The Dilemma of which Champagne to Buy if you Win the Lottery
18th July 2016
Firstly you have to win the lottery, here in the UK alone that means you have to beat odds of 1 in 13,983,816 so that’s approximately 1 chance in every 14 million… Do not feel too deflated, many people have won so it isn’t impossible. I can offer you hope in that one of my friends has won the lottery jackpot with Euro Millions who claimed a tidy sum of £128 million – Yes, dare to dream everyone!
Now back to the bubbly… Champagne and what should you be looking to purchase if your six numbers come up. I think that from the many 1,000’s of blogs on our website written by many industry professionals we can openly declare that it isn’t always the fact that the more more you spend on Champagne the better the taste you will get, but nonetheless, you can pay anything from just under £10 a bottle to what currently is the world’s most expensive £1.2 Million a bottle! PS: That only allows you to buy 106 bottles if you had raked in the £128 Million jackpot – Not so big a win after all hey?
As we all know, there are Champagne labels that are well known and others less so, many of those that cost that bit more money in the supermarket are usually the brands we see as the luxury ones, the Veuve Clicquot’s, the Bollingers, the rosé Laurent-Perrier which usually come in those nice cardboard boxes and possibly a free bottle stopper or glass giveaway. This principle is usually the case when you go exploring Champagne at your local wine merchant who will no doubt have some great lesser known labels (grower Champagne) along with some special vintages of famous grand marques. Then we have online companies where the depth of choice is more or less unlimited and where we can really start spending those £’s of our lottery win.
With all of this in mind and not delving too deeply in to the many millions of rare and old vintages stored safely in wine cellars in Champagne and across the world, here is a healthy choice of Champagne to go for if you bought that lucky ticket.
- £1,200,000 is what you’d have to fork out if you want what is commonly known as the world’s most expensive Champagne. The maker, Alexander Amosu, has teamed with Swarovski and crafted a bottle from 18ct solid white gold and a diamond cut Swarovski crystal. The bottle is named Taste of Diamonds and is likely to be under lock and key where ever sold! There is a cheaper version of this Champagne, minus the diamond, for approx £150,000 a bottle.
- Armand de Brignac Brut Gold is a famous Champagne for it’s striking appearance and it’s common presence at celebrity parties, many will recognise it’s gold coloured bottle with the ace of spades logo. If you opted for a bottle of the 2006 then you are likely to pay an average of £400, though larger sized bottles are usually paraded at those red carpet style late night partying events where prices can be £40,000 + and is currently proving very popular since the brand was purchased by the well known rapper Jay Z in 2014.
- Many will say that if you want to spend money to buy a decent Champagne then turn to Krug. This well respected label will set you back around £500 for the ‘2000 Clos du Mesnil’ and you will undoubtedly be in for a wonderful Champagne tasting experience if your night of celebrating your lottery win was alongside glass fulls of Krug.
- Fancy some rosé? What about £300 a bottle for Louis Roederer Cristal 2004 rosé that will resignate for many as true class and an ultimate luxury choice. Many glamorous nightspots the world over will stock this Champagne in order to attract the celebrity faces to their venues.
- Want a Bond style celebration? Then there is only one name to run with and that is Bollinger and we’d suggest the 1996 Vieilles Vignes Françaises, not only a great tasting experience, but limited in produce making it open to attracting sky high prices, especially at luxury venues internationally. Do not forget that it’s not only a favourite of James Bond, but also that of our own Royal family!
- Named after the Benedictine Monk who is said to have first discovered Champagne, a great option would be Dom Pérignon 2003 Rosé, chosen also by Charles and Diana for their wedding, loved by Marilyn Monroe, Leonardo Di Caprio and many more famous people. For such a great Champagne it rolls in only at £250 a bottle so you could really buy in plenty of cases to celebrate the night away…
- Fancy something totally different and that ultimate experience for your ultimate lucky win? What about a bottle of the shipwrecked 1907 Heidsieck Champagne of which 2,000 bottles were recovered in 1998 from a sunken ship during World War 1 on it’s way to the Imperial Court of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. How much should you pay you ask? Well the sky could be the limit here, but an estimate would be £200,000 a bottle.
Christopher Walkey
Co-founder of Glass of Bubbly. Journalist and author focused on Champagne & Sparkling Wines and pairing them with foods.