prestige Cuvée Champagne a thing. |
Cristal may have been the first prestige Champagne. But it was Moët’s Dom Pérignon that made it a thing.
The wine was first marketed in the late 1920s, initially in England and the United States, and became one of the world’s most famous luxury wines. Virtually all the grand Champagne houses had long produced special cuvées for their own private use, but Dom’s success inspired many of them to expand production and introduce these wines commercially in the mid-20th century.
Dom Pérignon is always a vintage Champagne. There is no non-vintage Dom. That alone helps give it a sense of occasion.
Find Dom Pérignon on Wine-Searcher.
3. Krug — Grande Cuvée
Krug is the delicious exception to the prestige cuvée rule. Most Champagne houses have a “normal” non-vintage wine and then a prestige cuvée sitting above it. Krug, being Krug, more or less starts at prestige cuvée.
Krug Grande Cuvée is not vintage Champagne in the usual sense. It is a multi-vintage masterpiece, built from a library of reserve wines and designed to recreate, every year, the fullest possible expression of Champagne. It is rich, deep, layered, nutty, powerful, and yet still wonderfully precise.
If you only drink one Krug, make it Grande Cuvée. If you drink two, invite me.
Find Krug Grande Cuvée on Wine-Searcher.
4. Pol Roger — Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill
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| Champagne Pol Roger in Épernay, home of Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill |
The home of Champagne Pol Roger is at 44 Avenue de Champagne, which Winston Churchill famously proclaimed “the most drinkable address in the world”.
He certainly had a fondness for the stuff, having been reported to have consumed more than 42,000 bottles in his lifetime.
Created in homage to Sir Winston Churchill after his death, this wine was designed with the qualities he preferred in his Champagne: robustness, a full-bodied character and relative maturity. It is Pinot Noir-led, powerful, long-lived, and before release spends many years ageing in Pol Roger’s cellars in Épernay.
Find Pol Roger Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill on Wine-Searcher.
5. Taittinger — Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs
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| Taittinger and James Bond: Comtes de Champagne is one of the great Blanc de Blancs prestige cuvées. |
“I’ll take Taittinger blanc de blancs … It is not well known, but it is the best Champagne in the world” — James Bond, in Casino Royale by Ian Fleming.
The Comtes de Champagne moniker was not applied until the 1950s, but Taittinger was Bond’s, and Fleming’s, favourite Champagne house.
This is finely aromatic, rich, creamy Blanc de Blancs at its best: a generous, yet supple expression of Chardonnay balanced with pitch-perfect tension and acidity.
Find Taittinger Comtes de Champagne on Wine-Searcher.
6. Veuve Clicquot — La Grande Dame
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| Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame — a Prestige Cuvée Champagne honouring Madame Clicquot.. |
Nicole Barbe Clicquot, née Ponsardin, was a phenomenal woman — and a widow to boot, hence the Veuve bit of the name, veuve being French for widow.
She was a driving force behind Champagne’s association with high society, getting her sparkling wine into just about every royal court in Europe and even defying Napoleon’s blockades to ship wine to Russia.
She was also responsible for innovations that helped shape the Champagne we drink today, including the riddling technique that helps clarify Champagne. La Grande Dame is Veuve Clicquot’s prestige cuvée, created to honour this pioneering woman.
Find Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame on Wine-Searcher.
7. Bollinger — La Grande Année
Bollinger has always felt like Champagne with shoulders. Rich, Pinot Noir-led, serious, vinous and beautifully suited to food.
La Grande Année is Bollinger’s great vintage expression: made only in exceptional years, fermented in oak barrels, and aged for many years before release. It is the sort of Champagne that can make a roast chicken feel like a royal banquet.
It may not have the universal name recognition of Dom Pérignon or Cristal, but among people who love Champagne, Bollinger La Grande Année is very much one of the great bottles.
Find Bollinger La Grande Année on Wine-Searcher.
8. Perrier-Jouët — Belle Epoque
If Champagne can be beautiful before the cork is even pulled, Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque makes a strong case.
The famous anemone bottle is instantly recognisable, but this is not just pretty packaging. Belle Epoque is floral, elegant, refined and aromatic, often with the lifted Chardonnay character that makes it feel graceful rather than heavy.
