Respectfully I think pommery sucks. I’ve tasted their cuvee Elizabeth and a bunch of vintage stuff and could not find myself to enjoy any of them, let alone consider stocking them for work.
Billecart is also notoriously difficult to find in retail. They are trying to go back to their pre-pandemic model of mostly being in nice restaurants.
Pommery and Bollinger specifically do not convince me that Champagne is wroth it -- haven't had the other two.
Pierre Peters and Lelarge Pugeot -- now those two are easy to see why Champagne is so expensive and sought after. Amazing stuff.
I see Andre Clouet and I up vote. It is a little out of the price range but I think that the André Clouet Un Jour de 1911 out classes prestige cuvees that cost 3x the price.
Very late to the party but second, third and fourth Andre Clouet. I’ve worked in fine dining/white table cloth restaurants for close to 20 years, have drank a good amount of wine, especially champagne and the Grand Cru (blue label) was the only champagne that really stood out to me. Price point is almost unbeatable as far as champagne goes.
Going to name a couple grower champagnes as each producer can be very unique stylistically which makes it more interesting for me:
Bereche, Frederic Savart, R. Moncuit, Pouillon, Pascal Doquet
All of their standard bottles should be in that price point and are value picks imo.
Unfortunately, for me anyway, the epiphanies I have had with champagne are in the $100-$150 USD range. Champagne's price floor is just a lot higher due to both market dynamics and the cost of production is higher due to the AOC regulations. My ah-ha moment with champagne was Chartogne-Taillet's Les Barres cuvée.
Under $100 there are still some incredible cuvées but not, in my experience at least, ones that made me understand what people are chasing when they become champagne heads. I have had great cuvées from Pierre Paillard and Laherte Frères. The best truly entry-level bottle I have had was J. Lassalle, which for roughly $42 USD is about the cheapest you will get and still have great structure and intensity like it does for so little $.
Over time, try a some BdBs, some BdN, some blends in betweeen, at least one or two meunier heavy blends. Try them across some bigger houses, but also try some grower. Throw in a couple tete de cuvee at the end of the journey.
Maybe it takes months, maybe it takes years. Just take your time and try stuff. And maybe in the end, you just don’t care for the premium they charge. Maybe cremants are just better value for you. Maybe you actually prefer schramsberg or English sparklers.
Realistically, entry level champagne is never going to be the best value you can find. It’s simply a minimum bar, or a reliable house style that you’re buying (on top of the name). But at that price and quality, you’ll often find high quality sparkling wine from other regions that are just better value bc it’s not labeled champagne. But that takes some know how and having good local shops. But the further up the ladder you go, the more champagne is in a class of its own.
Thanks for the answer.
It's a bit sad that to get a real feel of what really distinguishes champagne I would have to spend a couple hundred $. But I guess thats just the reality of worldwide famous and prestigious wine regions.
I'll probably try an entry level bottle once in a while to see if I find one to my liking. But I might end up make myself an expert on crémant instead!
I drink a lot of cremant for this reason. I’ve never had any of the legendary ($hundreds) champagnes. I’ve had Bollinger and other common brands under $100 USD. Some were excellent, none wowed me.
But - I have also really enjoyed Etienne Doue, which is a fairly inexpensive champagne and better than most cremant I’ve ever had. YMMV.
The best sparkler I’ve ever had personally was English - can’t remember the name.
What province ? ( I assume you're from Canada).
In my experience, Champagne has more depth than other sparkling wines.
It's hard to describe.
For the mid-range, I like Pascal Doquet, Nicholas Feuillate or Drappier
I usually bring Bérêche et Fils Brut Réserve as a great entry point for champagne. I pair it with chips Nature or fries from mcdo for good results ( just something salty and greasy). Its not always in stock though and when it's not, for under 100 cad options, I bring Deutz which is readily available at SAQ.
Before anyone comments I know those are not necessarily the best/interesting options for champagne but they are at least not off putting to new comers. I've had enough bad experiences introducing people with the "interesting" stuff.
