Developing more into the spicy and savory zone, the fruit is sweetening as it ages, too. Aromas of grapefruit citrus and yellow peach, with some flinty notes, as well as honey and almond nougat. The palate delivers cherry fruit flavors with spiced pastry in a fluid, open-knit and mellow mode. Builds toasty grilled hazelnut flavors into the finish. Drink now. - Nick Stock

The prestigious 2006 La Grande Dame is made from 47% Chardonnay and 53% Pinot Noir, and assembles the fruit of eight grand cru villages. Very intense and complex on the nose, this is a full-bodied, round, rich and mouth-filling, but also refined prestige cuvée; it reveals a fascinating purity, precision and freshness. The finish is long and complex, and shows a spicy minerality. There are coffee beans, bread and toast aromas in the aftertaste. This comes highly recommended. - Stephan Reinhardt

Veuve Clicquot's prestige cuvée is named after the widow Clicquot, the great lady who built up the house in the early 19th century. This latest incarnation is just showing signs of ripe toasty maturity. It is rich and soft with a high dosage, in the house style, with a full panoply of lime, red apple and apricot. Drink now and until 2022.

A waft of spring blossom draws you into this elegant Champagne, whose subtle notes of poached quince, toasted brioche and mandarin orange gracefully ride the satiny mousse, supported by a vibrant backbone of acidity. Disgorged February 2016. Drink now through 2029. — A.N.

The last in the sequence of Grandes Dames with a healthy slug of Chardonnay (47% in 2006), this is the child of a capricious and somewhat tricky vintage, the summer marked by an early heatwave but then a rainy August. You may not think so when you taste, as this is a very confident and complex wine, well named indeed, as an inherent feminine charm starts to show its pedigree with a little age. Splashes of almond, quince and beeswax pay their compliments to the structure, discreet vinosity starting to intervene, marked by notes of gingerbread and verbena. Toasty notes and a generous finish give a nod to the warmer months of the season and the result, still engagingly primary, is nonetheless opulent indeed.