The 9 Best Champagnes to Pop This New Year’s Eve
As one year draws to a close and another begins, it’s a good time to pull out all the stops. Whether you’re celebrating the passing year or looking forward to the new one, a great bottle of Champagne will mark the turning of calendar in style. It’s also time to celebrate your successes in work, family, relationships, and health, so remember to focus on all of the great things you accomplished in 2024. An excellent bottle or two of bubbles shared with family, friends, or that special someone will set the right mood as the clock strikes midnight. So here are nine amazing bottles that will set you on best path forward in 2025.
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Dom Pérignon Basquiat Champagne France
Fans of Champagne and modern art know that previous vintages of Dom Pérignon have included art by Andy Warhol and Lady Gaga, but lovers of Basquiat will be excited to learn that his 1983 “In Italian” painting is a featured as a triptych covering three gift boxes that can be reassembled to reveal the complete artwork. The bubbly inside the bottle is a work of art as well with aromas of lime zest, freesia, and cocoa nibs with flavors of Tangerine blossom, white peach, and freshly baked rosemary focaccia.
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Louis Roederer 2016 Cristal Champagne France
The pinnacle of the house of Louis Roederer, Cristal 2016 lives up to the legend of its predecessors with exquisite aromas, flavors, and a constant stream of slow-moving bubbles. A delightful cuvee of 58 percent Pinot Noir and 42 percent Chardonnay, it opens on the nose with white peach, candied lemon peel, and Bosc pear that slowly transition to flavors of ripe apple, salted almonds, and Mandarin orange zest.
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Billecart Salmon 2012 Elisabeth Salmon Rosé Champagne France
This delightful bubbly was created in homage to Elisabeth Salmon, one of the founders of Billecart Salmon. Composed of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, it rested on the lees until it was disgorged in 2023. It introduces itself with its warm aromas of spiced gingerbread, baked apple, and red raspberry that transition to flavors of freshly baked croissants, salted hazelnut, red plum, and Winesap apple.
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Rare Millésime 2012 Champagne France
Rare’s cellar master prefers to choose grapes based on their aromas, flavors, and quality rather than depending on their Premier Cru and Grand Cru status and defiantly chooses Chardonnay from the Montagne de Reims, better known for its Pinot Noir grapes. This delightful cuvee is 70 percent Chardonnay and 30 percent Pinot Noir. It is allowed to undergo full malolactic fermentation and then rests on the lees for a minimum of 10 years. Petite bubbles tickle your nose with aromas of baked bread, green apple, and white citrus blossom that lead to a crisp, clean, and brilliantly effervescent Champagne in your mouth.
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Laurent Perrier Iteration No 23 Champagne France (magnum)
Iteration No 23 is composed of 58 percent Chardonnay and 42 percent Pinot Noir blended from three exceptional years, namely 2002, 2004, and 2006. It aged for 14 years on the lees and has aromas of hazelnut, cooked apple, fresh ginger, and acacia honey. Tiny bubbles tickle your palate and prepare it for flavors of brioche, apple, and lemon zest. Only available in magnum, but what better way to celebrate New Year’s Eve than with a big bottle?
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Bollinger 2013 La Côte aux Enfants Champagne France
Just 1,000 bottles of this delightful Champagne were produced and only 70 were sent to retailers here in the United States, so it might be a little hard to find, but we can tell you it’s worth the search. It’s made from 100 percent Pinot Noir grapes sourced from a single parcel in La Côte Aux Enfants, which has long been used by Bollinger for its still red wines. Aromas of sandalwood, cherry liquor, red plum, red raspberry, and freshly baked bread draw you in to the glass to experience full bodied flavors of red currant, dried lavender, juicy red plum, and toasted almonds. Drink now or if you prefer you can lay this down for another 20 years.
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Drappier 2012 Grand Sendrée Champagne France
Michel Drappier can trace his Champagne family history back to 1808 when his ancestors established their family estate around the remarkably preserved Clairvaux Abbey and wine cellars, which were originally built in 1152. Michel and his team continue to use these cellars to store their top tier wines, of which Grand Sendrée is one of our favorites. It has aromas of yeasty focaccia, Granny Smith apple, and jasmine with voluptuous mouthfeel and flavors of toasted hazelnuts, freshly picked mushroom, and Bosc pear with just a slight touch of salinity in the finish.
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Armand de Brignac 2015 Blanc de Noirs Champagne France
This bottling represents the first vintage Champagne released from Armand de Brignac; only 1,258 bottles were produced. It is composed of 70 percent Pinot Noir and 30 percent Pinot Meunier which was aged in new French oak for one year. It then spent over seven years on the lees until it was disgorged on February 8, 2024. It is one of the most stunning Blanc de Noirs that we have tasted. It has aromas of brown baking spices, mandarin orange, fresh strawberries, and a touch of clove with a continuous steam of fine bubbles and flavors of almond, white peach, kumquat, and a lingering essence of crystallized ginger.
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Delamotte 2014 Blancs de Blancs Champagne France
From the same venerable house that owns Champagne Salon, Champagne Delamotte Vintage 2014 Blanc de Blancs is almost a bargain. It has yeasty aromas of freshly baked baguette and tart tatin with citrus aromas of tangerine pith and white citrus blossoms. It is beautifully balanced in the mouth with flavors of toasted almonds, Anjou pear, and ripe peach. Buy it by the case for a New Year’s Eve party!
