Wine Advocate (98)

Disgorged over a year ago with 0.8 grams per liter dosage, the 2008 Extra-Brut Grand Cru Les Lumières is a striking Champagne, unwinding in the glass with scents of pear, citrus oil, freshly baked bread, mandarin orange, almonds and buttery pastry. Full-bodied, deep and multidimensional, it's layered and muscular, with an immensely concentrated core of fruit, racy acids and a long, resonant finish. As I've written before, this cuvée is a blend of first-press juice: two-thirds Chardonnay from Mesnil-sur-Oger and one-third Pinot Noir from prime holdings in Aÿ.

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.

Wine Advocate (99)

The 2002 Brut Grand Cru Millésime is spectacular today, soaring from the glass with a complex bouquet of smoky pear, lemon, mandarin orange and peach mingled with smoke, praline, crushed mint and hints of wet chalk. Full-bodied, layered and seamless, it's deep and strikingly complete, with a textural attack that segues into a concentrated core framed by a vibrant spine of acidity and buttressed by chalky extract. Long and penetrating, this is one of the finest vintages Francis Egly has produced to date.

Wine Advocate (100)

Francis Egly and I tasted a bottle trial disgorgement of the 2008 Brut Grand Cru Millésime that saw six grams per liter dosage, and the wine surpassed even my high expectations. Wafting from the glass with scents of crisp orchard fruit, Meyer lemon, praline, warm bread and walnuts, it's full-bodied, deep and multi-dimensional, with an immensely layered, concentrated core that cloaks its racy but ripe spine of acidity, abundant but refined structuring dry extract and an incredibly long, precise and sapid finish. It represents the confluence of a great vigneron at the peak of his powers with a historic vintage, and it's unquestionably the finest 2008 Champagne that I've tasted to date. Egly and I agreed that it might be even better with only five grams per liter dosage, but we'll see what he finally decides when he disgorges the wine later this year. What is clear is that the the 2008 Brut Grand Cru Millésime will be worth any and every effort to seek out once it arrives on the market.

Vinous (94)

The 2011 Brut Millésime Grand Cru is a very pretty wine, especially within the context of the year. Bright floral notes meld into hints of lemon confit, tangerine oil, dried flowers, sage and pastry. There is terrific freshness to the 2011, although not quite the dimension of the very best years. Even so, this is very clearly one of the finest 2011s readers will come across. I would not push my luck on aging, but there is so much to like and admire here. Francis Egly and his team clearly got the very best out of the year. Disgorged: July, 2020.

Wine Advocate (99)

Broad and powerful, Egly's 2012 Brut Grand Cru Millésime is a serious, vinous Champagne somewhat reminiscent of his brilliant 2002. Delivering complex aromas of pear, honeycomb, orange oil, sweet stone fruits, praline and freshly baked bread, it's full-bodied, deep and muscular, with a multidimensional core of fruit, racy acids and a long, resonant finish. Complex and compelling, readers will have a hard time choosing between the power and texture of 2012 and the quintessentially elegant, seamless 2013. Both are benchmarks for what contemporary Champagne can achieve.

Wine Advocate (99)

Broad and powerful, Egly's 2012 Brut Grand Cru Millésime is a serious, vinous Champagne somewhat reminiscent of his brilliant 2002. Delivering complex aromas of pear, honeycomb, orange oil, sweet stone fruits, praline and freshly baked bread, it's full-bodied, deep and muscular, with a multidimensional core of fruit, racy acids and a long, resonant finish. Complex and compelling, readers will have a hard time choosing between the power and texture of 2012 and the quintessentially elegant, seamless 2013. Both are benchmarks for what contemporary Champagne can achieve.

Wine Advocate (100)

Francis Egly has produced another profound Champagne with the 2013 Brut Grand Cru Millésime. If the monumental 2008 stands out for its power, structure and intensity, the 2013 is distinguished by its harmony, finesse and completeness; both vintages are very great wines but thus quite different in style. Wafting from the glass with scents of Anjou pear, crisp yellow apple, freshly baked bread, clear honey, iodine and fresh mint, it's full-bodied, ample and pillowy, with a layered, concentrated and effortlessly balanced core of fruit, uniting precision and sensuality to compelling effect. Girdled by racy acids and animated by a delicate pinpoint mousse, it concludes with a long, penetrating finish. Is this the most elegant wine Egly has produced to date? It's certainly among the most compelling that this high quality but initially underrated Champagne vintage has delivered.

Vinous (94)

The NV Vieilles Vignes de Vrigny (Meunier) is one of the best vintages of this cuvée I can remember tasting. Bright and finely cut, the Vieilles Vignes sizzles with tension from start to finish. Dried pear, spice, crushed rocks, mint and white pepper all race out of the glass. Meunier has rarely been so refined, so nuanced. Give this a year or two to unwind. Dosage is 2 grams per liter. Disgorged: September, 2022.

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.

