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...

(96+ points) The finest rendition since 2013, the 2016 Cristal has turned out beautifully. A vintage that Lecaillon describes as “difficult in the vineyards but beautiful in the cellar,” it had suffered slightly in...

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...

The 2015 Dom Pérignon is super-expressive today. The first signs of aromatic development have begun to appear, suggesting the 2015 is slowly heading into its first plateau of maturity. Light tropical accents mingle with...

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...

With a label designed by designer Philippe Starck, this Champagne has benefitted from its aging that has softened the wine's natural dryness and given it maturity and a light biscuit flavor. It is a fully balanced wine...

(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...

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...

A minerally version, with generous smoke and chalk notes that transition to reveal black plum, whole-grain toast and Meyer lemon peel flavors. Vivacious, with both bright, well-knit acidity and a lively bead. Pinot Noir...

I have tasted the 2015 Cristal three times so far. Those tastings paint a portrait of a complex Champagne that is still finding its center. Tasted at the maison, the 2015 is rich, dense and explosive, with tremendous...

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...

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...

(93+ points) Tasted from magnum, disgorged in July 2023 with a dosage of nine grams per liter, the 2014 Rare Rosé Millésime displays a deeper hue than its two predecessors. Flamboyant and demonstrative, it bursts from...

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...

As always, a very correct Champagne. It has nice length and valid reasons for being drunk whenever one feels the inclination to do so. There is depth albeit limited in scope. Racy and crisp. Nothing jarring but also...

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...

(95+ points) More complex and spicier than its 2016 counterpart, the 2018 Extra-Brut Grand Cru Rive Gauche – Rive Droite offers up aromas of spices, toast, baked bread, white flowers and spring flowers. Medium to...

(94+ points) From a cool, late-ripening vintage that saw harvest extend into October—a year defined by relatively low temperatures yet enough sunshine—the 2013 Rare Millésime, released ahead of its 2012 counterpart, was...

Offers a sense of effortless grace, with a lovely, creamy viscosity to the fine mousse that buoys flavors of chopped hazelnut, pastry and baked quince and pineapple, accented by salty mineral, chamomile and candied...

The 2014 Champagne Cristal Rosé is much more open and generous, with brothy and briny elements like an ocean breeze. Coming from two plots of Chardonnay and two plots of Pinot Noir, it has a very natural and ripe, floral...

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...

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.

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...

The 2015 Dom Pérignon is super-expressive today. The first signs of aromatic development have begun to appear, suggesting the 2015 is slowly heading into its first plateau of maturity. Light tropical accents mingle with...

The 2004 Dom Pérignon is one of the more reductive, autolytic vintages of this wine to have been released in the last decade, offering up a toasty bouquet of pears, green apple, iodine, peach and smoke. On the palate...

Tasted from magnum, disgorged in 2014 with a dosage of nine grams per liter, the 1998 Rare Millésime originates from a vintage marked by an August heat wave, incorporating a small proportion of sunburned grapes. Sourced...

Rich, with a well-spiced range of pineapple pâte de fruit, toasted brioche, lemon thyme, crystallized honey and grated ginger notes, this vibrant version is firmed by racy, seamlessly integrated acidity, swathed in a...

This offers fine integration of well-cut acidity with delicate flavors of crème de cassis, lemon curd and crushed almond. The mousse is lively and lacy in texture, carrying a streak of minerally chalk and smoke notes on...

(95+ points) In the context of the vintage, the expressive and structurally open personality of Salon’s 2013 Brut Blanc de Blancs Le Mesnil took me by surprise. Expecting a taut, incisive version, considering the cool...

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...