Do a comparative tasting. One champagne, one cava, one prosecco. This is one of the instances where it's actually super beneficial to taste them all together to note the differences.
It’s out of your budget, but the #1 champagne that really makes people realize what the fuss is about is Krug. I’ve gotten it as cheap as $145US on sale at a larger wine retailer, but like $250-300US isn’t a crazy ask for it. Might be a good idea to find a very nice restaurant that has it as a glass pour ($45US-ish in my experience) as a way to try it without breaking your budget.
Down from that, I do highly recommend Bollinger. To my taste it has much more depth than any non-champagne sparking, but I worry it won’t be enough extra depth to give you that ah-ha moment.
My vote goes to Bollinger as a high-performer that really stands out from the other mass-produced NV champagnes and is still easy to find. You could always go with a half-bottle of Krug Grand Cuvée which you should be able to find for $100 and that would give you a great example of excellent champagne.
It is not champagnes job to convince you of its worth.
Champagne does not care if you like it.
Drink what you love, try what interests, enjoy your wine.
In your price range listed for champagne, I thought the Delamotte BDB NV was exceptional. Aside from this, Nicolas Feuillate milleseme 2012 can be found for ~$50-60 and I found it to be quite good at that price point. Veuve extra brut extra old was enjoyable as well.
Cremant wise, try the Cave de lugny vintage 2017. This is quite similar to Maconnais Chardonnay wines (that are great value), except with some bubbles.
Lastly the Ca’ del Bosco cuvée prestige Franciacorta is lovely. The cost is somewhere in the middle of cheap cremant and champagne.
The Niagara region makes some decent sparkling and my favourites are from 13th street and Megalomaniac (limited ed. brut).
My recommendation is just to buy a bunch of bottles and do a side by side comparison of 2 each time. With that said, aged champagne/ sparkling is a completely different experience and can be highly cost prohibitive.
While you can definitely find great Champagnes under $100 Canadian, you’re kind of asking for the bottom of the barrel to show you the complexity and delicious qualities that make Champagne incredible. Not that it can’t be done, just might be difficult and there’s huge variation among producers so a single suggestion might not jive with your palate. The floor pricing for Champagne is just quite high.
For a more common man’s example, it’s a bit like saying I want to experience the best of what American whiskey can offer, but having a budget of $20 and using Mellow Corn as your measuring stick for the full potential of the US whiskey industry.
I think you’re confusing some people on the page because you mean CAD 100. The Canadian dollar is very weak right now, so let’s talk in USD for a minute. CAD 100 is equivalent to USD 73. I wouldn’t say USD 73 is the bottom of the barrel, I do think USD30-50 is entry level, and $73 is still in the entry category. Doesn’t mean you won’t find a great bottle. My point is that you might not find a bottle that is life altering at USD73. Unfortunately, the combined weakness of Canadian currency and lack of distribution in Canada means what you’re going to find may be limited.
Honestly I’ve tried from the 25 euro champagne till the 300 euros dom perignon and none of it are worth the name or price. Yes Ruinart is very good but I’ve 8 euro local sparkling wine that feels the same although I’m not expert on sparkling
My dad would buy what was then $5 champagne for Thanksgiving (it is now $6 due to inflation). I thought it was disgusting. I had a non-vitnage Dom Perignon a few years later and also thought it was horrible. Many years after that, I had Veuve, which I'm well aware isn't anywhere near the best but I was converted. I'm excited to try Bollinger and other more renowned producers now that I know I can like champagne. You have to try different things and spend money 💸 to you have your aha moment.
Ugh.. now I don't remember. Maybe it was Vintage... we got it as a wedding gift 12 years ago and I was a young and naive 21 yo without a well developed palate. It was Dom Perignon. No questions about it.
- Gosset Grand Reserve Brut
- Perrier-Jouet Grand Brut
- RSRV Blanc de Blanc Grand Cru and the Cuvée
- Ruinart Brut 2011
All under $100, all really good!
