Such is the powerful colour, pure fruit and delicate structure of De Sousa’s red wine that a 10% dose transforms a pristine blanc de blancs into one of Champagne’s most spectacular rosés. Drinking Cuvée des Caudalies Rosé is nothing less than a deeply moving emotional experience, such is the relentless beauty of haunting red cherry fruits and pomegranates that hover in suspension long through the finish. A maelstrom of complexity erupts from the bouquet in freshly picked red fruits of all kinds, florist shop, baked figs, cherry kernel, anise, licorice and plum pudding. The palate is a riveting spectacle of understated power and immense complexity, in a refined frame of tightly defined Avize focus and monumental mineral presence. A frothing wave of sea-salt minerality lifts the wine in a towering spray, like a big ocean swell crashing against rocks. The layered spice of a deep solera and barrel work are intricately entwined and perfectly integrated, concluding with immense depth and pencil lead definition. $175 at Champagne Gallery.