In brief
- The world’s most expensive Champagne is a 30-litre Midas by Armand de Brignac, bought for 120,000 pounds in a London nightclub in June 2011, according to the maison’s British distributor: a club price, not an auction result.
- In a classic 75 cl bottle, the auction record belongs to Perrier-Jouët 1874: 42,875 pounds at Christie’s London in December 2021, according to the Champagne maison.
- The Midas is equivalent to 40 standard bottles; only six examples existed in 2011.
- The 1874, without a label, came directly from the Perrier-Jouët cellars in Épernay, where it had been preserved for nearly 150 years.
- Several viral figures, ranging from 275,000 dollars to over one million, do not correspond to any documented sale.
Which is the world’s most expensive Champagne? It all depends on how you measure it: the largest bill ever settled for a single bottle, or the record auction price for a standard 75 cl bottle. Here are the two answers, their exact prices and their sources.
How much does the most expensive Champagne cost?
In June 2011, an American professional gambler ordered a Midas of Armand de Brignac Brut Gold at a private club in Park Lane, London: a 30-litre bottle, equivalent to 40 standard bottles. The bill reached 120,000 pounds for this single vessel, to which he added a Methuselah from the same maison for 25,000 pounds. The sum was disclosed at the time by the brand’s British distributor, who specified that only six Midas bottles existed in the world back then.
This price must be viewed in context: it is a nightclub charge, service included, rather than a public auction bid. For a verifiable auction record, one must look at a standard 75 cl bottle: the Perrier-Jouët 1874, sold for 42,875 pounds at Christie’s in London during the “Finest and Rarest Wines and Spirits” sale on 2 and 3 December 2021. According to Perrier-Jouët, this is Christie’s record for a bottle of Champagne, nearly three times its high estimate of 15,000 pounds.
The two records in figures
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Absolute record | Armand de Brignac Brut Gold, 30-litre Midas |
| Price | £120,000, private club in Park Lane, London, June 2011 |
| Price type | Nightclub price, reported by the distributor |
| Equivalence | 40 standard 75 cl bottles |
| 75 cl record | Perrier-Jouët Brut Millésimé 1874 |
| Price | £42,875, Christie’s London, December 2021 |
| Price type | Auction bid, high estimate £15,000 |
| Lot perk | Private tour of the Maison Belle Époque in Épernay |
| Sources | Armand de Brignac distributor (2011), Perrier-Jouët and Christie’s (2021) |
A bottle kept in a cellar for 150 years
The Perrier-Jouët 1874 is no ordinary bottle: the maison opened its oenotheque to a public sale for the very first time. Dusty and unlabelled, the bottle had rested for nearly 150 years in the Épernay cellars under ideal preservation conditions, according to Christie’s. The 1874 vintage was already famous in the 19th century, regarded as one of the finest in Champagne history.
The lot offered more than just the bottle: the buyer won a private experience at the Maison Belle Époque, Perrier-Jouët’s historic residence on the Avenue de Champagne, for themselves and their guests. The Armand de Brignac Midas, on the other hand, relies on sheer extravagance: weighing around 45 kilograms, this metallic gold bottle comes with a service that resembles a theatrical performance.
Other Champagnes in the ranking
In our ranking of the world’s most expensive Champagnes, two sales by Acker Merrall complete the historic top three. Two bottles of Dom Pérignon Rosé 1959, produced for the Persepolis celebrations and never commercially released, fetched 84,700 dollars for the pair in New York in April 2008. In June 2011, in Mariehamn, Finland, a bottle of Veuve Clicquot salvaged from a Baltic shipwreck was sold for 30,000 euros, a record announced by the auction house.
The price today
Neither the 2011 Midas nor the 1874 are currently for sale. Armand de Brignac still produces extra-large formats, whose prices vary depending on the cuvée and venue. At retail, the most expensive bottle we recorded in late September 2026 was a boxed Methuselah of Dom Pérignon Rosé 2000, listed at 39,000 euros. Viral claims mentioning several hundred thousand or even millions of euros refer to jewellery-decorated promotional items, not verified sales.
Prices verified and updated on 13 October 2026. Sources: Perrier-Jouët (press release of December 2021 regarding the Christie’s sale), Christie’s (“Finest and Rarest Wines and Spirits” sale, London, December 2021), British distributor of Armand de Brignac (June 2011 announcement), Acker Merrall & Condit, Millésima.
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