Champagne, Calvados, Sem/Sauv ...

The 2018 Extra Brut Inattendue is a pure Chardonnay picked in Ludes and Rilly La Montagne. Slight creaminess and fresh, ripe yellow apple flesh appears on the nose. The palate is clearly very youthful with its foamy, exuberant mousse taking center stage and primary fruit still holding sway, deliciously so. This is bright, fresh and vivid, but there is dimension beyond fruit and freshness that shows pure and concentrated fruit . Dosage 3gr/ L Disgorged 2023. ANNE KREBIEHL MW, vinous

The 2020 Château Coutet is flat-out gorgeous, with a concentrated, powerful style in its caramelized orange, honeyed flowers, pineapple upside down cake, and toasty, spicy nuances. Rich, full-bodied, concentrated, and layered, it nevertheless stays focused, pure, and precise, with laser-like precision and vibrancy on the palate. This tour de force in Sauternes is going to pretty much just knock your socks off over the coming two decades. (97) JEB DUNNUCK

A signature Coutet nose with burnt orange, caramelised peaches and floral flecks. Thick and intense, really lovely weight on the palate, deep yet juicy with high acidity that gives a tang to the palate. Lovely layers of sweetness, acidity and richness - concentrated and intense. Classy and stylish as always. Not as dazzling at this point as the 2019 was but this is still a lovely wine with plenty of enjoyment on offer. (95) DECANTER

The 2020 Coutet has a pale lemon-gold color, waltzing out of the glass with energetic notes of lemon tart, pink grapefruit, green mango and lime blossoms, with hints of chopped almonds, clover honey, candle wax and straw, plus a waft of sea spray. The palate is all class, featuring ethereal intensity and amazing poise, enveloped in a satiny texture and seamless acidity, finishing long and mineral laced. Currently, while it is just a tick or so down on the impressive 2019, I love the restraint and energy of this 2020 and wouldn't be surprised if it eventually spreads its wings and surpasses its showier sibling over time (96) WINE ADVOCATE

The NV Brut Grand Cellier is fabulous. Rich, ample and creamy, the Grand Cellier is so alluring from the very first taste. All the Vilmart signatures - most notably uncommon elegance - come through loud and clear. Baked apple tart, pear, spice and a hint off butter add nuance, but it is the wine's overall feel that impresses most. Readers will have a hard time keeping their hands off this seductive Champagne from Vilmart. ANTONIO GALLONI

Light,bright gold. Heady, complex scents of poached pear, vanilla, anise and pungent flowers. Fleshy but focused and pure, offering vanilla-accented orchard fruit and lemon curd underscored by chalky minerality. Finishes long and toasty, with lingering florality and noteworthy clarity. JOSH RAYNOLDS

A blend of 30% pinot noir and 70% chardonnay, this has a complex and sophisticated nose that delivers peach fruits and citrus, plus some bolder yellow plum fruits too. The palate is assertive, energetic and concentrated with peach and nectarine flavors met with lemony acidity. Long, really powerful Champagne here. JAMES SUCKLING

A triumph for the vintage with spices, dried mushroom, dried pineapple, peaches, and honey. Full and sweet with bright acidity and a long, intense finish. Powerful wine. This could be the best Coutet ever. JAMES SUCKLING

The Coutet 2009 is a sensational effort from Philippe Baly and his team. It has a fragrant nose of honey, vervain tea, pineapple, frangipane and apple-blossom, well defined if needing a little more vigour at the moment. The palate is vibrant on the entry, informed by touches of apricot and orange peel, very focused and tensile towards the long, sensuous, viscous finish. It has the same minerality exuded by Doisy-Daene and reminds me of a stellar '62 tasted just a few weeks previously. A magnificent Coutet. (98) NEAL MARTIN

Intense exotic fruits abound, powerful apricot, nectarine, white flowers and white truffles with excellent bitter almonds on the finish that works so well as a counterpoint to the luxurious texture. I love this, silky and seductive yet strict. (97) DECANTER, tasted 2020

One of the top sweet wines in this report is the 2016 Château Coutet, which has the vintage's plush, opulent style as well as thrilling purity and good acids. Pineapple, white flowers, sugared peach, and honeyed notes all emerge from this full-bodied, layered, balanced Barsac that's already impossible to resist yet will evolve gracefully 2+ decades. (97) JEB DUNNUCK

The vibrant, tropical fruit-coulis character draws you into this concentrated and elegant Barsac. Then the crisp acidity and a wave of lemon and mineral character comes through, driving the finish out in the direction of the horizon. (95) JAMES SUCKLING

