The 2016 Champagne Cristal is chalky and pristine, with a crystalline nature and notes of white peach, fresh citrus blossoms, and bright salinity. Tasted for the first time last year, it captures a precise and focused...

Shy at first, this unfolds in spectacular fashion with gorgeous notes of blood orange and mandarin. On the sleek palate this vivid citrus streak turns into full-on tangerine, delivering not only flavour but also delicious...

(95+ points) One of the greatest hits from Rare Champagne, the 2012 Rare Millésime is produced from fruit harvested between September 10 and 26. Disgorged in November 2023 with a dosage of eight grams per liter, it is a...

The same blend as the Blanc but including 5% red wine from their La Côte aux Enfants parcel, the 2015 Champagne La Grande Année Brut Rosé is a lovely wine on the nose, and I think I might like it more than the Blanc in...

(91+ points) Produced on the foundation of the 2020 harvest and complemented by 30% reserve wines, Charles Heidsieck’s NV Blanc de Blancs (laid in chalk cellars in 2021) was disgorged at the end of 2023 with a dosage of...

I thought the 2012s would be a good place to start this lunch, as the wines have always been quite open and seductive. That is very much the case today. The 2012 Cristal is quite delicate and floral, with hints of pear...

The 2018 Blancs de Blancs is a Champagne of total pleasure. Citrus peel, orchard fruit and floral notes are very nicely delineated. The 2018 is an airy, breezy Champange, very much in the style of a vintage in which so...

Magnums of Cristal are always released a few years after the original wine in bottle. This is subtle yet complex, with cranberry and apple aromas and flavors, as well as plenty of minerals and subtle bread-dough and...

A vibrant, graceful Champagne that shows fine definition and integration, with a mouthwatering frame of acidity. The persistent, lacy mousse is enmeshed with an appealing range of ripe and juicy black cherry and...

The 2014 Cristal Rosé is fascinating to taste next to the 2015 and a few older vintages, as it is decidedly linear and taut, signatures that are typical of the year. Cranberry, chalk, mint, white pepper and blood orange...

Pouring a golden hue, the 2004 Champagne Cristal Vinotheque pushes forward umami elements without going to oxidation. Ripe and pure, it has notes of preserved apricot, nutty pastry, golden citrus, and chalky earth. To let...

The 2014 Brut Nature Pinot Kirchenstück Réserve is a single-site Sekt of Pinot Noir grown on limestone. The base wines were fermented in stainless steel, and the wine spent 7 years and 8 months on lees. Exemplary...

Here’s mind-blowing proof that Germany can produce sparkling wines that can match high-end prestige cuvee champagnes! Spectacular aromatic complexity with notes of fresh yellow apple, dried pear, brioche and grilled...

(94+ points) From a bottle disgorged in March 2017, Bollinger's 2007 La Grande Année is showing brilliantly, offering up a superb bouquet of lemon oil, confit citrus, almond paste, iodine, walnut oil and freshly baked...

There is a wonderful biscuity aroma to this Pinot Noir-dominated Champagne. Named after the British war-time prime minister and an avid consumer of Champagne, the wine is mature, full of ripe yeasty flavors and...

A seriously mature Champagne, this vintage of Celebris is rich with fruit that has now softened. With rich acidity, the wine has now rounded with a beautifully textured wine that is very ready to drink. — Roger Voss

Disgorged in June 2023, the 2014 Mareuil-sur-Aÿ Extra Brut is a 100% Pinot Noir sourced from vines planted in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ and vinified in barrels. It evokes notes of a deep, complex, intense bouquet with aromas of...

A bright yellow/silver color, the 2017 Champagne Les Robarts Cramant Extra Brut is always a personal favorite along with the Colluette. Offering notes of peach blossoms, dewy fresh stones, and fresh flowers, the palate is...

The 2018 Champagne Starck Brut Nature exhibits notes of lemon and citrus oils, but the stone fruit has a silkiness, not the tannic side you sometimes see. It also has hints of savory toast, but it remains very elegant...

Rich and decadent nose that shows dried apricots, dried lemons and pie crust. Caramel and sweet hazelnuts, too. Refined bubbles, a creamy texture and a crisp and lively finish. Drink or hold.

Just as 2004 Champagnes often seem to eclipse 2002 today, some wonder whether 2013 will do the same to the highly rated 2012. This doesn’t seem to be the case with Sir Winston Churchill, though, where 2012’s strengths...

The 2014 Cristal is a dark horse, a wine built along linear lines rather than opulence, and from a year that generated very little enthusiasm at the time. A cold, wet summer and attacks from the Suzuki fly at harvest were...

This thrives on its intensity of fruit, feeling relatively elegant in body yet deep in aroma and flavour. While its dark, almost gamey fruit tones show a hint of dried fruit or fruit skins, like plum or cherry, it remains...

This rosé is a light tawny-gold hue in the glass, with a gossamer feel to the mouthwatering acidity. There’s a crystalline lattice supporting flavors of dried cherry and blood orange pâte de fruit alongside savory white...

The 2007 Brut Cuvée Nicolas François continues to show beautifully, wafting from the glass with scents of sweet orchard fruit, citrus oil, clear honey, white flowers, buttery pastry and warm biscuits. Medium to...

97+ From a sunny vintage in which the harvest—commencing relatively late, on September 20—proved ultimately rewarding, Egly’s 2015 Grand Cru Millésime has turned out remarkably elegant. A classic blend of 70% Pinot Noir...

Only the fourth-ever release of this cuvée, the 2008 Champagne Celebris Rosé pours an orange/salmon color and is outstanding on opening, with a perfume of fresh rose petals, honeycomb, and cherry blossoms. Long on the...