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Our concept of Nuggets in Champagne offers you a selection of the best vintages of Champagne: our nuggets!
Discover in this category, our favorites and recommendations of Champagnes from winemakers and Champagne Houses.
Vintages of the appellation Champagne
The data in the table represent average vintage trends for all the wines in the appellation
Please note: The vintages of the same appellation can be very different from one to the other according to their characteristics: color, situation..
The best vintages for the Champagne appellation were the years: 1928, 1929, 1934, 1937, 1943, 1945, 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1970, 1973, 1975, 1979, 1982, 1985, 1989, 1990, 1996, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2008.
The years 1934, 1949, 1959, 1964, 1975, 2002, 2004 have provided exceptional vintages.
The years 1937, 1947 are considered as particularly exceptional, we speak about vintages of the century.
The years 1928, 1929, 1945, 1955, 1990, 1996 are considered as the best above all. For these years we speak of vintages of the millennium
.
The Best Vintages
Vintages 2010 to 2019
2019
9.5/10
19/20
2018
8/10
16/20
2017
5/10
12/20
2016
7/10
14/20
2015
8.5/10
17/20
2014
7/10
14/20
2013
7/10
14/20
2012
9/10
18/20
2011
7.5/10
15/20
2010
6/10
12/20
Vintages 2000 to 2009
2009
8/10
16/20
2008
9.5/10
19/20
2007
7.5/10
15/20
2006
6/10
12/20
2005
7/10
14/20
Vintages 1990 to 1999
1999
6.5/10
13/20
1998
7.5/10
15/20
1997
6.5/10
13/20
1996
8.5/10
17/20
1995
7/10
14/20
1999
6.5/10
13/20
1998
7.5/10
15/20
1997
6.5/10
13/20
1996
8.5/10
17/20
1995
7/10
14/20
Vintages 1980 to 1989
1989
8/10
18/20
1988
9.5/10
19/20
1987
3.5/10
7/20
1986
5/10
10/20
1985
7/10
16/20
1984
8/10
18/20
1983
9.5/10
19/20
1982
3.5/10
7/20
1981
5/10
10/20
1980
7/10
16/20
Vintages 1970 to 1979
1979
9.5/10
19/20
1978
9.5/10
19/20
1977
5/10
10/20
1976
8/10
16/20
1975
8/10
18/20
1974
4.5/10
9/20
1973
7.5/10
15/20
1972
5/10
10/20
1971
8/10
16/20
1970
8.5/10
17/20
Vintages 1960 to 1969
1969
8/10
16/20
1968
3.5/10
7/20
1967
4/10
8/20
1966
7/10
14/20
1965
4.5/10
9/20
1964
7.5/10
15/20
1963
4/10
8/20
1962
8.5/10
17/20
1961
6.5/10
13/20
1960
6/10
12/20
Vintages 1950 to 1959
1959
8.5/10
17/20
1958
5/10
10/20
1957
4/10
8/20
1956
3.5/10
7/20
1955
8.5/10
17/20
1954
6.5/10
13/20
1953
8/10
16/20
1952
7/10
14/20
1951
2.5/10
5/20
1950
6/10
12/20
Vintages 1940 to 1949
1949
7/10
14/20
1948
5.5/10
11/20
1947
8.5/10
17/20
1946
5/10
10/20
1945
10/10
20/20
1944
4.5/10
9/20
1943
8.5/10
16/20
1942
6.5/10
13/20
1941
5.5/10
11/20
1940
4/10
8/20
Vintages 1930 to 1939
1949
3/10
6/20
1948
4.5/10
9/20
1947
8.5/10
17/20
1946
3.5/10
7/20
1945
5/10
10/20
1944
7/10
14/20
1943
6.5/10
12/20
1942
4/10
8/20
1941
2.5/10
5/20
1940
3/10
6/20
Average trends of the last 6 vintages of the Champagne vineyard appellations
2013
3.5/5
Very good vintage
2012
3/5
Great vintage
2011
4.5/5
Very great vintage
2010
5/5
Average vintage
2019
4/5
Great vintage
2008
5/5
Excellent vintage
Champagne hillsides
2013
3/5
Good vintage
2012
3/5
Great vintage
2011
4.3/5
Great vintage
2010
5/5
Average vintage
2009
4/5
Great vintage
2008
5/5
Excellent vintage
Coteaux de Coiffy
2013
3/5
Good vintage
2012
3/5
Great vintage
2011
4.3/5
Great vintage
2010
5/5
Average vintage
2009
4/5
Great vintage
2008
5/5
Excellent vintage
Haute-Marne
2013
3/5
Good vintage
2012
3/5
Great vintage
2011
4.3/5
Great vintage
2010
5/5
Average vintage
2009
4/5
Great vintage
2008
4.5/5
Very great vintage
Rosé des Riceys
2013
3/5
Good vintage
2012
3/5
Great vintage
2011
4.3/5
Great vintage
2010
5/5
Average vintage
2009
4/5
Great vintage
2008
4.3/5
Very good vintage
Characteristics of the appellation Champagne
Champagne is the most famous sparkling white wine in the world. Its development is attributed to Dom Pérignon in the 17th century. In recent years, there is an increasing number of rosé champagnes whose consumption has grown enormously. One finds on the market and in all the great brands of champagne a basic wine called "Brut Sans Année", that is to say that it reflects the style of the cellar. Vintage wines from different grape varieties and plots are blended and can also complement wines from previous vintages, known as "reserve wines". You will also find vintage champagne, a blend of different grape varieties, which can come from parcels classified as "premiers crus" and "grands crus", but only in the year of harvest! You can find it on the label of the champagne: blanc de blancs, which simply means that the champagne comes from the white grape variety, the white juice of the white grapes. Otherwise, but it is rarely mentioned, the champagne is black, that is to say white juice from black grapes!
