Andreas Larsson (95)

I must say that I was quite excited to taste the Champagne that everybody talked about, but no one tasted yet. A great reunion with my old friend, Rodolphe Péters whose champagne making skills are nothing less than exceptional. A ground-breaking style that blends Chardonnay from Côte de Blancs of which one part is the actual vintage, one part reserve wines and one part mature wines from bottle. The rosé part being Pinot Noir from Vertus made as a rosé de saignée blended just before bottling to keep the notion of youthful red fruity freshness. It shows a very gentle bright rosé colour and a vivid mousse with fine bubbles. The nose starts out elegantly – layered and nuanced with chalky notes, fresh hazelnut, marzipan, fresh butter, pink citrus and lemongrass. After some time in the glass the Pinot enters with aromas of crushed raspberry, cherry and pain d´épice. The palate is nicely built, showing great flavour intensity and an invigorating freshness. It´s classically bone dry (4,5 grams of dosage) with a chalky presence, balanced by a mellow creaminess. Flavours of marzipan, confit de citron and peach with layers of mature nuttiness and pastry. Elegantly built with great persistency and precision. Drinks truly well today but should certainly improve from further cellaring.

Experience a unique symphony of flavour with the remarkable Guillaume Selosse Largillier NV. This astonishing creation originates from the prestigious region of Champagne, France, where Selosse family, a name synonymous with excellence in the wine world, has been crafting wines for generations. Guillaume, son of celebrated oenologist Anselme Selosse, employs thoughtful and traditional methodologies to create this award-winning spirit. Made predominantly from Chenin, with a mix of Chardonnay, this natural vinous champagne is aged and fermented in old barrels, bestowing complex and refined flavours upon each sip.

The Guillaume Selosse Largillier NV refreshes the palate with a mélange of ripe fruits, honey, and toasted nuts notes, balanced opulently with a signature saline minerality. A visually striking golden-hued, it captivates the senses from the first glance to the lingering finish. Savour this extraordinary testament to Guillaume Selosse’s wine-making prowess, sure to delight the most discerning connoisseurs.

Vinous (96)

Kirsch, blood orange, dried autumn leaves, mint and Mirabelle plum give the NV Extra-Brut Mareuil-sur-Aÿ Sous Le Mont (2013) a wild, exotic bouquet that is immensely alluring. The Mareuil is always a bit unruly, but over the last few releases it has gained just a bit more finesse than in the past. This is such a great expression of Pinot Noir. Disgorged: February 25, 2020.

Vinous (98)

The NV Extra-Brut Ambonnay Le Bout du Clos (2014) is the most complex of the four lieu-dits I was able to taste. It marries power, freshness and energy. It's all there, from the delineated aromatics, to the sculpted fruit, to the underlying veins of salinity that give the wine its shape. I especially admire the freshness and translucence here. Readers who can find the Ambonnay should not hesitate, as it is truly riveting. The Bout du Clos is the only lieu-dit in the collection that is a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, a blend that works so brilliantly here. Disgorged: February 2, 2021

Vinous (98)

The NV Extra-Brut Aÿ La Côte Faron (2013) is a vertical, powerful wine that shows why Aÿ is such a remarkable village for Pinot. The Côte Faron is dense and potent, yet what impresses most is its spine of saline-infused minerals and structure that gives shape throughout. Hints of orange peel, sweet dried cherry, cedar and pipe tobacco linger in a Champagne that is captivating from the very first taste. In a word: stunning. Disgorged: February 19, 2020.

Wine Spectator (96)

A mouthwatering rosé that wraps a racy spine of acidity in the plushly creamy, cashmere-like mousse, offering a fine frame for the rich and finely meshed range of flavors, with baked raspberry, passion fruit and Mandarin orange peel fruit accented by chopped hazelnut, fleur de sel, candied ginger and lime blossom notes that echo for days on the vivid finish. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. Disgorged autumn 2019. Drink now through 2030.

Wine Advocate (96)

Based on the 2014 vintage, complemented by some 33% reserve wines from six other vintages, Krug's new NV Brut Rosé 26ème Édition is showing beautifully, offering up aromas of tart red berries and plums mingled with notions of warm biscuits, dried fruits, flowers and orange zest. Medium to full-bodied, taut and incisive, with terrific concentration, racy acids and a long, penetrating finish, it's an intensely flavored, electric wine that stands out as a particularly good recent release from this storied house.