Halliday Wine Companion (93)

Deep colour; as befits the very complex blend, powerful and complex, yet retains suppleness through the array of red and blackcurrant fruit. Barossa Valley (48%)/Adelaide Hills (42%)/Coonawarra (10%).

Wine Advocate (95+)

Released only in magnum, the 2008 Brut Millésime de Collection Vieilles Vignes is the same wine as Gimonnet's Special Club, bit it sees more than 10 years sur lattes before disgorgement. Unwinding in the glass with a deep and complex bouquet of pear, green apple, citrus zest, oyster shell, smoke and pastry cream, it's full-bodied, chalky and incisive, with terrific depth at the core, promising reserve and a long, resonant finish.

Wine Advocate (96)

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2013 Amon Ra has youthfully toned-down notes of blackcurrants, blackberry preserves, plums and cracked pepper with nuances of licorice, dark chocolate, cedar and black earth. The palate has wonderful balance and elegance for its commendable concentration and fullness, with tons of muscular fruit and spice layers framed by grainy tannins and just enough freshness, finishing with great persistence.

Wine Advocate (98)

Certainly one of the best vintages of young Amon Ra I've ever tasted, the 2018 Amon Ra Shiraz is a stupendous effort. From old vines in the Ebenezer section of the northern Barossa, it starts off with a whirlwind of mocha, blackberry and dried spices, then actually gets more red-fruited as it sits in the glass. Full-bodied, rich and concentrated without being jammy or overdone, the wine finishes long and savory, framed by dusty tannins and mouthwatering black olives. Winemaker Ben Glaetzer compares 2018 to 2004 (which continues to drink well). Expect the 2018 to drink well young, but easily age through 2035, perhaps longer.

Wine Advocate (96+)

The 2019 Amon Ra Shiraz is 100% Shiraz and 100% from the 2019 vintage, as Ben Glaetzer felt it—unlike many previous vintages—didn't need to be freshened with a small proportion of younger wine. From old vines in the Ebenezer district of the northern Barossa Valley, it offers classic notes of blackberries and spice, framed by hints of cedar and vanilla (it's aged in 100% new oak hogsheads, mostly French). It's full-bodied yet crisp, supple but tight and really long. Offering lovely dark fruit, hints of espresso and black olive, it finishes mouthwatering and firm. Give it some time in the cellar and drink it from 2025 – 2040.

Wine Advocate (97)

I've looked at this wine many times over the years, almost exclusively as an older/cellared wine. The impact it has made is strong, and so it is through this lens that I now view this 2020 Amon Ra Shiraz. This year's Amon-Ra is concentrated, dense and absolutely, utterly saturated with flavor. The fruit that spirals within the bounds of the firm tannins is fleshy and pure, and with the knowledge that the wine sails through the decade with noiseless grace, it is all the more impressive in its infancy now. A brilliant wine—all ductile and proud. Yes.

Vinous (93)

Deep, shimmering ruby. Aromas of ripe blackberry, blueberry, cherry-cola and espresso, along with building floral, spice and cola notes. Offers concentrated, spice-tinged dark fruit preserve and violet pastille flavors that show impressive energy for their heft. Round, well-judged tannins add shape to a very long, smoky finish that repeats the blue fruit and floral notes.

Wine Advocate (97)

For the 2018 Anaperenna Shiraz-Cabernet Sauvignon, Glaetzer blended in 18% Cabernet Sauvignon to give the wine increased fragrance and length. The nose is smoky, slightly herbal and marked by sweet cedar- and vanilla-tinged oak, but it also offers great cassis and blackberry fruit. Full-bodied, rich and concentrated, the flavors are kept nicely in check by fine-grained tannins. This wine has it all: terrific intensity, complexity, length and texture.

Decanter (93)

Gosset is the oldest house in Champagne, and is a favourite among wine trade insiders. This non-vintage cuvée is redolent with the aromas of mellow red apple fruit. It has beautifully subtle autolysis on the palate, with creamy apple and plum flavours, and a great precision at the same time.

Jancis Robinson (18)

Subtle and layered. Really exciting already because of the density. Tense but the fruit extract means you could actually drink it now.

Decanter (98)

The clean, fresh aromas of just-picked citrus fruits belie the enormous power of lime juice and rich lemon pith that immediately fills the front palate on this latest vintage. There’s poise in addition to the power though, with multiple layers of rounded citrus and mineral flavours enjoying a luxurious textural roll through the mid-palate. Perfect integration of fresh citric acid carries the pure fruit qualities through extraordinary length to a crisp, lip-smacking finish.

James Suckling (98)

An exceptional vintage for this wine, with such intense aromas of lime and sweet flowers, as well as hints of white nectarine and wet stone in the background. The palate has density and sleekly refined shape that drives so long. Lime juice throughout, and some almost pithy density builds into the finish, supported by driving acidity. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drinkable now, but best from 2026 and a number of years after that. Screw cap.

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.