🍷 Prestige cuvée
A Champagne house's most expensive wine, from its best plots and years.
A prestige cuvée is the top and most expensive wine of a Champagne house. It is made from grapes of the best plots and in the best-weather years. So it is not made every year and comes in small batches.
It is usually Champagne from northeastern France and is aged on its lees longer than usual. Each house sets its own ageing time, but it is above the minimum fixed by the appellation rules. The bottle and label often look special so the wine is easy to recognise.
A prestige cuvée is close to ordinary Champagne and to vintage Champagne: often it is vintage, meaning from a single harvest. But not always, as some are blends of several years. For the region it is an example of French wine where place matters: the plot, soil and climate. The price reflects rarity, long ageing and the house's reputation, not necessarily taste for everyone.
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- Part of
- 🍷 Champagne
- Where it is made
- 🗺️ French wine
- Similar and different
- 🍷 Champagne, 🍷 Vintage Champagne
Frequently asked questions
What is a prestige cuvée?
It is the top wine of a Champagne house, made from the best plots and years, usually with long ageing.
Is a prestige cuvée always vintage?
No. It is often from one harvest, but some are blends of several years.
Why is it so expensive?
Because of small batches, selected grapes, long ageing and the house's reputation.
Similar
🍷 Grower Champagne · 🍷 Non-vintage Champagne · 🍷 Rosé Champagne · 🍷 Vintage Champagne · 🍷 Ratafia de Champagne · 🍷 Kir royal
⚠️ Wine contains alcohol: adults only, drink in moderation. Wine usually contains sulphites; egg white or milk proteins are sometimes used for fining — important for allergies and for vegans.