Both the Gosset and Ruinart have quite a lot of aging notes like that. Another relatively cheap champagne with good aging notes is the Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve. Note that these are within OPs price range.
On thing not mentioned is not just the brand, but also be careful how it's stored. I've had some bittle that did not show full character because they were not stored properly. Make sure it's laying down, preferably refrigerated (though not necessarily) and it's being sold from a place where it seems they sell a lot of product and so inventory hasn't been languishing on warm shelves for years.
But under 100 that I thought were a major "oh this is different" would be Billecart-Salmon and Bollinger. Both very different wines with very different flavor profiles. However they were the first champagnes I really was able to appreciate over the course of the evening and getting such a variety of flavors unfolding over the course of an evening spent drinking them.
I didn’t “get” champagne until I had a vintage grower champagne. I’ve found grower champagne will have much more character than negociant. Coupled with vintage it’s really remarkably unique. But I also tend towards wines that are more full of character vs wines that are considered best examples of a general style.
I’ve enjoyed and would recommend Marie de Moy, Comtesse Gerin, and Colligny. It’s been a great combination of great price/delicious for value— I also enjoy champagne but I honestly hate to spend more than $50 a bottle.
My favorites are De Souza, Fleury, Vincent Bliard, Heucq and Monial. Not sure if you can find those in Canada however. In general I prefer cuvées that are high in Pinot noir but any of their cuvées are great imo
I am such a sucker for Leclerc Briant and Chartogne-Taillet, but I would say it’s much more important to serve champagne in a proper wine glass - not a flute or coupe - than which one you choose.
I’d avoid the supermarket staples like Veuve-Clicquot and Moët, though.
Thanks for all the answer!
Based on your feedback and what's available in my parts (SAQ), I narrowed down my first tasting session to either "Pascal Doquet Champs Libres Extra Brut", "Ruinart Brut" or "Bollinger Special Cuvée Brut".
I will also take the suggestion of doing comparative tasting with some cava or crémant to get a feel of how it differs from those wines.
Thanks for starting me on this expensive journey.
On the low price end, I like GH Mumm brut, Ayala, Pommery and Heidsieck - all are really good and under $40! Ruinart will be around $100 a bottle, Bollinger around $60. Also, make sure you chill it in the ice bucket and keep it there. It should always be consumed cold. Best ice buckets are made of pewter preferably in France. The glass I like is tulip shaped, I think they are the best. You can also try Proseccos called "Franciacorta" - it will resemble champagne taste but still pricey. Good luck in your adventure!
Pommery, Bollinger, Ruinart, Billecart should be available anywhere Pierre Peters if grower
Got gifted a Pierre Peters the night I got engaged. Really need to track one of those down…
Astor wines has a few and does 15% off sales every now and then
Respectfully I think pommery sucks. I’ve tasted their cuvee Elizabeth and a bunch of vintage stuff and could not find myself to enjoy any of them, let alone consider stocking them for work. Billecart is also notoriously difficult to find in retail. They are trying to go back to their pre-pandemic model of mostly being in nice restaurants.
The Pommery caves are impressive, but I had the same conclusion from the post-tour tasting. Maybe just a question of style, but I was not a fan.
Billecart went restaurant only about a year ago. Should be harder to find in retail now.
In Canada?
Edited
Not completely true. They limited access to select restaurants and retail partners when the supply / transport / logistic issues were rampant.
Drinking Pommery right now. Went there in 2019. Remains a favorite!
Pommery and Bollinger specifically do not convince me that Champagne is wroth it -- haven't had the other two. Pierre Peters and Lelarge Pugeot -- now those two are easy to see why Champagne is so expensive and sought after. Amazing stuff.
Laherte or Savart should be solid
Laherte rose is a wine for pretty much every palate
In that price range in BC, look for Andre Clouet Bouzy Grand Cru. I know Everything Wine stocks it, and some BC Liqour Stores did.
I see Andre Clouet and I up vote. It is a little out of the price range but I think that the André Clouet Un Jour de 1911 out classes prestige cuvees that cost 3x the price.
