The rating of champagne villages

 It is important to understand the economy of the Champagne before the rating.
The duality RM/NM

80% of the vineyards are owned by small winegrowers which sell a small part in bottle (RM) and the rest to big name Champagne houses (NM) which are specialised in selling the bottles only. Those houses sell about 80% of the whole production of the region. Few others winegrowers sell their grapes to cooperative which sell their bottles (CM) or give then back to the winegrowers (RC).


 

 

 The rating  
 Each village is rated since 1925. This rate depends on : the ground and the grape variety

Champagne Grand Cru is only for the villages rated 100% (17 villages : 9 in Pinot Noir and 7 in Chardonnay inclusive Le Mesnil)
Champagne Premier Cru is only for the villages rated 99% to 95% (42 villages)
Champagne is from the villages rated from 94% to 80% (273 villages).

The famous price of the kilo grape
It is defined between the 2 inter-professions : winegrowers & Champagne houses before each harvest.

And the consequences

The rating is of course very important and concerning the price of the vineyards. A hectare of vineyards from a village rated 100% will be much more expensive than a village rated 90%. In 2002, the price of one hectare of vineyards Grand Cru 100% is around 0.8 million €. Can be more for small property.
The price of a Champagne Grand Cru 100% will be more expensive than a Premier Cru or a normal Champagne.