Or shall we call it ‘The Richards’ ?! Instead of ‘The Champagne Oscars’ ? We want to sum-up the year of 2024 from a Champagne perspective. In 20+ categories we hand out awards for this years most memorable Champagnes & Champagne related topics!
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Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
LOOKING FORWARD TO 2026
As we close the book on 2025, the cellar is full, and the tasting glasses are polished. We are already hearing whispers of the 2025 harvest potential and anticipating the next wave of releases.
Thank you for being part of the Champagne Club. Whether you are a connoisseur, a sommelier, or a lover of the good life, we raise a glass to you.
The Richards 2025: Celebrating the Year of 2024 By Richard Juhlin & The Champagne Club Team
Goodbye Oscars, Hello “The Richards”
Shall we call it ‘The Richards’?!
For years, we have handed out our annual accolades under the guise of the Champagne Club Awards, often colloquially dubbed the “Champagne Oscars.” But on this, the first day of 2025, as we look back on a magnificent year of bubbles, we feel it is time for a rebrand. If the film industry has the Oscars and the music world has the Grammys, the world of sparkling excellence deserves a name that reflects the personal passion, the thousands of blind tastings, and the dedicated community we have built together.
So, welcome to the inaugural edition of The Richards!
2025 was a year of fascinating contrasts. We saw the continued rise of the growers, the majestic release of late-disgorged library wines from the big houses, and a gastronomic awakening where Champagne finally took its rightful place on the dinner table, not just as an aperitif.
We have summed up the year of 2025 from a Champagne perspective. In 20+ categories, we hand out awards for this year’s most memorable Champagnes & Champagne-related topics.
Sante!
Historical winners
| 2025 | Clément Pierlot | Pommery |
| 2024 | Denis Bunner | Bollinger |
| 2023 | Didier Mariotti | Veuve Clicquot |
| 2022 | Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon | Louis Roederer |
| 2021 | Benoit Gouez | Moët & Chandon |
| 2020 | Julie Cavil | Krug |
‘After several years in the shadow of the legends Prince Alain de Polignac and Thierry Gasco, the ever-humble winemaker Clement Pierlot has come to surpass his teachers. With his easy-smiling, loyal and diplomatic demeanor, he has never wanted to emphasize himself at the expense of Pommery’s historical greatness. He has slowly crept forward and gone from clarity to clarity and today works with such ultra-refined finesse and accuracy that in 2025 he is a worthy winner of our award as the best winemaker in all of Champagne. Congratulations on once again highlighting the venerable Pommery in the fine room.’
Richard Juhlin
Pommery
★★★★
In 1856 Pommery & Greno was founded after having been known as Dubois-Gossart for the previous twenty years. The firm established a sales channel to the English as early as the nineteenth century, and were pioneers with their dry Champagne—quite without dosage. The Marquise de Polignac was one of the first owners, and one of her direct descendants, Prince Alain de Polignac, was for a long time the man in charge of assembling the cuvées. Prince Alain is a fascinating man who, better than any other winemaker, can describe the philosophy behind his winemaking art. In 1990, Pommery was one of those firms that ended up as part of the powerful Moët-Hennessy Group, and in 2002 Vranken took over.
But the house-style remains intact, thanks to Thierry Gasco, who was trained by the prince and still works together with the new skilfull winemaker Clément Pierlot. Pommery is one of the biggest Grand cru landowners. Besides Pommery’s own grapes, 70 percent of their supply comes from throughout Champagne, and they are vinified in modern style. Pommery is undoubtably a great name in historical terms. The house-style is made up of dry, restrained, pure champagnes with young fruit and an unmistakable steeliness that takes many years to round off.
The cuvée de prestige, Louise Pommery, doesn’t fit that description since its silky and soft directly with a pure flowery bouquet from Avize and a soft structure from Aÿ. I have been amazed time and again by the greatness of the older vintages from Pommery. Only recently I bought a large number of bottles dating from 1911 to 1979, which have lain untouched since birth in the dark recesses of Champagne. Every bottle that I’ve opened has been fantastic. The modern portfolio is also impressive and aristocratic. The vintage wine is the best wine for the cellar. Magnums of the fantastic 2004 is still around and Louis Pommery Rosé is the hidden secret.
‘Each vintage of this delicate and pale nectar is world-class.’
Richard Juhlin
