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...

(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...

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...

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...

Sleek and harmonious, with chiseled acidity and a satinlike mousse supporting a fine weave of poached apricot and cherry fruit, pickled ginger, pastry and macadamia nut flavors. Long and mouthwatering, with a clean sweep...

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...

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...

The 2012 Brut Rosé Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon is a very sexy Champagne, but it is also quite reserved, especially within the context of the year. Crushed rose petal, kirsch, white pepper, slate and mint are all beautifully...

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...

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...

Made even less regularly than the L’Ermitage Brut (the last vintage was 2015), the outstanding 2019 Brut Rose L'Ermitage spent five years on the yeast. It exudes fresh-picked strawberries and summer peach along a...

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...

(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...

(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...

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...

Framed by firm acidity and a minerally character, this harmonious rosé Champagne offers expressive flavors of raspberry pâte de fruit, ripe black cherry, brioche and lemon curd. Chalky in texture, with an elegant...

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

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...

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...

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...

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...

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.

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...

Elegant, yet structured, with a driven, sharp palate of lemons, lime curd, apricot stones, saltines and white flowers. Evolves to hazelnuts. Energetic and long, with vivid bubbles. Lots to like and ponder over. Blanc de...

The NV Brut Rosé Grand Cru is another rich, heady wine in this range from Paul Bara. Cranberry, sweet red cherry, rose petal, mint and chalk all take shape in the glass. There's gorgeous weight and palate presence, so...