Certainly this wine is fit to be shown alongside – and has a few delicious similarities to – one of Philippe Foreau’s superb reserve cuvees. Less than 48 hours after tasting the 2002 version at the winery, I had the opportunity to buy and taste a bottle of Argyle’s 2001 Brut Extended Tirage at a local restaurant. There is even more of the patisserie-like vanilla, almond paste and frangipane here than in the 2002, along with the same apple, quince, and hint of caramel on a palate at once creamy and (perhaps needless to say!) vivacious. Succulent and sustained, this is a wine to whose blandishments you simply helplessly succumb rather than one of head-scratching intrigue. Enjoy it over the next 12-18 months, I suggest. - David Schildknecht