The brut champagne without year, offering beautiful golden straw reflections, fine bubbles of champagne draw beautiful strings, a dense, creamy and persistent foam. On the nose, it reveals subtle fruity aromas of apples, peaches, apricots, propelled by carbon dioxide, followed by citrus, toast, flowers. On the palate, the champagne is thick and full-bodied, with well-integrated bubbles, fine bubbles and a nice vivacity. It should be drunk at 8°C. The coolest drink is champagne, which is excellent as an aperitif because it really opens the appetite and is a festive wine. It can be kept in the cellar for up to 5 years.
The blanc de blancs vintage champagne shows its youth with its brilliant golden and green reflections, with a fine and delicate foam, as compact and airy as its bubbles. The aromas of these wines are often strongly mineral, reflecting very well the limestone terroir of the Collines Blanches, a very ready aniseed with beautiful citrus notes, followed by floral notes. The palate is elegant, delicate, with a nice matter, in which the bubbles are well melted without being aggressive. It is an elegant wine with a very nice finish, with a nice minerality. It is a Champagne with a very high ageing potential which can easily be aged for more than 10 years, even more in exceptional vintages. White meat, shellfish would be great. Once aged, it pairs perfectly with truffles or caviar, depending on the style of house champagne you choose. Tasted at a maximum temperature of 13°C, these are true haute cuisine wines.
The Champagne Rosé is a tender, delicate and sensual wine. Its dazzling pale pink color is composed of golden reflections with elegant and delicate bubbles, fine and unctuous. On the nose it is a real delicacy, everything is delicate, the aromas of red fruits, raspberries, blackcurrants, wild strawberries blend perfectly with the aromas of citrus for the necessary freshness. In the mouth, it is lively and delicate, fat and light, with a perfect mix of bubbles and red fruit aromas and a persistent finish. It can be an aperitif, a dessert or a champagne after a meal, or even a night companion in an ice bucket by the bed... it should be served chilled at 8°C like a classic brut, it will be drunk for two years.
How to choose a vintage Champagne
More than 80% of the champagne production is unmixed. The amount of reserve wine included in the blend depends on the style of the House. A fresh and cheerful wine like the Taittinger may include as little as one tenth of reserve wine, while a juice with the richness of a Krug may be based on several vintages, and only half of the recent harvest. Other champagnes are made up of only one year's juice and are not intended to improve over time, but this does not mean that they will not if the quality is there and the bottles are stored in a dark place at a constant temperature of 10 to 15°C. After one or two years, however, improvements remain negligible, until eventually the freshness wears off.
Vintage champagne improves with time, especially if it is aged for at least three or four years on the lees before disgorgement. Lovers of toast, cookie and unique flavors will have to wait a decade after the harvest. Vintages are supposed to mark an exceptional year, a principle that not all producers respect, since some offer a vintage almost every year.
The great blenders are seeing increased demand for prestige vintages. With the best vintages from the best vineyards, the cellar master strives to blend the most elegant expression possible. Customers demand the best, and they can afford it, even if the market has changed since the Russian czars enjoyed Louis Roederer in lead crystal bottles at the imperial court. While some champagne houses are concentrating their efforts on these cuvées, those that have persisted in vintage champagnes are beginning to see their efforts rewarded.
Champagne is almost always the result of a blend of several grape varieties(crus and cuvées also participate in the blend). Only the blanc de blancs, very elegant, lively and fresh, with lemony notes, is made exclusively from chardonnay. The blanc de noirs (black grape) offers a rounder note, with a nose of cooked apple and spices, for example, and sometimes a deeper color, almost golden, but not pink. For rosé, look to rosé champagne, usually blended with a little red wine. In Europe, all still rosés, from Puglia to Provence, are made by skin maceration before pressing. Californians simply blend red and white wine to obtain a very soft pale pink color: a technique that seems to give good, even excellent results. On the other hand, some Champagne harvesters and handlers opt for pellicular maceration, even if it is more difficult to control the tannins.