An Unforgettable Tasting day: Highlights from the 100-Best Champagnes 2026 tasting event - Day 5.

The fifth and final tasting day of the 100-Best Champagnes 2026 event brought to a close an extraordinary journey through the highest echelons of sparkling wine. Having evaluated over 300 of the finest Champagnes currently on the market or slated for release soon, the tastingbook.com and Champagne Magazine's jury witnessed the immense diversity, precision, and cellaring potential defining modern Champagne winemaking. With the official results and the ultimate Best Champagne of 2026 set to be announced at the end of August, anticipation is at an all-time high.

Among the absolute triumphs of the session was the 2012 Bollinger Vieilles Vignes Françaises (98 Points), a monumental release from ungrafted pre-phylloxera vines that captivated tasters with its breathtaking concentration and endless mineral finish. Equally spellbinding were the 2013 Jacques Selosse Millésimé (97 Points) and 2008 Bollinger R.D. (98 Points), both delivering masterclasses in autolytic complexity and vinous grip.

Rosé offerings reached new heights with the radiant 2015 Louis Roederer Cristal Rosé (98 Points), while grower showcases like Vilmart & Cie’s "Cœur de Cuvée" (95 Points) and Chartogne-Taillet’s pre-phylloxera "Les Barres" 2019 (96 Points) proved that single-plot precision stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the grandest houses.

Overall, the marathon tasting celebrated Champagne’s golden era—where traditional power, terroir authenticity, and chiseled freshness harmoniously meet.

Tastingbook tasted Penfolds Yattarna 2002-2020 / Penfolds Yattarna 2021 • 99 Points. A jaw-dropping, absolute masterpiece heavily dominated by pristine Tasmanian fruit, creating a wine of unparalleled precision. It exhibited a pale, brilliant green-gold hue and a piercing nose of finger lime, white flowers, and flint, carrying an athletic, chiseled palate where high-toned acidity illuminated a dense core of grand cru-level fruit.

Tastingbook tasted Penfolds Grange vintages 2002-2022/ Penfolds Grange 2010 -100 Points. A majestic, perfectly balanced vintage from a textbook South Australian growing season. It struck an ethereal balance between massive density and vibrant freshness, showing exquisite definition of cassis, graphite, and lavender, backed by a monumental wall of architectural tannins and seamless acidity.

Sauternes and Barsac 2025 Vintage: Château Lafaurie Peyraguey: 100% Semillon. Three pickings, yield 12 hl/ha. Huge intensity of aromas on the nose with candied apricot, guava, candied mandarin peel, and heather honey. It is concentrated on the palate with remarkable acidity, flair, and grace. Rich and sophisticated, with great complexity. Sublimely long finish. This is simply a fabulous wine. 97p.

Large Coche-Dury tasting and few others: The Corton-Charlemagne 2002 was equally as impressive, but in a more mature way. It was in a perfect spot, on a bridge between youth and wisdom, with extraordinary balance and tension. I think that the 15-20 year mark is a real sweet spot for great vintages of Coche CC. Ooh la la (98).

The Adige Valley is a famous wine region with excellent wines. The upper part, known as Alto Adige and the lower part, known as Trentino are two wine regions with an amazing potential, however these gems are yet to be discovered. A tasting tour in July featured two wineries, J. Hofstätter in Tramin and Tenuta San Leonardo in Borghetto all Adige where great qualities and wines with an excellent terroir typicity are born.

Dom Ruinart Rosé 1988 / “Onionskin-hued cherry red colour. Really powerful toast, spice, meat, and gunflint nose that comes with a charming coffee and cream note. A wild one. Ripe and massive, yet vibrant and super silky. Impressive in 75cl bottle and out-of-this-world in magnum. ”

Perfect 100 points Graham 80 year old Tawny Port – Only 600 bottles of the 80y old were bottled and the shelf price will be well above 1.000 GBP. For Charles Symington the blending process was very emotional, as his father, Peter Symington, was born in 1944. When turning 80, Peter very much enjoyed this special Port. Dark red colour with intense reflections and a green-gold rim. Gentle and perfectly balanced Douro Bake aromas on the nose with coffee, dried orange and tobacco. Complex, dense herbal notes in the bouquet, chocolate, malt, tobacco leaves and caramel, floral notes and a hint of chocolate and toffee in the background. Incredibly complex notes on the palate. Herbal mix, chocolate, tea, malt, honey, tobacco. Perfectly long, balanced and complex finish with many overlapping layers. A perfect Port! 100

Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey 1929 / An absolutely sensational bottle—youthful, highly elegant, and perfectly balanced between acidity and sweetness. Delicate, slightly salty caramel, malt, dried figs, and molasses weave together in a masterpiece of flavor. Simply brilliant—off the charts! 20+ points

Château Fontenil Vertical 2022-2005 / I have tasted Château Fontenil during primeur for more than a decade, but I have rarely seen them in bottle, and even rarer tasted them. Boy was I in for a treat! On a relatively misty morning I turned up at Fontenil and I did not expect anything near this amazing lineup. I am a big fan of Fronsac, these wines are so undervalued, and here we are, another big tasting confirming that exact same thing. Gorgeous wines. 

Burgundy’s greatest wines are not built on sheer power, but on tension, texture and the ability to unite intensity with elegance. In this fascinating Montrachet-focused tasting, centered largely around the outstanding 2010 vintage, it was precisely the minerality, freshness and poised structural calm that left the most lasting impression and defined the wines so beautifully. The tasting was completed by a selection of vintage 2009 Pinot treasures from the Côte de Nuits, bringing depth, sensuality and quiet grandeur to the lineup.

The arrival of wines from the New World at the place the Bordeaux will start in September. The first samples have been sent an my first tasting is with Cheval des Andes.