Was 1985 a good year in Champagne?
A published vintage chart rates Champagne 1985 5 out of 5 stars. All three varieties reached high ripeness. Beautifully balanced and intense with great length, and still improving decades on.
A severe winter and spring frosts destroyed close to a tenth of the vineyard, worst in the Montagne de Reims, but the cold left the survivors healthy. A tiny 6,827 kg/ha picked from 30 September.
What the critics scored the 1985
One critic score is on record: 95/100, December 1994.
By score the 1985 ranks 2nd of 16 (tied with 1979 and 2008) scored Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame vintages, 1.1 points above their review-weighted 93.9.
The 1980s by score: 1985 95.0, 1988 91.0 and 1989 91.0. The 1985 leads the decade.
| Score | Reviewed |
|---|---|
| 95/100 | December 1994 |
What drinkers rate it
92.8 out of 100 from 22 drinker ratings, the most recent in October 2025.
That is 2.2 points below the critics' score.
Drinker rank: 5th of 22 (tied with 1996). The most-rated vintage has 270 ratings.
5 written notes, November 2022 to October 2025, rating it 86 to 98.
1985 Horizontal Bordeaux (+ Champagne) (Melee): Certainly mature but still with a good depth and structure, backed up with a nice acidity. An excellent wine and a bottle in a good shape!
Estremamente evoluta, sicuramente distante dal prodotto d’origine… ma conserva ancora persistenza, pulizia ed acidita finale. La cremosita , c’era sicuramente e ancora si avverte. Un po’ di consistenza si e persa, ma e ancora a suo modo intrigante. 4,3/92
BYOB dinner NOTK (Supernova hotel, Rotterdam): This was an amazing bottle, such a privilege to taste such a cuvee with serious age in this condition. Medium+ intensity on the nose with tangerine, nuts, orange peel, caramel, honey, butterscotch. Still some fine mousse, high acidity. Marvelous development on the palate, finishing off with over a minute length. 94-95
This was beyond fantastic. I was surprised how good condition the cork where. It opened whit a little poof and the bubbles where there. Great mousse for the age. Perfect copper color. After a short while in the glas there was a fantastic coffe on the nose and palate. After a while ther were more of mocha, orange milk chocolate and still so fresh. I would say this was one of the best champagne I had in my life. Fantastic. I wish I had more.
The 1985 against its neighbours
The 1985 beside its 4 nearest recorded years.
Here, by score, it places 1st of 5 (tied with 1979).
| Vintage | Score | Drinkers | Window | Last trade | Retail |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 94.0 | 92.0 (1) | 2015 to 2020 | None | None |
| 1979 | 95.0 | 92.9 (20) | 2015 to 2024 | None | None |
| 1985 | 95.0 | 92.8 (22) | None | None | None |
| 1988 | 91.0 | 92.5 (31) | 1998 to 2010 | £210, February 2016 | None |
| 1989 | 91.0 | 93.3 (58) | None | £156, March 2017 | None |