The Duval Leroy Femme de Champagne Grand Cru 2002 is an exceptional indulgence for the discerning wine connoisseur. Originating from the renowned French champagne house of Duval Leroy, this prestige cuvée is meticulously crafted from the finest Grand Cru vineyards. Developing over a decade, its assembly encompasses 95% Chardonnay and 5% Pinot Noir grapes, infusing exquisite complexity.

This vintage Champagne is revered for its impressive finesse and delicate effervescence. The palate vaunts ripe, sun-drenched fruits, subtle brioche nuances, and a refined minerality that exudes elegance. Aging in chalk cellars imparts an unrivalled depth of flavour and creamy, persistent finish.

As a testament to its superior quality, Duval Leroy Femme de Champagne Grand Cru 2002 has clinched prestigious global accolades, firmly establishing its place among the finest champagnes. Toast your special occasions with this hallmark of luxury, promising a taste of ultimate sophistication.

Jeb Dunnuck (96-99)

From a miniscule one-hectare parcel right across from Clinet, on the upper plateau of Pomerol, the 2018 Enclos Tourmaline is a blockbuster in the making, and I suspect it’s going to give the 2016 a run for its money. Checking in as a 100% Merlot raised in new oak, which hit 14.7% natural alcohol, this inky color blockbuster boasts a massive bouquet of black fruits, smoke herbs, chocolate, and damp earth. It shows a more floral edge with time in the glass and it’s full-bodied, concentrated, and plush on the palate, with sweet tannins. It’s certainly one of the sexiest wines in this terrific vintage. Hats off to vineyard manager and winemaker Jérôme Aguirre as well as consultant Michel Rolland for another brilliant wine in the making. Tasted twice.

Jeb Dunnuck (95-98)

There's not much of the 2019 Enclos Tourmaline made, but it's a sensational wine in the making. Coming from a tiny one-hectare parcel next to Clinet, this inky purple-hued effort offers a wonderfully complex, vibrant bouquet of black raspberries, crème de cassis, licorice, toasted spices, and classy oak. Full-bodied, pure, and elegant, yet powerful on the palate, it has good acidity, remarkable purity (there's no overripeness here), sound underlying structure, and a great finish. It’s another brilliant, heavenly Pomerol from 2019.

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 - Antonio Galloni (94)

The 2015 Les Champs Libres has really come together beautifully since I last tasted it. Suave, silky and beautifully textured in the glass, the 2015 speaks to harmony above all else. Aging in barrel has softened the contours nicely in this super-expressive white. Hints of slate, mint, green pear, jasmine and a kiss of French oak are beautifully woven together in a white wine of total class and pedigree. I loved it.

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.

Savour the exquisitely crafted Jean-Marc Seleque, Coteaux Champenois Premier Cru, Dizy 2019. This vintage originates from the esteemed Premier Cru vineyards of Dizy in the Champagne region of France. Produced by seventh-generation grower Jean-Marc Seleque, this wine encapsulates the family's dedication to quality and tradition, with each cluster handpicked and diligently selected for superior taste. The vinification process utilises oak barrels, fostering a refined and complex flavour profile.

This elegant wine is distilled from pure Meunier grapes, offering an impressive pallet of red fruits with a delicate minerality. Bright crimson in hue, the Dizy 2019 provides a remarkable balance between acidity and rounded smoothness, yielding an exceptionally pleasing finish.

Enjoy the Jean-Marc Seleque, Coteaux Champenois Premier Cru, Dizy 2019's fine craftsmanship with confidence, knowing it represents the best of Premier Cru selections.

The case contains:

1 x 75cl Krug Clos du Mesnil 2003 - 97 points | Wine Spectator

1 x 75cl Krug 2003 - 95 points | Vinous

1 x 75cl Krug Grande Cuvée NV

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.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (97)

The 2020 Doisy-Daëne L'Extravagant is gracious and light on its feet. Scents of tangerine peel, mint, lemon confit, marzipan, jasmine and passionfruit are all beautifully lifted. Weightless and elegant, L'Extravagant is wonderfully subdued in 2020.

