Clouet’s flagship is a radiant, golden silk-satin ballgown of ravishing complexity and breathtaking grace, a delicate high-heeled balancing act of refreshing poise in the midst of profound concentration. Its richness ventures to champagne’s outer limits of succulent white fruits of all kinds, grilled pineapple, honey and great complexity of brioche, nougat and butter. Celebrating a […]
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 […]
The 2004 is the first La Grande Dame since 1998, an aeon in the modern era of champagne releases. Vintage 2002 was deemed too bold and insufficiently mineral for La Grande Dame, and a small production of 25,000 bottles of 2000 was written off by cork taint. The 2004 ushers in a new age, disarmingly […]
Some champagnes volunteer their life story within seconds of first introductions, like overworked movie trailers that leave you fully convinced you’ve seen the film. Others churn in your consciousness for days, slowly unravelling their story long after the credits have rolled. My first introduction to NFB 2002 was four months before its release, when it […]
Taming Bouzy’s extravagant fervour is an art of the highest order, and this wine is a case study in graceful strength. A monumental contrast of intensity and elegance, soaked in black cherries, pomegranate, pink pepper and pink grapefruit, pulled strictly into line by lively, taut malic acidity and well-defined chalk mineral grip. Restraint is achieved […]
The blend of Sir Winston Churchill is a closely guarded secret. I ask Managing Director Laurent d’Harcourt every time we taste a new vintage. ‘I have not been drunk enough yet to tell you!’ he replied this year. I’ll keep working on it. Elusive details aside, Sir Winston is looking dignified and refined in 2000, […]
The king of Deutz’s rosé trilogy is crafted around a fine structure and deep-set chalk minerality that elevate it to another spiritual level. The electric energy of 2002 contrasts the grand proportions of intensity built over a decade in the cellar. Delicate and elegant, with an exquisite air of rose petals, black cherries, raspberries and […]
A grand statement of the longevity of Gosset, this wine has barely moved since its release two years earlier. All the more remarkable that a bottle disgorged more than five years ago could be even more superlative today. The sustaining power of malic acidity is immense indeed. The Celebris label reveals nothing of its vintage […]
BdB 2004 makes a monumental declaration: from Billecart’s proud position in the heart of pinot territory, this house is masterful in its command of the finest chardonnay crus. Shy and reserved a year before release, it takes some hours to unravel and reveal its stately magnificence. At almost a decade of age, its exacting, youthful […]
Simultaneously capturing euphoric freshness, refined elegance and exacting fruit definition is one of the finest skills of Champagne’s winemakers, and nowhere is this more challenging than in the tightrope balance of long-aged rosé. In the sublime 2002 season, Billecart has achieved the seemingly impossible and conjured a rosé both larger and lighter than life. True […]