This is a prestige cuvée for people who like their luxury with a bit of Art Nouveau beauty and a lot of delicacy.
Find Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque on Wine-Searcher.
9. Laurent-Perrier — Grand Siècle
Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle is built on a wonderful idea: not one exceptional vintage, but three complementary exceptional vintages blended together to create something even better.
That makes it slightly different from many prestige cuvées, which are tied to a single year. Grand Siècle is about recreating the perfect year — or at least getting as close as Champagne reasonably allows.
The result is polished, complex, refined and very smartly made. It is also often better value than some of the more famous prestige cuvée names.
Find Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle on Wine-Searcher.
10. Salon — Le Mesnil Blanc de Blancs
Salon is tiny, rare, expensive and extreme in the best possible way.
It is a Blanc de Blancs Champagne from Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, made only in years the house considers worthy. There is no broad range, no ordinary wine, no easy compromise. Just Chardonnay, chalk, time and a fairly uncompromising idea of greatness.
If Cristal is royal, Dom Pérignon is iconic, and Krug is generous, Salon is almost monastic. It is one of the world’s most sought-after Champagnes and one of the clearest arguments that great Champagne can belong in the same conversation as the world’s greatest wines.
Find Salon Le Mesnil on Wine-Searcher.
5. How to buy, serve and drink Prestige Cuvée Champagne
The easiest buying shortcut is to decide whether you want fame, style, or value.
If you want fame, start with Dom Pérignon or Cristal. If you want richness, start with Krug or Bollinger. If you want elegance, start with Taittinger Comtes de Champagne or Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque. If you want rarity and bragging rights, start saving for Salon.
Serve Prestige Cuvée Champagne cold, but not ice cold. Too cold and you lose the aroma, texture and complexity you just paid for. A white wine glass is often better than a narrow flute, especially for the richer, older and more complex wines.
And please do not save these wines only for weddings and corporate events. They are wonderful with food. Fried chicken, roast chicken, oysters, scallops, lobster, cheese, fish and chips, or even just a quiet evening when you decide life deserves a little improvement.
6. Prestige Cuvée Champagne FAQ
What is a Prestige Cuvée Champagne?
A Prestige Cuvée Champagne is generally a Champagne house’s flagship wine. It is usually made from the best fruit, best vineyards, best base wines, or most ambitious blending choices available to that producer.
Is Dom Pérignon a prestige cuvée?
Yes. Dom Pérignon is one of the world’s most famous Prestige Cuvée Champagnes. It is also always a vintage Champagne, meaning each release comes from a single year rather than a multi-year blend.
What is the difference between Champagne and cuvée?
Champagne is the sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France. Cuvée usually means a particular blend or bottling. A Prestige Cuvée Champagne is the producer’s top cuvée.
Is cuvée Champagne better?
Not always. The word cuvée by itself does not guarantee quality. But a prestige cuvée is normally intended to be one of the producer’s best and most luxurious wines.
What is the most prestigious Champagne?
There is no single official answer, but Louis Roederer Cristal, Dom Pérignon, Krug Grande Cuvée, Salon Le Mesnil, Pol Roger Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill and Taittinger Comtes de Champagne are all strong contenders.
What is better, Cristal or Dom Pérignon?
It depends on taste and vintage. Cristal is often associated with purity, precision and elegance. Dom Pérignon is iconic, polished and widely recognised. Both are among the best Prestige Cuvée Champagne wines in the world.
What Champagne was served at William and Kate’s wedding?
Pol Roger was reported to have been served at the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in 2011. It was not Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill, but Pol Roger has long had a close association with Britain and British high society.
Is Dom Pérignon owned by Moët?
Dom Pérignon is produced by Moët & Chandon, which is part of the LVMH luxury group.
Will two glasses of Champagne get you drunk?
Possibly. It depends on the size of the pour, alcohol level, your body size, food intake and tolerance. Prestige Cuvée Champagne is still alcohol, so enjoy it slowly and responsibly.
Is it okay to drink Champagne every day?
That is a question for your doctor, your wallet and your conscience. From a wine-lover’s point of view, Champagne is glorious. From a practical point of view, moderation is wise.
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