Vinous - Neal Martin (98)

The 2016 La Violette was one of the turn-ups for the books at this tasting, for what I have previously found to be an excellent Pomerol is evolving into a showstopper. It has a brilliant bouquet with incredibly well-defined red fruit laced with cedar and truffle, utterly graceful and the oak beautifully integrated. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, finely tuned acidity and gentle grip toward the long, tender finish. Pure class and nobility. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.

James Suckling (100)

Amazing aromas here with tobacco, crushed stone, cigar box, currants, tar, and lead pencil, as well as spices, iron, and dried ginger. Medium- to full-bodied, with a density and tightness. Very compact and complex. Racy. Delicacy with strength. Orange peel undertones. A wine to contemplate. You must understand it to understand the great Lafites of the past and those of the future. Only 12.8% alcohol. 92% cabernet sauvignon, 7% merlot and 1% petit verdot. Best after 2030, but drink it if you have the chance taste it.

Decanter (98)

This captures the magic of Lafleur and is utterly moreish. It is so silky, with hints of truffle, tobacco and sweet blackberry fruits from the first sip, opening up to violet flowers and drawn-out finely spun tannins. It’s at a beautiful moment for drinking now, but clearly has a long life ahead of it. 2001 was a vintage that suited the Merlot grape and tasting this as a pairing with the 2002 is a brilliant way to explore the two sides of Lafleur's personality. The vintage was not released en primeur as it came along during the handover of ownership from the Robins to the Guinaudeaus, which is why there is still wine at the estate to share during the vertical. Drinking Window 2019 - 2050

Wine Advocate (93)

The 2013 Lafleur was one of my favorite wines from barrel because, as Baptiste Guinaudeau remarked when I visited the property, he did not try to make a Pomerol beyond what it could be. The nose might not possess the complexity of the best vintages of Lafleur, but it is clearly delineated and fresh, with blackberry and raspberry fruit, a subtle granitic scent tucked underneath. The palate is medium-bodied with quite firm tannin, as is often the case for Lafleur, with crunchy red berry fruit and a stony, almost reserved but fresh finish that lingers nicely in the mouth. This is an excellent wine considering the growing season.

The Wine Independent (100)

Lafleur 2015 is a blend of 51% Merlot and 49% Cabernet Franc and has a medium to deep garnet color. It shoots from the glass with opulent scents of baked blackberries, warm plums, and tar with nuances of violets, licorice, dark chocolate, and crushed rocks. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is built like a brick house, featuring firm, grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing on a lingering fragrant earth note.

The Wine Independent (100)

Lafleur 2016 is 45% Merlot and 55% Cabernet Franc giving a deep garnet color, with a touch of purple. It storms out of the glass with profound scents of plum preserves, dark chocolate, black cherry compote, and cast iron pan, leading to fragrant hints of mossy tree bark and lilacs. Full-bodied, the palate is so multi-layered and intense it is mind-blowing, delivering densely packed layers of black fruits, exotic spices and earthy elements, framed by super-firm, grained tannins and perfectly knit freshness, finishing with epic length and depth. WOW what a wine!

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (100)

I tasted many superb 2017s, but only a few that are viscerally thrilling and emotional. The 2017 Lafleur is one of a handful of wines that ascends into the stratosphere. Rich and exotically beautiful, the 2017 possesses off-the-charts intensity, tremendous aromatic depth and an impossibly long finish. A rush of dark plum, licorice, leather and mocha leaves the last impression in a wine I can only describe as: eternal. The 2017 spent about nine months in oak, 30% new. It is a towering achievement from the Guinaudeau family and their trusted associate, Omri Ram. If you can find it, buy it. And please invite me over sometime to share it with you!

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

If tasting the 2019 Château Lafleur doesn't just blow you away, I'm not sure what will. A perfect wine, if such a thing exists, it offers such a complex, singular profile in its black raspberries, kirsch liqueur, licorice, exotic flowers, white truffles, and sandalwood. On the palate, it has serious structure, yet the tannins build with time in the glass, and the mid-palate density and balance are so flawlessly integrated, you have to actually hunt for the structure. Pure, sensationally rich, and at the same time elegant, with awesome depth of fruit, this is what wine dreams are made of. It might be the finest young wine to ever pass my lips. It needs a solid decade of bottle age, 15 years would be even better (it will still blow your mind any time over the coming decade), and it will evolve gracefully over the following 30-40 years.

