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Deutz Brut Rosé Millésime

There is a buzz in the air in Champagne as some of the first great 2008 vintage wines begin to hit the streets, and I have an ever-rising feeling that this may prove to be Champagne’s finest season of the past 20 years, after 1996. Deutz Rosé adds further weight to this claim, a magnificently graceful, ultra-sensual, medium salmon-tinted celebration of the remarkable freshness and wondrous acidity delivered by this vintage. Capturing a knife-edge balance of breathtaking elegance and alluring fruit presence in vintage rosé is one of Champagne’s finest arts, and Deutz has nailed it in this cuvée. Gorgeous red cherry, cherry kernel and strawberry fruit purity finds pristine focus on a finish of fine acidity and wonderful texture, frothing and churning with sea-salt minerality. $120 at Champagne Gallery.