Definitive Champagne Data Continued: (The Critics’ Top 25)


Last month, we published a report entitled ‘Definitive Champagne Data‘, in which we analysed data from over 1,000 ratings of the best champagnes from the industry’s most respected critics to find out which vintages and cuvées (from 1996, 1998, 2002 and 2004) rank the highest. We specifically presented Top 10 Champagne league tables – showing the critics’ average favourites.

As we are looking at the very best champagnes from four of the most outstanding vintages in just over twenty years, showing merely the Top 10 is somewhat short-sighted, as many champagnes below this level are still mind-blowingly exceptional. Thus, we have extended the results to show the Top 25 Champagnes. The table below show the critics’ average favourites and Jancis Robinson MW’s favourites (as Jancis uses a 20-point scoring system, her results cannot be included in the averages).

Looking beyond the Top 10, the critics’ averages show a score differential of just two points per hundred between the 10th and 25th ranked cuvées, demonstrating the prestige quality of all of these champagnes. Extending the league table has given champagnes from 2004 – with significantly less bottle development (being eight years younger than those from 1996) – the chance to show their current worth and future potential. Particular standouts include Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs 2004 (95.0/100) and Dom Pérignon Rosé 2004 (19.0/20).

Also worth noting is the non-prestige cuvée entry in Jancis Robinson’s Top 25: Pol Roger Brut Vintage 1996. Whilst she awarded the prestige cuvée Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill 1996 18.5+/20, she has awarded the ‘standard’ vintage release from the same year a higher 19.0/20. This is a perfect exhibition of the value of vintage champagne – an often understated concept we will be exploring further with Jancis later this year in our Prestige Cuvée vs Vintage Champagne tasting.

Essi Avellan MW, Richard Juhlin, Antonio Galloni & Wine Spectator Top 25 Jancis Robinson MW Top 25
Rank Champagne Vintage Average Score (/100) Rank Champagne Vintage Score (/20)
=1 Krug Clos du Mesnil 1996 97.5 1 Dom Pérignon Brut Vintage 2002 20.0
=1 Krug Brut Vintage 1996 97.5 =2 Krug Brut Vintage 2002 19.5
3 Louis Roederer Cristal 1996 96.8 =2 Dom Pérignon Oenothèque 1996 19.5
4 Krug Clos du Mesnil 2002 96.7 =2 Louis Roederer Cristal 1996 19.5
=5 Dom Pérignon Oenothèque 1996 96.3 =2 Krug Clos d’Ambonnay 1998 19.5
=5 Krug Clos d’Ambonnay 1998 96.3 =2 Krug Brut Vintage 1998 19.5
7 Louis Roederer Cristal Rosé 1996 96.0 7 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne 1998 19.0++
=8 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne 2002 95.8 =8 Bollinger R.D. 2002 19.0
=8 Louis Roederer Cristal 2002 95.8 =8 Louis Roederer Cristal Rosé 2002 19.0
=8 Salon Le Mesnil Blanc de Blancs 1996 95.8 =8 Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill 1998 19.0
11 Dom Pérignon Rosé 1996 95.7 =8 Dom Pérignon Rosé 2004 19.0
12 Krug Clos d’Ambonnay 1996 95.5 =8 Salon Le Mesnil Blanc de Blancs 1996 19.0
=13 Bollinger Vieilles Vignes Françaises 2002 95.3 =8 Bollinger La Grande Année 2002 19.0
=13 Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill 1996 95.3 =8 Louis Roederer Cristal 2004 19.0
=15 Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs 2004 95.0 =8 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne 2002 19.0
=15 Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs 2002 95.0 =8 Pol Roger Brut Vintage 1996 19.0
17 Bollinger R.D. 2002 94.8 =8 Pommery Cuvée Louise 2002 19.0
18 Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Nicolas-François 1996 94.7 =8 Krug Brut Vintage 1996 19.0
=19 Dom Pérignon Brut Vintage 1996 94.5 =8 Louis Roederer Cristal 2002 19.0
=19 Dom Ruinart Rosé 2002 94.5 =8 Dom Pérignon Brut Vintage 1996 19.0
=21 Billecart-Salmon Le Clos Saint-Hilaire 1996 94.3 =8 Dom Pérignon Rosé 1996 19.0
=21 Dom Ruinart Rosé 1996 94.3 =22 Dom Pérignon Brut Vintage 2004 18.5+
=23 Henriot Brut Cuvée Enchanteleurs 1996 93.8 =22 Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill 1996 18.5+
=23 Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill 2002 93.8 =24 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne 2004 18.5
25 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Rosé 2002 93.7 =24 Bollinger La Grande Année 2004 18.5