10 Champagnes the French Choose
French champagne probably brings to mind Moët & Chandon. Certainly an icon in its field, Moët may not be the first choice among French wine experts. In a country where champagne is not merely a celebratory drink but a way of life, the locals often reach for bottles of greater complexity, deeper history, and unique craftsmanship than any glamorous mainstream labels.
From boutique producers to century-old maisons, the French have a discerning eye for excellent champagnes reflecting true elegance. Therefore, whether you wish to drink like a Parisian in a little champagne spot or pop the cork like a winemaker in Reims, here are the top 10 champagnes the French favor.
The French Relationship with Champagne
For the French, champagne is not merely a celebratory drink but a way of life. Whether for a casual apéritif or a grand event, French champagne is always enjoyed concerning its history, craftsmanship, and terroir. Beyond France, several cultures reserve champagne for toasting times such as the New Year, weddings, or other special occasions. In stark contrast, the French would pour champagne on a random Tuesday evening to elevate the mundane moment into a memorable one.
Champagne has been one of the best French champagne areas for centuries, practicing the art of sparkling wine. Every bottle represents careful craftsmanship; many producers still make it like their ancestors did. For connoisseurs, great champagne is not only about the name; it is defined by balance, complexity, and unequivocal terroir expression.
For the French, champagne extends beyond just luxury. It is almost a social mark and historic spirit, symbolizing national pride. The French prefer their top ten French champagnes with archaic palates to hold authenticity and quality. While Moët & Chandon is popular worldwide, the French usually go for something far less well-known yet far superior in taste and quality than the ordinary palate could ever appreciate.
What Makes a Great Champagne?
Before we discuss the champagnes favored by the French, let’s examine the parameters of what makes a champagne worthy of being called premium, from grape selection to aging processes. What distinguishes these best champagnes?
Criteria That Define Premium Champagne
The top champagnes share a cluster of defining factors whose subtle influences combine to make the drink stand out as pleasurable and complex. These include:
- Grape Selection: The very finest French champagnes are customarily made of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier, with each grape variety thereby adding its unique depth and character.
- Terroir & Location of the Vineyard: This cool climate with chalky soil in the Champagne area and good vineyard practices marks the region for producing a delicious sparkling wine.
- Winemaking Techniques: A foremost step to making a fine bottle is the méthode champenoise, or traditional method, which consists of a second fermentation in-hidden-the-bottle resulting in the signature fine bubbles.
- Aging Process: As a general rule, the longer champagne is held on fine lees (spent yeast), the richer and more complex the flavor becomes. The top 10 French champagnes undergo aging for years to gain their depth.
- Dosage & Balance: A well-made champagne exhibits balance among acidity, fruitiness, and minerality. Many champagnes French at heart favor have a low dosage so that the purity of the wine is pronounced.
Which Are the Best French Champagnes the Locals Prefer Over Moët?
The top ten French champagnes on this list exemplify the region’s true artistry, satisfying the highest standards that characterize premium champagne, from the choice of the vineyard to aging techniques. If you want to experience the sipping pleasures of a French connoisseur, these are indeed the champagnes that the French favor due to their historical and traditional standing.
1 Krug Grande Cuvée
Photo credit: pinterest.com
If there’s one bottle that defines the ultimate in fine French champagnes, it is Krug Grande Cuvée. Conceived in 1843 by Joseph Krug, it was to be the best champagne that could be made in all climates and all years. Crafting this cuvée, made by blending over 120 wines from up to 10 different years, yields an unparalleled taste depth.
This complex yet harmonious blend makes a full-bodied, elegant, and expressive champagne that reminds one of a symphony orchestra. Among those few French names, Krug stands tall in the minds of connoisseurs who appreciate Krug’s history and craftsmanship.
Within its cellars for aging around seven years, each bottle accumulates its nuances and, as these develop with time, become more and more appealing, offering incremental layers of aroma and flavor with each sip. If you are surely one for the glamorous French champagnes, the Krug Grande Cuvée is a timeless masterpiece that never fails to dazzle.
Read also: 7 Reasons Drinking Wine Is Good for You
2 Bollinger Special Cuvée
Photo credit: pinterest.com
Bollinger Special Cuvée is pretty much in a class by itself regarding French champagnes that are truly elegant and have a strong heritage. It was named in 1911 by a British agent who thought “non-vintage brut” was far too commonplace for such a fine blend, and the rest is history.
With over 85% of the cuvée coming from Grand and Premier Crus, its taste achieves a delicate balance of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Meunier. Smooth velvet bubbles whisk the taster away with ripe fruit, brioche, and roasted apples – all the reasons why this is one of the best French champagnes cherished by devoted connoisseurs.
Each bottle is aged twice as long as required by the regulation of champagne for a perfect interpretation of structure, length, and vivacity. Enjoy fresh or aged for added complexity; this is a must-try for anyone searching for a top-10 French champagne.
3 Louis Roederer Cristal
Photo credit: pinterest.com
Louis Roederer Cristal represents luxury and refinement. Born in 1876, this French champagne conquers the hearts of all who demand the very finest in champagne. In all its elegance, Cristal is made with a gentle thumb over the palate of the finest Chardonnay all-time real grapes for perhaps 40% and balances with lusciousness. The remaining 60% blends the finest Pinot Noir grapes from an exceptional vintage to ensure they are perfectly ripe.
Aged for a minimum of six years in the cellars after disgorgement, Cristal shows an indescribable long finish with silkiness and bright fruit aromas. Flavor notes of white fruits, citrus, and the slightest touch of minerality have earned this exceptional champagne its name as one of the best French champagnes enjoyed worldwide by true connoisseurs. Ideal for any who wants champagne capable of being in a cellar for years, Cristal is genuinely a wine of great individuality.