Wine Advocate (99)

One of the wines of the vintage, but likely to prove slower evolving and more introverted than its 2019 counterpart, the 2020 Lafleur unwinds in the glass with aromas of cherries, raspberries, kirsch, black truffle, orange zest and vine smoke. Full-bodied, layered and multidimensional, it's deep and concentrated, with a tightly wound core of fruit framed by rich, powdery tannins, concluding with a long, saline finish. This is another magical bottle from an estate that just seems to do everything right.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (100)

The 2005 Latour was mind-blowingly profound in two recent tastings for this report. Deep and sensual to the core, the 2005 is utterly captivating. All the elements are so seamlessly put together. Graphite, crème de cassis, licorice, dark spice and lavender infuse the 2005 with so much energy. More than anything else, though, the 2005 is a Latour of texture and resonance. Even after several hours, the 2005 is fresh and full of energy. Wines like this are just life affirming. That's about all I can really say. Tasted two times.

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

An incredible wine in every way, the 2009 Château Latour displays the ripe, sexy style of the vintage while still offering classic Latour power, density, and regalness. Currants, spicy wood, smoked tobacco, graphite, and ample minerality all define the bouquet, and it's full-bodied, with incredible density, perfectly integrated, ripe, polished tannins, and a finish that leaves no doubt about the insane quality of this wine. Based on 91.3% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8.7% Merlot, and checking in at 13.7% alcohol, it's drinking brilliantly today given its incredible texture and balance, and I suspect it has another 50-60 years of prime drinking. This is as good a Bordeaux as I've had and is as good as wine gets.

James Suckling (99)

So much violets, licorice, pencil, flowers and currants define this on the nose before it moves to fresh mushrooms. It’s full-bodied yet compacted with tension and a compressed center palate. Incredible, fine-grained tannins and energy. The length is truly great. Should be even more beautiful in 2024. Give it time.

The Wine Cellar Insider (99)

Truffles, mint-leaf, blue fruits, blackberries, and currants pair with nuances of spice, smoke, leather, and cedar. Full-bodied, rich, and intense, there is a wealth of perfectly, ripe, creamy, opulent, sweet fruits that hold your interest, while expanding for over 50 seconds. There is length, opulence, balance, and flamboyance, along with vibrancy and refinement. Drink from 2025-2060

Vinous (96)

Tasted from magnum, the 2004 Grande Cuvée Rosé Alexandra, Laurent-Perrier’s flagship Rosé is a blend of 80% Pinot Noir (on the skins) and 20% Chardonnay vinified together that has only been bottled seven times since 1982. From the very first taste, the 2004 is utterly spectacular. Rich, ample and vertical in feel, the 2004 is dazzling. Dried rose petal, star anise, tobacco, dried flowers, red berry fruit and earthy notes all grace this utterly exquisite Champagne. As good as the 2004 is today – and it is fabulous – it will be even better in another few years’ time. The 2004 has been nothing short of magnificent on both occasions I have tasted it so far.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (94)

The 2016 Cheval Blanc Blanc is a white of real depth and structural intensity. Citrus peel, almond, sage, mint and white pepper notes are highly nuanced and varietal in this 100% Sauvignon Blanc. Powerful and energetic in the glass, with terrific vibrancy, the 2016 has a lot to offer. Blocked malolactic fermentation and twenty months in oak contribute to giving the wine its natural intensity and character.

Wine Advocate (95)

Cheval Blanc's relatively new white wine, the 2018 Le Petit Cheval Blanc, is a blend of 74% Sauvignon Blanc and 26% Sémillon. This is the first vintage that the Sémillon plantings have come online to make the blend. Profound notions of ripe pineapple, passion fruit and white peaches explode from the glass, followed by fragrant notes of lemongrass, lime blossoms and yuzu zest with a waft of sea spray. The palate is full-bodied with an alluring oiliness to the texture and layer upon layer of tropical fruits, citrus peel and minerals, marked by a refreshing line and finishing with loads of mineral sparks. Put aside all your preconceptions of "Bordeaux Blanc" and don't even try to compare it to Pessac-Leognan. This has its own gorgeous expression of these grapes, defying regional tradition. Give yourself over to the rich decadence of this flamboyant white that is at once without peers, but is also quintessentially Cheval Blanc.