Made exclusively from Pinot Noir grapes from Aÿ, grown in the Meurtet (52%) and La Côte Glacière (48%) parcels, the 2010 Brut Pinot Noir Parcelles d'Aÿ "Hommage à William Deutz" is a newly created Champagne within the Deutz portfolio, and it's dedicated to the company’s founder. The vineyards "Hommage" are entirely owned by Deutz, which can be a great advantage in unsafe vintages such as 2010. Due to botrytis infections caused by the heavy rain on the 8th of September, the 2010 harvest (between 15th and 25th September) required careful selection, which reduced the anticipated yields by 25% to 30%. The 2010 was aged for seven years on the lees prior to the disgorgement (in April 2017, and it was released in December 2017. Its bouquet is clear, bright, fresh and delicately aromatic, with sweet red cherry, floral and flowery aromas, almond notes and remarkable finesse. Intensely fruity and round but with great finesse, this is an elegant, firmly structured, fresh and persistent cuvée with bright acidity, good mineral tension and pretty high dosage of nine grams per liter. There are lovely fruit flavors in the aftertaste. This is a beautifully delicate but complex Hommage to be enjoyed with food. Tasted June 2018. - Stephan Reinhardt

A finely knit version, with a plush, creamy mousse, this marries a sleek, acidic frame and a streak of smoke-tinged minerality with flavors of crushed raspberry, kumquat, grated ginger and biscuit. Racy finish. Disgorged May 2018. Drink now through 2028.