Matthew Jukes (19+)

Named after the first chef de cave at Billecart, Louis Salmon, Billecart has been making this style since the ’60s, and it never disappoints. While 2012 had a very tricky start to the season, a remarkable vintage emerged because the summer was superb. The French expression, ‘Août fait le moût’, meaning ‘the month of August makes the must’, or rather, August is largely responsible for the calibre of flavour of any vintage, is startlingly accurate in this wine. With low yields, a lengthy hang-time, and decent natural alcohol levels of 10.5%, this 100% Grand Cru made up of 60% Le Mesnil, 23% Cramant, 11% Chouilly, and 6% Oiry is a ravishingly refreshing wine. 25% was vinified in barrel, and it was aged for a mighty 115 months before being bottled with a lean 3.9g/L dosage. Mathieu Roland-Billecart surmised that the 2012 sits between the 2002 and the 2008 in style – not as austere as ’02 and with “more meat” than ’08. Interestingly, the bottles were aged under crown caps, and the magnums were cork-sealed for maturation. We tasted these two formats side by side, and they indeed showed some fascinatingly different characteristics. The bottle format seemed lovely, silky, super-long and gloriously even. It is a slender, willowy wine with a palate that flows briskly with intent. Its flanks are glassy-smooth, and all of the acidity is reserved for the serious finish, which echoes the NV that proceeded it, except this time, there is much more tension and verve on display. The cork-cap-aged magnum discreetly showed more breadth on the nose and a hint of toastiness on the palate. It seemed to have picked up more of the oak nuances, carrying them further forward on the palate. The other difference is that the magnum appears more profound, as it billows on the palate initially, however I can see both formats converging somewhat over time. While they are both exactly the same wine, they might never end up tasting identical because every time you open a bottle, taking a ‘snapshot’ of their flavours, they will not be at the same spot of their respective timelines, and this makes them both must-haves for the serious Billecart aficionado! Billecart also made a handful of jeroboams in 2012 – albeit in tiny quantities – so goodness knows how different this format would taste.

Matthew Jukes (19.5+)

This wine is an absolute joy. It is made from 79% Grands Crus and 21% Premiers Crus, with 60% Pinot Noir coming from the Montagne de Reims and the Vallée de la Marne and 40% Chardonnay coming from the Côte des Blancs. The dosage is 6 g/l and a perfectly-judged 15% was vinified in oak barrels. As always with Billecart NF it spends over ten years relaxing in the cellars in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ before release. In terms of sophistication, elegance and unrivalled precision, this is a wine to buy and treasure. I raved about the 2007 Cuvée Louis earlier this year and this wine is made in a similar vein. This is a sensational vintage for Billecart and NF will outlive Louis given that it has more horsepower under the bonnet. Still a little youthful and closed, there is massive complexity here delivered in the most mesmerising sotto voce voice imaginable. I would love to see this wine in a few years but I think it will be a decade before ’07 NF fully blossoms. I am in complete awe as to how these wines are so fine and so laser-sighted in their youth. NF is a class apart.

James Suckling (98)

A firm and vivid Champagne with a precise, focused palate. Full-bodied and dry. It’s very layered and bright with light pineapple, peach, praline, cooked-apple and stone aromas and flavors. It’s very subtle and focused at the end. Integrated with richness and high acidity. Good depth. Reminds me of the 1995. Very clean. Solid. Lovely to drink already, but will age nicely.

Jeb Dunnuck (97+)

The 2004 Champagne Plentitudes 2 is a stark contrast to the 2003 vintage and offers a more compact and linear expression, with energetic tension and persistence. Composed of 38% Chardonnay and the rest Pinot Noir, the nose is flush with wet stone reminiscent of great Chablis, along with white nectarine and white flowers. The palate runs seamless with a super-fine mousse, vibrant peach orchard fruit, and a silky mineral texture. This may well prove to be the longer-lived of the two wines. Drink 2024-2044.

Jeb Dunnuck (98)

Sourced from 39 plots, the 2014 Champagne Cristal is 60% Pinot Noir and the remainder Chardonnay, with 32% aged in oak, and it has 7 grams per liter dosage. It is highly expressive of classic elegance and purity, revealing aromas of crushed rock, almond croissant, and perfume of citrus blossoms. The palate is hyper-refined in its mousse, with pinpoint bubbles, a subtly rounded mid-palate, an irresistible chalky texture, and energy throughout its long and floral finish. Everything about this feels perfectly tailored. Drink 2024-2044.

Wine Advocate (99)

The 2020 Nit de Nin La Coma d’en Romeu has the elegance, subtleness and perfection of tannins, which are impressive. In 2020, when people lost most of the crop, they were able to make even more bottles of this wine, 1,500 (vs the 1,200 of 2019), because when they saw the risk of mildew, they hired FIVE MORE PEOPLE to work their vineyards. That saved most of the crop; overall they lost 25% of their grapes, mostly young vines and Cariñena; but in the old vineyards and in Garnacha, they didn't lose much; and in La Coma d'en Romeu, which is old-vine Garnacha, they got the full crop. The grapes ripened to perfection and the tannins are super fine, and there is purity, detail and cleanliness in the wine.

Wine Advocate (100)

The 2020 Nit de Nin Mas d’en Caçador is elegant, complex and subtle, nuanced and insinuating, somewhere between the austerity of the 2018 and the exuberance of the 2019. The palate shows terrific balance, very fine tannins (the perfect tannins!) and a long, very clean and supple finish. A vintage of finesse and elegance with energy, power and light. This is refined beyond comprehension; there's purity, elegance, power and detail, symmetry and proportion. A wine that took my breath away. Just for the record, the vineyard is a 3.4-hectare slope planted between 81 and 116 years ago with Garnacha, Garnacha Peluda, Cariñena and 2% white varieties at 650 meters in altitude on pure slate that they harvested on September 10th and got 12 hectoliters per hectare (extremely low yields). The full clusters fermented with indigenous yeasts in a 3,200-liter oak foudre for four weeks, and the wine matured in 225- and 300-liter oak barrels for 18 months. It has 14.64% alcohol, a pH of 3.3 and 5.4 grams of acidity (tartaric). 2,193 bottles were filled in April 2022.

Wine Advocate (94)

The white 2021 Planetes de Nin Carinyena Blanca now has the mention "Vi Blanc de Varietats Antigues" on the label, as Cariñena Blanca is still not allowed by the Priorat appellation (but they are in the process). This has moderate alcohol and very high acidity, which makes it sharp and austere, especially when compared with the 2021 that had more flavors and aromas while this is more vertical and sharp. It has a chalky sensation and a stony mouthfeel. 4,466 bottles produced.

Wine Advocate (97)

The 2020 La Rodeda has a much softer texture, very fine, and ripe tannins, quite abundant but fine, and the oak feels better integrated. The 2019 matured in a second-use barrel, and this 2020 matured in a third-use barrel. The wine shows more clarity. This is a very scarce bottling from a small plot that doesn't get any sun in the afternoon and is therefore protected from the heat. 304 bottles were filled in April 2022.