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Non-vintage Champagne is a blend of several years, made to taste the same every time. Vintage Champagne comes from a single year, is only made when that year was good enough, and is aged longer before release. That is the whole difference, and it explains the price gap: a non-vintage bottle is the house style you can rely on; a vintage bottle is one particular harvest, with all its character and all its quirks.
Around 90 percent of the Champagne sold is non-vintage, and for most occasions it is the better buy. This guide explains what each term means, how they are made and aged, how they taste, when the extra money for a vintage is worth it, and what to look for on the label.
Table of Contents
The Difference in One Table
| Non-vintage (NV) | Vintage | |
|---|---|---|
| Grapes from | Several years blended, often 3 or more, around a base year | One harvest only |
| Made | Every year | Only in years the house declares good enough |
| Minimum ageing on lees | 15 months (usually 2 to 3 years in practice) | 36 months (usually 5 to 10 years in practice) |
| Goal | A consistent house style | To show the character of one year |
| Taste | Fresh, bright, apple and citrus, toasty edge | Deeper, nuttier, honeyed, more texture and length |
| Typical price in Australia | $60 to $90 | $120 upwards; prestige cuvées far more |
| Best for | Parties, aperitifs, cocktails, most celebrations | A dinner centrepiece, a milestone, drinking on its own |
What Non-Vintage Champagne Is
Every Champagne house keeps back reserve wines from previous harvests. Each year the cellar master blends the new base wine with those reserves to hit the house style, so that a bottle of Moët, Veuve Clicquot or Bollinger tastes recognisably itself whether the year was hot, cold or miserable. That blend then goes through its second fermentation in the bottle and rests on its lees for at least 15 months under the Champagne appellation rules; the good houses give it two or three years.
The label says “Brut NV” or simply carries no year. It is the workhorse of Champagne, and there is nothing lesser about it: consistency is hard to achieve, and the reserve wines can be decades old. It is also the style built for celebrations, because it is fresh, lively and ready to drink the day you buy it.
What Vintage Champagne Is
In a year when the grapes are exceptional, a house may “declare a vintage” and make a Champagne from that harvest alone. The year goes on the label. By law it must age at least three years on its lees, and in practice most vintage Champagne rests five to ten years before release, which is where the toast, brioche, honey and hazelnut notes come from. Because the grapes and the ageing are dearer and the wine is rarer, it costs more.
Vintage Champagne is not automatically better. It is different: richer, more complex, more of a sit-down wine. It also varies, because that is the point; a 2008 and a 2012 from the same house taste like different years. Prestige cuvées such as Dom Pérignon, Cristal and Krug Vintage sit at the top of this category.
How to Tell Them Apart on the Shelf
- A year on the label means vintage. “NV”, “Brut” alone or no year means non-vintage.
- “Millésime” is the French word for vintage; you will see it on some labels.
- Price: if a bottle from a big house is under about $100 in Australia, it is almost certainly non-vintage.
- Disgorgement date (some houses print it) tells you when the bottle was finished; a recently disgorged NV is at its freshest.
- “Grand Cru” or “Premier Cru” refers to the vineyard villages, not to vintage; both NV and vintage wines can carry it.
Which Should You Buy?
For a party, a toast, a mimosa or a Champagne cocktail, buy non-vintage and spend the difference on a second bottle. For a dinner where the Champagne is the point, a wedding-anniversary bottle, or a gift that says something, buy a vintage from a good year and serve it a touch warmer, around 10 to 12 degrees, so the complexity shows. If you are comparing two famous houses, our guide to the difference between Moët and Veuve Clicquot is the next read, and if the question is really “what is the cheaper sparkling like”, read Prosecco vs Cava.
Drink One Tonight
Henriot Brut Champagne Rosé NV
The non-vintage side of this guide in a bottle: fresh, consistent, celebratory. For the vintage side, Henriot’s 2016 L’Inattendue sits on the same shelf at about twice the price.
- A genuine Champagne, from a family house founded in 1808
- Non-vintage, so it tastes the way Henriot intend every time
- Rosé adds strawberry to the usual brioche and citrus
- Well under the price of a vintage bottle
- Still Champagne money; for a big party, Australian sparkling is the sensible pour
Frequently Asked Questions
What does non-vintage Champagne mean?
A Champagne blended from grapes of several different years, made to a consistent house style. It carries no year on the label and is aged at least 15 months on its lees.
What is vintage Champagne?
Champagne made only from the grapes of one exceptional year, which appears on the label. It must age at least 36 months on its lees and usually rests much longer.
Is vintage Champagne better than non-vintage?
Richer and more complex, yes; better, not necessarily. Non-vintage is fresher and more consistent, and for most occasions it is the smarter buy.
Why is vintage Champagne more expensive?
Rarer grapes from a single good year, longer ageing in the cellar, and smaller production. The house also ties up money for years before selling it.
Does non-vintage Champagne go off?
It keeps for two to three years from purchase if stored cool and dark, but it is made to drink young. Vintage Champagne can improve for a decade or more.
How can I tell if a Champagne is vintage?
Look for a year on the label or the word Millésime. No year means non-vintage.
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