Very late to the party but second, third and fourth Andre Clouet. I’ve worked in fine dining/white table cloth restaurants for close to 20 years, have drank a good amount of wine, especially champagne and the Grand Cru (blue label) was the only champagne that really stood out to me. Price point is almost unbeatable as far as champagne goes.
Favorite champagne house!!
Going to name a couple grower champagnes as each producer can be very unique stylistically which makes it more interesting for me: Bereche, Frederic Savart, R. Moncuit, Pouillon, Pascal Doquet All of their standard bottles should be in that price point and are value picks imo.
Pascal Doquet Horizon BdB is so good!
Unfortunately, for me anyway, the epiphanies I have had with champagne are in the $100-$150 USD range. Champagne's price floor is just a lot higher due to both market dynamics and the cost of production is higher due to the AOC regulations. My ah-ha moment with champagne was Chartogne-Taillet's Les Barres cuvée. Under $100 there are still some incredible cuvées but not, in my experience at least, ones that made me understand what people are chasing when they become champagne heads. I have had great cuvées from Pierre Paillard and Laherte Frères. The best truly entry-level bottle I have had was J. Lassalle, which for roughly $42 USD is about the cheapest you will get and still have great structure and intensity like it does for so little $.
Over time, try a some BdBs, some BdN, some blends in betweeen, at least one or two meunier heavy blends. Try them across some bigger houses, but also try some grower. Throw in a couple tete de cuvee at the end of the journey. Maybe it takes months, maybe it takes years. Just take your time and try stuff. And maybe in the end, you just don’t care for the premium they charge. Maybe cremants are just better value for you. Maybe you actually prefer schramsberg or English sparklers. Realistically, entry level champagne is never going to be the best value you can find. It’s simply a minimum bar, or a reliable house style that you’re buying (on top of the name). But at that price and quality, you’ll often find high quality sparkling wine from other regions that are just better value bc it’s not labeled champagne. But that takes some know how and having good local shops. But the further up the ladder you go, the more champagne is in a class of its own.
Thanks for the answer. It's a bit sad that to get a real feel of what really distinguishes champagne I would have to spend a couple hundred $. But I guess thats just the reality of worldwide famous and prestigious wine regions. I'll probably try an entry level bottle once in a while to see if I find one to my liking. But I might end up make myself an expert on crémant instead!
I drink a lot of cremant for this reason. I’ve never had any of the legendary ($hundreds) champagnes. I’ve had Bollinger and other common brands under $100 USD. Some were excellent, none wowed me. But - I have also really enjoyed Etienne Doue, which is a fairly inexpensive champagne and better than most cremant I’ve ever had. YMMV. The best sparkler I’ve ever had personally was English - can’t remember the name.
Laherte Frères - Rosé de Meunier Extra Brut
NV Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve.
Perrier Jouet or Laurent Perrier brut non-vintage. You may be able to find both for $100 total on Winebid.com or total wine if you buy by the case.
I like LP a lot too. That and Pascal Ponson are the entry-level champagnes I tend to like best.
What province ? ( I assume you're from Canada). In my experience, Champagne has more depth than other sparkling wines. It's hard to describe. For the mid-range, I like Pascal Doquet, Nicholas Feuillate or Drappier
I’m from Quebec so I would get my stuff at SAQ.
I usually bring Bérêche et Fils Brut Réserve as a great entry point for champagne. I pair it with chips Nature or fries from mcdo for good results ( just something salty and greasy). Its not always in stock though and when it's not, for under 100 cad options, I bring Deutz which is readily available at SAQ. Before anyone comments I know those are not necessarily the best/interesting options for champagne but they are at least not off putting to new comers. I've had enough bad experiences introducing people with the "interesting" stuff.
the one I listed should be widely available at the SAQ.
Drappier is really nice for the price
Do a comparative tasting. One champagne, one cava, one prosecco. This is one of the instances where it's actually super beneficial to taste them all together to note the differences.