4 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs
Photo credit: pinterest.com
Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs represents the finest French champagne made by one of Reims’s few remaining family-owned houses. It has been produced since 1952 as a pure Chardonnay wine from six Grand Cru sites in the Côte de Blancs, giving it a taste of utmost elegance and purity.
Taittinger’s graceful, creamy biscuit-and-lemon-scented personality is well displayed, leading into a citrusy-tasting palette with traces of white chocolate. This is a wonderfully complex wine, yet it glides to a finish with the effortless intensity that conveys the House’s commitment to making the finest champagnes.
With a strong tradition dating back to 1734, the House continues to produce exceptional premium champagne, of which Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs is the true epitome.
5 Pol Roger Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill
Photo credit: pinterest.com
Champagne Pol Roger Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill is authoritative, rich, and bold, paralleling the character of its namesake. Its color is mid-yellow gold with a beautiful sheen, and its fine bubbles remain at the surface, testifying to a long maturation in Pol Roger’s famous cool cellars.
The flavor opens on spices and pepper to reveal an intense, concentrated black fruit. This special champagne offers deep layers of complexity with dried fruit, hazelnuts, and exotic fruit notes, all in beautiful harmony.
This champagne holds incredible length and will be enjoyable now or laid down for 20 years. Truly a tribute to Winston Churchill and championing the best of French champagne, the Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill is characterized by its elegance and power.
6 Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé
Photo credit: pinterest.com
Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé is a charming and elegant Champagne particularly suited to joyous celebrations of life. The delicate blend consists of 40% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir, and 30% Pinot Meunier and gives way to a pale pink hue radiated with fine effervescence.
The aroma is a fabulous strawberry and citrus zest melange, ending with a floral and refreshing note. The strawberry character comes through with a creamy smoothness and a hint of raspberry, all with exquisite precision.
This is a gastronomically versatile champagne that complements wild salmon or langoustine carpaccio paired with desserts featuring red fruits. It is a truly timeless Champagne, with 36 months of aging on lees and good aging potential, and one that will provide joy now and into the future for any truly special occasion.
7 Salon Blanc de Blancs
Photo credit: pinterest.com
Because Salon Blanc de Blancs epitomizes Champagne history, Eugène-Aimé Salon founded it in 1911. The rare and exceptional Blanc de Blancs is produced from Chardonnay grapes alone, in a specific vineyard plot named “The Salon Garden” and from 19 other select plots in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger.
The salon’s signature is reductive without oak style, emphasizing pure fruitiness, chalky texture, graceful finesse, and deep muscularity. The Salon portrays grace while providing strength, thus establishing a magnificent interpretation of the very best of champagne.
Read also: 20 Classic Cocktails
8 Gosset Grand Réserve
Photo credit: pinterest.com
The Gosset Grand Réserve champagne epitomizes the heritage of a family-owned Champagne house that has been dedicated to crafting great wines since the 16th century. This cuvée represents Gosset’s delicate and refined style and is produced from selected vineyards in the Grands and Premiers Crus of the Côte des Blancs and Montagne de Reims.
A blend comprises 45% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir, and 10% Pinot Meunier. The wine rests on its lees for three years minimally and six months after disgorging, granting it depth and elegance. Gosset Grand Réserve exudes a picturesque golden hue in the glass. The nose is excited with gourmet aromas of ripe yellow fruits (peach and Mirabelle).
Balancing fine floral notes and vibrant citrus acidity, it is a deserving partner for various pairings. Best served chilled at eight to ten degrees Celsius, it is a great match for tapas, farm poultry, oysters, or cheeses like Comté and Parmesan.
9 Jacquesson Cuvée 700 Series
Photo credit: pinterest.com
Champagne Jacquesson’s flagship creation is the Jacquesson Cuvée 700 Series, and the house is famous for its commitment to quality and individuality. Founded in 1798, the estate is run by the two Chiquet brothers, Jean-Hervé and Laurent, who have reinvented champagne production, focusing on sustainable viticulture and small-scale, high-quality production.
First introduced in 1999, the Cuvée 700 Series demarcates the path of the quest for individuality, capturing the rare expression of each cuvée from its terroir. The series embodies elegance and complexity gained through careful vineyard practices, meticulous harvest decisions, and prolonged in-barrel aging.
Cuvée 700 truly reflects the estate’s philosophy. The cuvée is released twice: once after quite a few years of age and, after that, as a Dégorgement Tardif to show yet another side of maturity. The Cuvée 700 Series is a wonderful tasting experience for collectors and connoisseurs; rare lieux-dits selections of exceptional allure augment their portfolio.
10 Dom Pérignon
Photo credit: pinterest.com
Dom Pérignon is often regarded as the pinnacle of champagne, celebrated for its mythical status rather than its actual taste. Yet, tasting it reveals complex and luscious flavors.
Aroma notes of roasted hazelnut, vanilla, caramel, and honey marry with floral notes and zesty lemon. Its smooth texture plays host to a medley of flavors, from lively lemon and apricot to honey, walnut, and tropical fruits, interlinked by crisp, dry acidity. This gives an elegant finish with just the right touch of sweetness.
Perhaps the nutty and toasty notes will be overpowering to some, yet balancing out all these components is a feat deserving recognition and, honestly, the art of champagne itself.
So, even though endless more Champagne names enjoy great prestige worldwide, the French have favorites that go far beyond the readily recognizable ones. The French highly value quality, craftsmanship, and terroir in their champagne, from family-owned vineyards to boutique producers. The aforementioned 10 selections are not just the essence of champagne but a more original interpretation of what champagne truly has to offer.
