A beautifully bright and expressive Champagne, with precision and vivid acidity throughout; roasted coffee bean and graphite notes lead to a rich palate of toasted brioche, crystallized honey, bergamot and crème de cassis. Exotic ground spice details of cardamom, ginger and anise show on the finish. Tasted from magnum. Drink now through 2030. From France. — A.N.

A beautifully bright and expressive Champagne, with precision and vivid acidity throughout; roasted coffee bean and graphite notes lead to a rich palate of toasted brioche, crystallized honey, bergamot and crème de cassis. Exotic ground spice details of cardamom, ginger and anise show on the finish. Tasted from magnum. Drink now through 2030. 15 cases imported. — AN

The 1998 Rare was only made in magnum. Although the key word is ‘radiant’, when cellar master Régis Camus describes it as a perfectly mannered English gentleman he is maybe closer to the mark, notwithstanding the wine’s undoubted radiance. There is something inordinately refined and civilised here: spice and blossom, apricot and smoke, an encyclopedic gamut of flavour beyond the apparently youthful, nacreous colour. The tropical fruit leitmotif is present, of course, but there is so much more besides and so much more to come. A truly wonderful wine - English gentlemen really do have a lot to live up to! (Drink between 2019-2030)

I really like the style and shape of the racy 1998 Rare, which is still quite youthful in profile and needs more time to fully blossom (particularly in magnum). The superb bouquet offers up a primary blend of quince, lemon, stony minerality, a touch of fresh almond, citrus peel, smoky notes and blossoming spice tones that are quite prevalent in older vintages of Rare. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, pure and racy, with its minerality far more front and center in this vintage than in the 2002 or 1999, with a fine core, pinpoint bubbles, zesty acids and outstanding length and grip on the nascently complex and racy finish. This is a lovely wine which will only get better with further bottle age, and I would be inclined to leave it sleeping in the cellar for several more years.

Bright green-straw. Pungent, pure, mineral-driven aromas of lime, melon, white peach and honeysuckle expand with air. Fresh and sharply focused, offering lively citrus flesh and zest flavors and a suave underpinning of smoky minerals. Turns creamier on the long, gently sweet finish. An impressive showing; this is balanced to reward patience.