“Pure and pretty notes of wild strawberry and nectarine fruit are enriched by hints of marzipan, chalk and pickled ginger in this graceful rosé Champagne. Lithe and expressive, with a fine, lively mousse, this shows lovely balance and a creamy, mineral-laced finish. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Drink now through 2031.”

“A crisp and well-cut Champagne, delivering a strong mineral presence. There's a chalky underpinning to the tightly-meshed flavors of crunchy pear, raspberry, pickled ginger and pink grapefruit zest. Fine and lightly creamy in texture, with a mouthwatering finish that echoes the minerality. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Best from 2022 through 2030.”

“The 2013 Cristal is a wine of extraordinary precision and tension. Searing acids drive a bold, racy Champagne that won’t be ready to offer its best drinking anytime soon. In recent vintages, Cristal has been quite open on release. That is far from the case with the 2013. Readers should plan on being quite patient. The blend is 60% Pinot Noir (from Aÿ, Verzy, Verzenay, Beaumont-sur-Vesle) and 40% Chardonnay (Mesnil, Avize, Cramant). Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon was especially selective and used only 30 out of the potential 45 plots that are typically available for Cristal. About 32% of the lots were done in oak, the rest in steel, with the malolactic fermentation blocked across the board. It was an October harvest, the sort of harvest that has become increasingly rare in Champagne. Lecaillon describes the summer as similar to 2012, but adds the vines were a month behind in their development. In tasting, the 2013 reminds me of the 1996 in its austerity, even more so than the epic 2008. (Originally published in May 2021)”

“The 2014 Louis Roederer Blanc de Blancs Brut Millésime is composed entirely from estate-owned vineyards in the grand cru village of Avize. One quarter of the vins clairs for this bottling were barrel-fermented and aged in cask, with none of the still wines going through malolactic fermentation. The wine spent five years aging sur latte and was finished with a dosage of eight grams per liter. It offers up a lovely and very refined nose of apple, pear, almond, chalky minerality, warm bread, a hint of buttery oak and a gentle floral topnote of white lilies. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied and supremely elegant, with a lovely core of fruit, fine focus and bounce, refined mousse and a long, complex and beautifully balanced finish. Some vintages of Roederer’s Blanc de Blancs can start out life pretty tightly-wound structurally, but the 2014 is drinking beautifully from the outset, though of course, more layers of complexity will emerge with further bottle age. Fine, fine juice. 2021-2055+.”

“A bright, harmonious Champagne, layering well-cut acidity and a chalky underpinning with flavors of white cherry, crunchy pineapple, green almond and beeswax. The finely detailed mousse carries hints of saffron and spring blossom on the lingering finish. Drink now through 2024.”