Drink – Luxury Champagnes
Words: Violet
“Come quickly! I’m tasting stars!”
That’s just the reaction French Benedictine Monk, Dom Pierre Perignon, had when he tasted his newly concocted champagne for the first time in the 17th Century. Since then, champagne has come a long way.
Rather than recommend bottles from the mainstream market we thought we’d aim higher, conscious that GJ readers know how to celebrate in style, and pick out the best bubbly from the upper end of the market.
Goût de Diamants
Luxury champagne brand Goût de Diamants has conjured up what is being billed as the world’s most expensive bottle of champagne.
Created for an anonymous private buyer, the eye-watering price stems from the fact that the bottle’s logo has been encrusted with a flawless, deep-cut white 19-carat diamond, positioned where a distinctive Swarovski crystal normally sits. This Superman label is also handmade in 18-karat solid gold and is engraved with the buyer’s name. Any guesses as to who the mysterious private buyer was?
At 1.2 million a bottle we wouldn’t settle for anything less than liquid gold!
For more information visit goutdediamants.com
De Watère
Finding a gold coin at the bottom of any bottle should be considered good luck. In 2011, to mark the company’s 925th birthday, champagne maker De Watère created what they then claimed to be the world’s most expensive champagne, encased in a bottle embedded with a 24-karat gold coin.
At the bottom of each bottle is a 1ct diamond encrusted in a 1oz gold coin embossed with the De Watère emblem. We agree with the touch that you have to drink to reap the benefits.
Available in two types of champagne – a Brut Blanc cuvee made from 80% pinot noir and 20% chardonnay, and a Brut Ros made from 100% pinot noir – both are considered ideal as either an aperitif or combined with a meal. Only 22,500 bottles of De Watère champagne are produced every year. 20,000 are available to the public, with the rest being held by and for the family De Watère.
For more information visit de-watere.com
Louis Roederer
French champagne makers Louis Roederer have teamed up with designer Philippe di Meo to create a limited edition Jeroboam housing the 2002 Cuvee Cristal. Limited to 400 units, each Jeroboam comprises a distinctive clear glass bottle encased in a lattice of 24-carat gold which took four days to create by two master goldsmiths. Priced at $26,000 a bottle, the first chance to purchase one will be at the forthcoming Monaco Grand Prix next year.
For more information visit champagne-roederer.com
Whether you go for expensive bubbles or not, don’t end up like American Writer, John Keynes:
“My only regret in life is that I did not drink more Champagne.”
By Emma Corbett
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