Oh that's lovely. Ginger and sumac spice, and a gorgeous richness with the perfect balance of minerality. Rich but pure botrytis character and gently curling smoky notes leap out of the glass. Amazing persistency, easily one of the best wines in the tasting. This is excellent; succulent and mouthwatering. (96) DECANTER

With coaxing, the pale lemon colored 2016 Coutet slowly unfurls to give a myriad of preserved lemons, pineapple pastry, almond croissant, fresh ginger and lime blossoms scents with nuances of chalk dust, white pepper, star anise and cedar. Rich, seductive and yet exquisitely balanced, the satiny-textured palate has layer upon layer of citrus and savory notions, finishing very long and spicy. (97) WINE ADVOCATE

The NV Brut Rosé Cuvée Rubis is absolutely gorgeous. Fresh, vibrant and pulsing with energy, the Rubis has much to offer. Cranberry, white pepper and chalk add to the wine's tense, nervous personality. As always, the Rubis is a Champagne of precision and feminine grace. ANTONIO GALLONI

PLATINUM - DECANTER WORLD WINE AWARDS
Outstanding elegance and finesse pervade this exceptional wine with its well-honed toasty sourdough, gunflint and grilled citrus notes, razor sharp acidity and mouth-filling mousse. Brilliantly poised and brimming with potential, the long and zesty finish runs and runs. (97) DECANTER

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Disgorged December 2021. Les Longues Voyes translates as ‘the long way’, referring not only to the 25 kilometres that you need to travel from the Laherte estate to arrive at the vineyard, but also to the wine’s extended aging: 18 months in barrel and a further 18-20 months in bottle.

The fruit is sourced from a single hectare of biodynamic vines in Chamery, Montagne de Reims, owned by a good friend of Aurélien Laherte’s. The 35-year-old vines are rooted in clay and silts over a limestone base. The wine was made from a single four-tonne press of grapes, which was naturally fermented and matured in old Clos des Epeneaux and Leroux barrels. There was no malolactic conversion and the dosage was 4 g/L. Bibendum

Based on the 2020 vintage and disgorged in November 2022, the new release of Larmandier's NV Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru Longitude wafts from the glass with aromas of sweet citrus fruit, fresh pastry, green apple and flowers. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and enveloping, its satiny attack segues into a racy, broad-shouldered mid-palate, concluding with a chalky finish. WILLIAM KELLEY

The NV Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Longitude 1er Cru is a powerful, ample wine. The Longitude builds beautifully in the glass, creamy and textured, with tons of resonance. Pear, white pepper, dried flowers, mint and chalk are all delineated in a Champagne that blends power and tension. This is all class. Dosage is 3 grams per liter. ANTONIO GALLONI

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More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

100% pinot noir from Clouet's 10 best plots, dubbed by Jean-Francois 'the golden square of Bouzy'; 50% 2006 fermented in Sauternes barriques; 50% solera of reserve wines; full malolactic fermentation; a symbolic production of just 1911 bottles; 6g/L dosage.

Clouet’s flagship is a radiant, golden silk-satin ballgown of ravishing complexity and breathtaking grace, a delicate high-heeled balancing act of refreshing poise in the midst of profound concentration. Its richness ventures to champagne’s outer limits of succulent white fruits of all kinds, grilled pineapple, honey and great complexity of brioche, nougat and butter. Celebrating a generous 50% reserve from solera, its rumbling maturity is proclaimed in hints of butterscotch, coffee beans and smouldering hearth. Just when you fear it’s all too much to behold, the vibrant energy of its 2002 base swoops into a finish defined by well-poised acidity and softly mineral, fine chalk texture. It holds its posture of tall, slender magnificence for minutes without ever dropping its determined gaze. TYSON STELZER, Champagne Guide

The NV Un jour de 1911... is another 100% Bouzy Pinot Noir with an ancient label design. The shining golden-colored cuvée combines ripeness, complexity and finesse with intensity and elegance on both the nose and palate. It's a powerful and rich yet very fine and balanced Champagne with great freshness and complex length. It is juicy and intense but also highly delicate, and its mineral tension and persistent finish make it a first-class wine for elaborate dishes. A great Champagne, with a label that doesn't give any more detailed information regarding vintages or disgorgement date, but we know it's always a 50/50 blend of three vintages (including one great millésime at least 10 years old) and reserve wines from a solera system. I tasted the wine as a Brut with Clouet's German importer in Bremen. You shouldn't drink it too early, as it would be a waste of its talents. STEPHEN REINHARDT, www.robertparker.com