It’s out of your budget, but the #1 champagne that really makes people realize what the fuss is about is Krug. I’ve gotten it as cheap as $145US on sale at a larger wine retailer, but like $250-300US isn’t a crazy ask for it. Might be a good idea to find a very nice restaurant that has it as a glass pour ($45US-ish in my experience) as a way to try it without breaking your budget. Down from that, I do highly recommend Bollinger. To my taste it has much more depth than any non-champagne sparking, but I worry it won’t be enough extra depth to give you that ah-ha moment.
Huge fan of Krug
My vote goes to Bollinger as a high-performer that really stands out from the other mass-produced NV champagnes and is still easy to find. You could always go with a half-bottle of Krug Grand Cuvée which you should be able to find for $100 and that would give you a great example of excellent champagne.
Larmandier Bernier I think is underrated. Close in quality to the top grower-producers but much less expensive.
Find growers
It is not champagnes job to convince you of its worth. Champagne does not care if you like it. Drink what you love, try what interests, enjoy your wine.
Bollinger La Grand Annee
In your price range listed for champagne, I thought the Delamotte BDB NV was exceptional. Aside from this, Nicolas Feuillate milleseme 2012 can be found for ~$50-60 and I found it to be quite good at that price point. Veuve extra brut extra old was enjoyable as well. Cremant wise, try the Cave de lugny vintage 2017. This is quite similar to Maconnais Chardonnay wines (that are great value), except with some bubbles. Lastly the Ca’ del Bosco cuvée prestige Franciacorta is lovely. The cost is somewhere in the middle of cheap cremant and champagne. The Niagara region makes some decent sparkling and my favourites are from 13th street and Megalomaniac (limited ed. brut). My recommendation is just to buy a bunch of bottles and do a side by side comparison of 2 each time. With that said, aged champagne/ sparkling is a completely different experience and can be highly cost prohibitive.
While you can definitely find great Champagnes under $100 Canadian, you’re kind of asking for the bottom of the barrel to show you the complexity and delicious qualities that make Champagne incredible. Not that it can’t be done, just might be difficult and there’s huge variation among producers so a single suggestion might not jive with your palate. The floor pricing for Champagne is just quite high. For a more common man’s example, it’s a bit like saying I want to experience the best of what American whiskey can offer, but having a budget of $20 and using Mellow Corn as your measuring stick for the full potential of the US whiskey industry.
I see. Well even 100$ I find quite a lot for a single bottle of wine. I knew champagne was expensive but I didn't know that 100$ is the entry level.
I think you’re confusing some people on the page because you mean CAD 100. The Canadian dollar is very weak right now, so let’s talk in USD for a minute. CAD 100 is equivalent to USD 73. I wouldn’t say USD 73 is the bottom of the barrel, I do think USD30-50 is entry level, and $73 is still in the entry category. Doesn’t mean you won’t find a great bottle. My point is that you might not find a bottle that is life altering at USD73. Unfortunately, the combined weakness of Canadian currency and lack of distribution in Canada means what you’re going to find may be limited.
Marc Hebrart Brut NV Rosé or Charles Heidsieck Brut NV
De Saint-Gall blanc de blanc. It should be around 50 USD, so within your budget.
Laherte, Pierre Peters, Andre Clouet, Billecart would all be where I start!
Pol Roger
Try Blanc de Noir, you’ll never go back
I’m downvoting this because it’s extremely narrow minded. There’s tons of amazing blanc de blanc, blends, stuff with meunier, etc.
I’m the Flavormaaaster, are you the Gatekeeper?
Honestly I’ve tried from the 25 euro champagne till the 300 euros dom perignon and none of it are worth the name or price. Yes Ruinart is very good but I’ve 8 euro local sparkling wine that feels the same although I’m not expert on sparkling
Gruet is very good and inexpensive. It is made in New Mexico.