To celebrate the unbelievable milestone of half a millennium crafting some of the world’s most exceptional sparkling wines, the legendary Maison have released a highly exclusive collectors’ case of which a mere 500 were made.

 

Containing two different vintages of the Cuvée 1522, itself commemorating the foundation of Philipponnat, this wine is always composed of strictly Grand Cru fruit with the majority fermented in oak casks with no malolactic fermentation to provide rounded richness with total weightlessness.

 

The village of Aÿ, home to the Philipponnat family for 16 generations, is clearly visible in the stunning label of Cuvée 1522. A testament to both terroir and vintage, the particular examples in this collection are the even rarer L.V. or Long Vieillissement (Long Aging) expressions kept back at the winery for added time on lees and extra maturity in perfect conditions.

 

A bottle each of the 2000 and 2002, both exceptional vintages, are included in this beautiful case and are sure to be incredible wines neither of which are available to purchase individually on the market.

Wine Advocate (97+)

Disgorged with 1.7 grams per liter dosage after 48 months sur lattes, Collin's NV Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Les Pierrières (2016) 48 months bursts with aromas of green apple, blanched almonds, confit citrus and pastry cream. Full-bodied, layered and muscular, it's deep and concentrated, with racy acids and this site's telltale chiseled, incisive profile; it's long and penetrating, concluding with chalky grip. With this late-disgorged version, Les Pierrières takes another step.

Wine Advocate (100)

Disgorged in March 2020 with 2.4 grams dosage, the NV Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Les Enfers (2014) 60 months is based on the 2014 vintage. Indeed, it's the same tirage that was released last year after 48 months on lees, but its additional year sur lattes has transformed it into an altogether different wine, one that attains new levels of texture, sapid nuance and quite simply excitement. Unwinding in the glass with scents of freshly baked bread, honeyed pears, pomelo, blanched almonds, praline and white flowers, it's full-bodied, layered and multidimensional, with a textural attack segueing into a deep and concentrated mid-palate that's pure and precise, girdled by racy acids and complemented by an elegantly pillowy mousse, concluding with a long, intensely mineral finish. It is testimony to Olivier Collin's immense ambition and relentless work ethic that he has achieved such results not in the celebrated terroirs of the Côte de Blancs or the Montagne de Reims, but rather in the little-known Val du Petit Morin, and in the process, he is expanding the parameters of the possible in Champagne.

Wine Advocate (99)

Disgorged after 60 months on the lees, which will now be the standard for this cuvée, Collin's NV Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Les Enfers (2016) unwinds in the glass with complex aromas of crisp Anjou pear and stone fruits mingled with pastry cream, toasted almonds and white flowers. Full-bodied, satiny and seamless, it's deep and complete, with racy acids, terrific texture and unerring precision. While my allegiance varies between Les Enfers and Les Roises, depending on the year and the disgorgement, in 2016 it's impossible to choose: both wines are benchmarks for contemporary Champagne.

Wine Advocate (100)

Collin's NV Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Les Roises (2015) 60 months is an arresting, thrilling wine that bursts with aromas of peach, confit lemon, mandarin oil, buttery pastry, almonds and white flowers. Full-bodied, deep and multidimensional, with huge concentration and mid-palate amplitude, it's vibrant and precise, with a pillowy mousse and an immensely long and intensely saline finish. Despite my best intentions, as soon as I tasted this Les Roises, I knew that my self-imposed embargo on any further 100-point scores for Champagne in 2021 would have to be broken. And the frightening thing is that Collin shows no signs of relenting in his quest to expand the parameters of the possible in Champagne! While bottles of this tiny disgorgement won't be easy to find, anyone eager to taste one of the region's contemporary benchmarks should make every effort to seek one out.

Wine Advocate (99)

Disgorged this year after 60 months on the lees, the NV Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Les Roises (2016) is brilliant, offering up complex aromas of confit orange, peach, citrus blossom, nutmeg and freshly baked bread, followed by a full-bodied, satiny and layered palate that's broader and more textural than Les Enfers, its deep core of fruit underpinned by racy acids and chalky structure. As I remarked on the wine's palpable levels of dry extract, Collin observed that due to the smaller size of the grapes Les Roises produces (due to fan leaf virus, or court-noué), he's obliged to press harder to liberate the juice, delivering simultaneously more dry extract and a slightly higher pH than adjacent Les Enfers. In addition to the supplemental concentration those smaller berries provide, this surely helps to explain some of the wine's texture and body.