Disgorged April 2022. For a number of vintages, Aurélien Laherte has been experimenting with a sans soufre (zero sulphur) cuvée. In 2018 he cracked it with two barrels of Côte des Blancs juice, drawn from two Premier Cru terroirs in Vertus and Voipreux. Laherte noted that the key factors to the stability of vinifying in the absence of any additions were zero dosage and full malolactic conversion.
The third release of Laherte’s Nature de Craie is drawn from a single vintage (2020) drawn from parcels planted in 1960, 1965 and 1987. The word craie refers to the chalky soil of these terroirs, which lie on the lower slopes ensuring good exposure, in turn providing ripeness of fruit and no need for additional dosage. From hand-harvested and traditionally pressed fruit, this release was vinified in neutral oak barrels before aging on cork for 12 months. It was disgorged in April with no dosage. Bibendum

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Bollinger continues its quest to highlight its Pinot Noir expertise with arguably the most exciting and focused wine yet in the PN series, focusing on the grand cru village of Verzenay from 2019 (although backed up with reserves from all around the Montagne de Reims and Grande Vallée, 25% of which comes directly from magnums). It weaves a beautiful line between the clear, long and ultra-fine Pinot of Verzenay, mineral and understated, the quiet power of the 2019 vintage, and the stunning complexity of reserves. Roast apricot, scorched orange citrus and soft raspberry fruits are backed up beautifully by toasty nougat, cocoa and dried pear ageing characters. It's a striking wine of persistent, tightly packed quality, holding terrific mid-term potential. DECANTER

The NV (2019) PN VZ is another terrific wine in this new range of Champagnes from Bollinger that is now in its fifth release. Exotic floral and spice notes play off a core of Pinot fruit in this captivating, mid-weight offering. Time in the glass accents the wine's inner sweetness and perfume. Pear, mint, jasmine and white pepper linger. In this release, the (2019) PN VZ is like a mini-Vieilles Vignes Françaises. It's an incredibly racy, sexy Blanc de Noirs. This release is based on 2019, with 50% reserve wines back to 2009. About half of the reserve wines were aged in magnum ANTONIO GALLONI

Something new in the range, the NV Champagne PN VZ19 is 100% Pinot Noir from Verzenay. It's assertive on opening, with aromas of raspberries, fresh baked bread, black cherries, violets, wet stones, passionfruit, and sweet citrus. It brings forward a good deal of intensity on the palate, with a lot of purity and a distilled feeling, its black cherry fruit gliding through a long finish with a saline flourish. This lovely wine has a lot to offer now but will improve with time and is going have 15 or more years of longevity. There's a fresh umami feel through this wine JEB DUNNUCK

The latest rendition of Bollinger's blended blanc de noirs bottling is the NV Brut Blanc de Noirs PN VZ19; it is based on the 2019 vintage, which represents 52% of the blend, and the village of Verzenay, which accounts for the origin of 40% of this bottling's components. 2019 is complemented by fully 48% reserve wines, and above all, fully a quarter derives from 2009; and it has the tension of Verzenay by Aÿ, Avenay-Val-d'Or, Tauxières and Mutigny. If all that sounds complicated, the wine's appeal is easier to see, as it offers up a demonstrative bouquet of yellow stone fruit, mandarin and praline, followed by a medium to full-bodied, pure and pillowy palate that's charming, even giving, but also attractively racy, concluding with a saline finish. It was disgorged with six grams per liter dosage. This doesn't tower above its 2018-base counterpart (perhaps unsurprisingly, as the percentage of reserve wines in this bottling is so high), but it does seem to be marginally the strongest iteration of this cuvée to date. WILLIAM KELLEY

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Based on the 2019 vintage, but with a preponderance of reserve wines from 2018, Agrapart's NV Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Terroirs delivers notes of citrus oil, white flowers, freshly baked bread and hazelnuts, followed by a medium to full-bodied, creamy and satiny palate that's bright, lively and chalky. WILLIAM KELLEY

The NV Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Terroirs Grand Cru is another terrific wine in the lineup this year. Chalk, white pepper, sage and mint meld into a core of lemon peel and crushed rocks. All the elements are so well balanced. An equal blend of 2019 and 2018 juice from 100% Grand Cru sites in Avize, Oger, Cramant and Oiry, the Terroirs saw natural fermentation and 100% malolactic fermentation. Dosage is 5 grams per liter. ANTONIO GALLONI

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!