Krug Clos du Mesnil 1982 / The wine of the vintage. More Krug-like than Mesnil-like. The color is reminiscent of a big, white, toasted, oak-barrel Burgundy—even the scent points in that direction. It has an oriental, spicy nose. Toffee, honey, coffee, linden, cream, butterscotch, sun-ripened oranges: it's got everything! Enveloped in a Corton-Charlemagne-like fat, nutty, enormous taste. The acidity is incredibly high but it hides beneath a layer of sweet fruit. One of myWINNERS  at the Millennium Tasting. The last two bottles have shown a rich big maturity and less refinement so the gigant is now down on 98 points.

1914 Bollinger Collection  99p.  75% PN, 25% CH
 Disgorged for Madame Bollinger´s private cellar in 1969 and now in perfect condition at Bollinger. Made from across 23 crus with Bouzy as a main component of 18%. A startling bouquet. Golden light color and a long majestic taste that lasted for hours. Most impressive is the incredibly intense scent which in its complex creation contains diverse and at the same time nicely orchestrated ingredients such as; cardamom, lavender, lilac, vanilla, orange blossom, bergamot, Chinese tea and mandarin. Well thickened fat and at the same time a youthful champion. Probably the house's most outstanding vintage.

A champagne from the legendary La Côte aux Enfants plot, a Grand cru from Aÿ. Ever since 1829, Champagne Bollinger have strived to make the Champagne terroir ever more perfect, and their identity is clearly expressed in the wines they produce. Through continuous research and innovation, Champagne Bollinger have enriched their understanding of the many profiles of La Côte aux Enfants vineyard in Aÿ, a legendary plot of land established with great perseverance by Jacques Bollinger himself between 1926 and 1934.
Aware of the vineyard’s potential, it became Champagne Bollinger’s ambition to produce a great vintage champagne, made of 100% Pinot Noir grapes from the north-west side of the hill, revealing the otherwise hidden side of La Côte aux Enfants vineyard.
La Côte aux Enfants Champagne, Bollinger’s first single plot cuvée, offers fine wine enthusiasts a truly unprecedented tasting experience. La Côte aux Enfants joins Champagne Bollinger’s Pinot Noir collection, alongside the PN cuvée and the Vieilles Vignes Françaises.

‘It is striking that Winston Churchill 2013 is now lighter and more shy at launch than they used to be in the past. On the other hand, they seem to end up very close to the older vintages after a few years of their own storage. This slow development with Verzenay as such a clear mineral-rich stringent protagonist is noticeable not least in the glass. Just like in 2012, the wine is much more impressive and rounded rich a few hours after opening the bottle. Then a little cautiously, the whole Winston bouquet appears in the form of baguette, dark chocolate, strawberry jam, olives, gunpowder smoke, black coffee and sweet gravenstein apples. Drink after 2028.’

90(94)p

Thiénot x Penfolds Blanc de Blancs 2012 / The dosage stored in Penfold's Australian barrels. In all three wines where Peter Gago had a hand and his barrels in the production, you have an added and impressive power and butterscotch oakiness. The wines are simply larger and more expressive than in the steel tank-fermented prestige champagnes from Thiénot. The very best in the trio with a Comtes de Champagne-like opulence and fullness. Even more roasted and coffee-scented than the model and at least as smooth texture. Not quite the same depth and elegance, but it is a fantastic champagne in any case.

Salon Oenothèque 1961 / 99 points / If I was close to crying in disappointment over the 66' on the Tidelius tasting, the tears really came in the next flight when this bottle disgorged at the same time and with exactly the same low dosage was so lovely that the emotions overflowed. In fact, this wonderfully youthful champagne is the bottle that most reminded me of the world's best wine 1928 Pol Roger Grauves. Here was the same unlikely contrast between youthfulness and nicely mature notes. The scent is so unreal with its euphoric pheromone-like perfume uplifted by linden, geranium, lily of the valley, acacia, ginger, fresh tarragon, mint, lime peel and Sorrento lemon. Glass-clear brilliance and laser-sharp sharpness and precision. Caressing with faint undertones of vanilla, brioche and roasting. Pure flint mineral finesse and swirling little pearl necklace bubbles that dance ballet in the palate. What is missing in relation to 28' Grauves is a well thickened oiliness that may come in twenty years or so. Imagine that a 51-year-old can personify snowmelt, spring winter and the rebirth of life.

Already in the 1600s, Fiacre Taillet was a wine-grower in the small village of Merfy in the Massif de Saint-Thierry planted in mostly sandy soils, while Chartogne-Taillet was formed in 1920. Today, Chartogne-Taillet is still a family business. Alexandre Chartogne run a quality-controlled property with access to very old grapevines—even a little pre-phylloxera rootstock. Alexandre was educated in Burgundy and has a strong faith in the recipe: low yield equals high quality. He also worked with Anselme Selosse and returned to the family estate in 2006. He took full control the following year, and his influence has elevated the domaine to the top ranks of grower-producers in the region.The grapes come from 11,5 hectares in Merfy, Chenay, and Saint Thierry. Fiacre is a brilliantly refreshing, elastic, potent wine with a deliciously concentrated young fruit. Truly genuine terroir character is, of course, missing but this deficiency is well compensated for by its tart, rich, fruity cannonade. The Clos des Barres is a beautiful and super intense pure Pinot Meunier. Close to 4 stars today.

1970 DOM PÉRIGNON P3, A previously unreleased rare wine which gained greatly by being stored in the producer’s cool cellars. Great complexity and density. However, I am not so fond of the round taste profile and the architecture. The taste is classic nougat sweet with hints of coffee. The scent however breathe lake plants and mid-Swedish summer evenings. A lot of bottle variation unfortunately.’ RJ 93(93)

A large 1990's Champagnes tasting / Dom Pérignon P2 1995 / Lights are so beautiful with an iridescent color, crackling mousse and a dense hazy mature taste of high class. Almost P3 mode.
Here is a wine that has always been elegant and extremely enjoyable. However, the intensity and depth have been screwed up another notch in this nice extra-stored edition.

Moet & Chandon vintage 2012 / A stylish and very promising vintage where elegance and finesse are stronger keywords than power and concentration. Chardonnay dominates the overall impression at the launch as the Pinot grapes work more as a structural moderator in the first years. Delicate polished buttery and spring floral notes dance beautifully over the tongue in a lovely youthful harmony.

Henriot Vinothèque 1985 95 points/ It is a never-ending piece of theatre to witness the transformation that certain champagnes go through when they are allowed to remain as a chrysalis for a few extra years in the cellars of the producers, before arriving on the dining-table of the consumer. This 85 is a highly normal if very good champagne in its usual garb. Now, as a late release and like a great sportsman who has been pumped up at a training camp, it is so beautiful that it takes one's breath away. The aroma is a blend of the toasted, smoky 76 and the elegant 79. In the middle of the toastiness there is a Charles Heidsieck-like orange complexity to luxuriate in. The aftertaste is not especially long and the concentration could have been greater, but one's enjoyment is nearly maximal on condition that one may take great gulps! More serious and more meanly ascetic in a slowly developing Jeroboam. Last time a lot of similarities with the mushrom notes of Bollinger RD.