Famous Champagnes of France

Champagne has long been one of our favourite barge cruises we offer in France. Marked with a rich history and deep held traditions, it makes for a wonderful visit. To spark your imagination here are some of the famous Champagnes of France.

Champagne, synonymous with celebration and special occasions, need not be restricted to such fleeting events. Instead, take counsel from the great French military leader Napoleon Bonaparte, who claimed to “drink champagne when I win, to celebrate…and …when I lose, to console myself”. So why not liberate this effervescent elixir from the confines of the royal courts and celebrate the everyday victories.

1. Laurent-Perrier

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Laurent-Perrier

Founded by former cooper and bottler André-Michel Pierlot in the Grand Cru village of Tours-sur-Marne in 1812, this brand has been cultivated over the years to produce a selection of fine cuvées including its Grand Siècle (sample their Grand Siècle Iteration No. 26 to experience ‘the perfect year’ in terms of champagne making – taking its name from one of France’s most prosperous periods of champagne growing, the ‘Great Century’).

However, we are tickled pink to present a Pinot Noir as our preferred tipple for 2024. Dream of sunny days ahead, and sample their Cuvée Rosé Brut, as you plan your next champagne tasting in France.

2. Krug

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Krug Champagne House

The House of Krug, est. 1843 in Reims. Its philosophy? Champagne is ‘pleasure itself’. The ethos? To produce the highest quality champagne year on year, regardless of environmental factors.

A dream perpetuated over six generations, each year, the cellar masters aim to recreate founder Joseph Krug’s dream by releasing a new Édition of Krug Grande Cuvée, paying homage to the personalities of hundreds of wines to offer a champagne of ‘contrast and texture’.

We love Krug Grande Cuvée 171ème édition.

3. Dom Pérignon

Dom Pérignon champagnes

Dom Pérignon

What more can be said of Dom Pérignon than the cry of sheer delight unleashed by the reputed father of champagne himself, Benedictine monk Dom Pérignon, when he announced, ‘Come quickly, I am tasting the stars!’.

Producing only vintage wine using grapes harvested in a single year, and aged for a minimum of eight years before being released for sale, Dom Pérignon’s Plénitude offerings, including its rare 1982 and 1971 vintages, are a sublime treat indeed. After almost two decades of maturation in the comforting darkness of the wine cellars, Vintage 2004 Plénitude 2 offers weightless refreshment. A must for your palette in 2024.

4. Pol Roger

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Pol Roger Champagne House

Eternally linked with the emblematic figure of Winston Churchill, arguably no champagne could be closer to the heart of the Englishman than Pol Roger, after the statesman declared his favourite fizz ‘the most drinkable address in the world’. Est circa 1849, with the firm setting roots in Épernay in 1851, the philosophy of this brand centres unequivocally around the motto of ‘excellence and independence’.

Also the pick for recent royal nuptials, this crisp fruity reserve is a sure-fire win year-on-year.

5. Louis Roederer, Cristal, Champagne 2014

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Louis Roederer, Cristal, Champagne 2014

No list of top quaffing champers could be complete without a mention of Cristal. The celebrity brand of choice, Cristal’s rarity – produced and released only in select years – adds to its mystique and desirability.

With its finest years including the 2012 and 2005 vintages, this prestige wine is the taste of luxury itself, rightly earning its status symbol hallmark among the greats of the champagne fraternity.

Join Us

If you need to ponder the matter on a deeper level, perhaps your mind (or at least palate) might be clearer after a champagne welcome on our champagne barge cruise.

We will treat you to a selection of our personal favourites including Boizel champagne house in Epernay, and Haultevillers, a quaint village in the bosom of vine-covered hills, that Dom Perignon himself once called home. Plus a stopover at the family run business of Ployez Jacquemart, started in 1930, currently run by the granddaughter keeping the long Champagne traditions alive.