Champagne Wine Guide: Grapes, Appellations & Producers

Pinot Noir heartland

Tip · Pinot Noir from here gives weight; blanc de noirs from the Montagne can feel almost Burgundian.

Value pick

Chartogne-Taillet 'Sainte-Anne' Brut · ~$55

A grower Champagne from Merfy with real Pinot depth — house-quality for a fraction of grande marque prices.

Collector pick

Krug Vintage · ~$450 · 2008

A legendary Pinot-led vintage Champagne from a benchmark year — a blue-chip cellar staple.

Meunier's domain

Tip · Meunier is the unsung third grape — buds late, ripens early, perfect insurance against the Marne's frost.

Value pick

Georges Laval 'Cumières' Brut Nature · ~$70

Tiny organic grower; pure, chalky Meunier-led fizz that drinks like something twice the price.

Collector pick

Bollinger 'La Grande Année' · ~$180 · 2014

A Pinot-rich, barrel-fermented prestige vintage built for long ageing.

Pure Chardonnay

Soil: The chalkiest slopes in Champagne — almost pure chalk near the surface.
Style: Taut, mineral, age-worthy — the finest blanc de blancs.
Top sites: Grand Cru jewels: Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Cramant, Avize, Oger.
Vintages: 2008, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2019
Producers: Agrapart

Tip · Blanc de blancs = 100% Chardonnay. The greatest, like Salon, age for decades.

Value pick

Pierre Péters 'Cuvée de Réserve' Blanc de Blancs · ~$65

Grand Cru Le Mesnil Chardonnay from a legendary grower — Salon's neighbour at a tenth of the cost.

Collector pick

Salon 'Le Mesnil' Blanc de Blancs · ~$1,200 · 2012

Made only in top years from one Grand Cru village — among the most collectible Champagnes on earth.

Southern Pinot

Tip · The Aube is closer to Chablis than to Reims — and shares its Kimmeridgian soil.

Value pick

Vouette et Sorbée 'Fidèle' Brut Nature · ~$75

Biodynamic Aube Pinot Noir; intense, vinous grower Champagne from Kimmeridgian soil.

Collector pick

Cédric Bouchard 'Roses de Jeanne' Les Ursules · ~$160 · 2018

Single-parcel, single-vintage grower Champagne of cult status.