The holiday season is all about celebration and nothing symbolizes a celebratory moment more than Champagne.

Champagne boasts this merited reputation because of the intricacies it takes to craft a single bottle. The sparkling wine, produced only in France’s designated Champagne appellation (AOC), is made from the highest quality grapes, it undergoes a lengthy production and aging process and it’s often created in limited quantities so that drives up its price tag. All these reasons combine to give you a luxury product—and luxury products are often synonymous with splurging.

In recent years, Champagne’s been more widely accepted as an everyday wine, as Jenn Forge, head sommelier at Twelve in Portland, Maine explains, “Champagne is one of the most versatile wines in the world and pairs with everything.”

As the holidays approach, it presents an ideal time to play around with your pairings and enjoy popping a cork whenever you feel like it. It’s also an excuse to try some of the newest releases coming out of Champagne; read on for a list of the latest releases from a selection of the best Champagne houses.

8 Champagnes To Toast The Season

Perrier-Jouët x Formafantasma Blanc de Blancs

A relative newcomer for the Maison, their Blanc de Blancs was debuted in 2017 to complete their classic collection. This limited edition of the 100 percent Chardonnay-based cuvée is one of the two releases from Perrier-Jouët’s collaboration with Formafantasma, a design studio researching the ecological, historical, political and social forces shaping the discipline of design, that’s meant to showcase the Maison’s dedication to biodiversity in the Champagne region. The special-release box, which debuted in Épernay in September, is adorned with the unique flora and fauna identified in the Perrier-Jouët vineyard as reinterpretations of the “interdependent relationships between species,” according to the Formafantasma designers.

Lallier Réflexion R.021 Brut Rosé

Champagne Lallier’s signature Réflexion label is an ode to the “constant flux of nature,” says cellar master Dominique Demarville. First launched in 2014 with R.010, the Réflexion range blends a majority of the respective vintage with a minority percentage of reserve wines to capture the singular attributes of the vintage while still presenting the Lallier style. The R.021 Brut is unique as it is the first time Pinot Meunier is used in the range. The seven percent of Meunier adds a new dimension to the Champagne through complexity and depth. Champagne Lallier unveiled their Réflexion R.021 earlier this fall; as the bottles gradually make their way stateside, it’s one you should certainly stock up on when you get the chance.

Champagne Telmont Réserve de la Terre

Champagne Telmont’s newest release emphasizes the brand’s commitment to producing “in the name of mother nature” as Réserve de la Terre is made with organic grapes and bottled in the lightest Champagne vessel on the market at 800 grams. The three-vintage blend—70 percent from 2020, 15 percent from 2019 and 15 percent from 2018—exists as a premier example that it’s possible to create sustainable Champagne without sacrificing quality. Pronounced aromatics include a mingling of lemon zest and white fruits while the palate reveals a refreshing sip accented by silky bubbles and notes of green apple.

Dom Pérignon Vintage 2015 Special Edition – Tribute to Jean-Michel Basquiat

Dom Pérignon’s current releases, the 2015 vintage and Plénitude 2 2006 were released in July, but just last month, the maison released a special edition in tribute to the late Jean-Michel Basquiat. Dom Pérignon swaps its iconic minimalist label for a multi-color version centered by the neo-expressionist artist’s signature crown motif. There are three bottles in the series, each sporting a different hued crown on the label—green, blue and yellow—and each encased in three unique boxes that when brought together fashion a part of Basquiat’s masterpiece In Italian (1983). Dom Pérignon draws the parallel of complexity found in Basquiat’s work to the complexity in their Champagne for a truly singular sip and collector’s item.

Pommery Apanage Brut 1874

In August, Pommery released Apanage Brut 1874 as a celebration of Brut Champagne’s 150th anniversary. The style was championed by Madame Pommery in 1874 and signifies that a Champagne has under 12 grams per liter of residual sugar; today, Brut Champagne is the most commonly produced style. This special cuvée blends reserve wines from 2012, 2015 and 2018, and composes 45 percent Pinot Noir, 40 percent Chardonnay and 15 percent Meunier. It’s simultaneously fresh and toasty with a dry, citrus-centric finish.

Krug Rosé 28th Edition

Krug Rosé 28th Edition is the current rosé release—a set of 32 wines that includes six different vintages with the oldest dating from 2010. Cellar master Julie Cavil describes it as an “expression of the fruit in all its forms: fresh, stewed, in salad or in syrup.” The rosé Champagne is Pinot Noir-dominant which brings remarkable length and notes of spices to the wine. Aromatics include a subtle smokiness with a delicate rosehip and red currant that match its pale rosy tint.

Billecart-Salmon 2012 Louis Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne

In April, Billecart-Salmon released two vintage cuvées from 2012—renowned as an exceptional growing year in Champagne—to honor the maison’s cofounder, Elisabeth Salmon and her brother, Louis Salmon, who acted as Billecart-Salmon’s first chief winemaker. Though both releases are noteworthy, the Louis Salmon 2012 is a gorgeous expression of a Blanc de Blancs that exudes aromas of freshly baked butter croissants and a creamy mouthfeel.

Ruinart Rosé

This pomegranate-hued rosé Champagne is a classic; in 2024, the iconic label celebrated 260 years of production and it still displays the same fruity freshness as it first did in 1764. Ruinart Rosé achieves the respective balance of fruit and freshness by blending 55 percent Pinot Noir with 45 percent Chardonnay, and using up to 25 percent of reserve wines to add layers. The Ruinart winemaking team achieves a beautiful tannic structure thanks to vinifying 12 percent of the Pinot Noir grapes as red wine (the grapes macerated with skins which add structure and color) while the rest of the Pinot Noir fruit is treated as white wine.

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