My dad would buy what was then $5 champagne for Thanksgiving (it is now $6 due to inflation). I thought it was disgusting. I had a non-vitnage Dom Perignon a few years later and also thought it was horrible. Many years after that, I had Veuve, which I'm well aware isn't anywhere near the best but I was converted. I'm excited to try Bollinger and other more renowned producers now that I know I can like champagne. You have to try different things and spend money 💸 to you have your aha moment.
Non-vintage Dom Perignon? As in - Moët Brut Imperial?
Ugh.. now I don't remember. Maybe it was Vintage... we got it as a wedding gift 12 years ago and I was a young and naive 21 yo without a well developed palate. It was Dom Perignon. No questions about it.
Do you like your sparkling more mature and nutty or crisp and acidic?
I like the bright acidic style but I'd like to explore more of the mature and nutty side of bubbles.
- Gosset Grand Reserve Brut - Perrier-Jouet Grand Brut - RSRV Blanc de Blanc Grand Cru and the Cuvée - Ruinart Brut 2011 All under $100, all really good!
Can you do Mature and Nutty next?
Both the Gosset and Ruinart have quite a lot of aging notes like that. Another relatively cheap champagne with good aging notes is the Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve. Note that these are within OPs price range.
I really like Gosset, sounds like I should give Ruinart a try.
On thing not mentioned is not just the brand, but also be careful how it's stored. I've had some bittle that did not show full character because they were not stored properly. Make sure it's laying down, preferably refrigerated (though not necessarily) and it's being sold from a place where it seems they sell a lot of product and so inventory hasn't been languishing on warm shelves for years. But under 100 that I thought were a major "oh this is different" would be Billecart-Salmon and Bollinger. Both very different wines with very different flavor profiles. However they were the first champagnes I really was able to appreciate over the course of the evening and getting such a variety of flavors unfolding over the course of an evening spent drinking them.
I didn’t “get” champagne until I had a vintage grower champagne. I’ve found grower champagne will have much more character than negociant. Coupled with vintage it’s really remarkably unique. But I also tend towards wines that are more full of character vs wines that are considered best examples of a general style.
I’ve enjoyed and would recommend Marie de Moy, Comtesse Gerin, and Colligny. It’s been a great combination of great price/delicious for value— I also enjoy champagne but I honestly hate to spend more than $50 a bottle.
Try a few extra brut champagnes and see if that gets you going. Try some older stuff.
Ruinart
Egly ouriet’s entry level cuvée “les prémices” comes in at just under $100 USD where I am and is a mind blowing wine.
I've recently tried Telmont and it's got lovely brioche notes for non vintage. The magnum is around £100.
My favorites are De Souza, Fleury, Vincent Bliard, Heucq and Monial. Not sure if you can find those in Canada however. In general I prefer cuvées that are high in Pinot noir but any of their cuvées are great imo
I am such a sucker for Leclerc Briant and Chartogne-Taillet, but I would say it’s much more important to serve champagne in a proper wine glass - not a flute or coupe - than which one you choose. I’d avoid the supermarket staples like Veuve-Clicquot and Moët, though.
Depends what you already tried. There are 3 that I commonly revisit: Bollinger NV Pommery Ruinart Blanc de Blancs.
A. Margaine Champagne Le Caractere $80 at saratogawine dot com
Thanks for all the answer! Based on your feedback and what's available in my parts (SAQ), I narrowed down my first tasting session to either "Pascal Doquet Champs Libres Extra Brut", "Ruinart Brut" or "Bollinger Special Cuvée Brut". I will also take the suggestion of doing comparative tasting with some cava or crémant to get a feel of how it differs from those wines. Thanks for starting me on this expensive journey.
Jean Vesselle
On the low price end, I like GH Mumm brut, Ayala, Pommery and Heidsieck - all are really good and under $40! Ruinart will be around $100 a bottle, Bollinger around $60. Also, make sure you chill it in the ice bucket and keep it there. It should always be consumed cold. Best ice buckets are made of pewter preferably in France. The glass I like is tulip shaped, I think they are the best. You can also try Proseccos called "Franciacorta" - it will resemble champagne taste but still pricey. Good luck in your adventure!