I’ve been accumulating and consuming a lot of both grower and house champagnes. Here’s my opinion of the bigger houses, worth the same as the paper I didn’t print it on:
Roederer; I can’t recommend them highly enough. You should break your price barrier and pick up some Cristal, but everything they produce is outstanding today. They’re a large house but grow their own grapes, and do so responsibly and biodynamically.
Krug; Again, now above your price limit, but their MV Grand Cuvée is still one of the great bargains in the wine world. I had gotten to the point that I’d stopped buying their more expensive Vintage Brut, but a recent outstanding 2004 may change that going forward. They need a lot of cellar time to shine.
Moet & Chandon; Dom Perignon is consistently outstanding, despite producing more bottles than all of the others I’ve listed combined.
Ruinart; world class Vintage BdB
Billecart-Salmon I love their Cuvèe Nicolas Billecart and buy it most vintages. Their 2002 was available and underpriced for years, which is sadly no longer the case. They nailed that vintage. I still buy that Cuvèe most years.
Taittinger; despite the recent price increase (I could say that about everything I’ve listed), I buy their vintage Comtes BdB every year it’s produced. This has consistently been one of my favorite wines, vintage after vintage, although you can find others who disagree. The 2006 was a controversial wine that I personally loved.
Pol Roger; I really like their BdB and the Winston Churchill, but don’t buy as much these days, for no particular reason.
Lanson; I used to get their Cuvèe Noble for a song. Big house, nice wines, haven’t seen or bought any in a while.
Piper Heidsieck; Their 2002 Cuvèe Rare is drinking so well, I’ve been stocking up on other vintages.
Charles Heidsieck; I was an early fan and blew through 3+ cases of their ‘95 Blancs de Millenaires, acquired when they were remarkably underpriced. I think this wasn’t appreciated initially as the great wine it turned out to be. There’s a new Chef de Cave now, but I still pick up some of the newer vintages.
Veuve Cliquot; I think they’ve emerged from a rut they’d been in, and their Grande Dame has been outstanding of late.
Pommeroy; I have a few of their Cuvèe Louise but have yet to open one.
Mumm and Perrier Jouét; two other big houses. I don’t have any experience or opinion about these.
I think I’ve listed most of the big houses, but I’m sure I’ve left out a few. Others will surely chime in. Sorry to limit my comments to tête de cuvée wines. Since my cellar has plenty of daily drinkers, so i now mostly shop for smaller quantities of higher end champagne.
Cheers,
Warren