Champagne

The 2007 Brut Belle Époque is maturing gracefully on cork, mingling aromas of nougat and freshly baked bread with hints of lemon curd, white flowers and fresh peach. Medium to full-bodied, fine-boned and pillowy, it's an elegant, charming w ine with a refined pinpoint mousse and a nicely defined finish.

The 2000 Brut Blanc de Blancs Clos du Mesnil continues to be a big, powerful wine with tons of fruit but less of the energy of the very best years. Pastry, smoke, pencil shavings and rich, yellow-fleshed fruit all emerge from this broad-sho uldered, intense Clos du Mesnil. The typical refinement of Mesnil is less evident than it has been in past tastings. Perhaps I am spoiled from having drunk many of the great iconic vintages. Today, it's hard to see the 2000 sitting alongsid e the very best wines to emerge from this walled in vineyard in the center of Mesnil.

The 2013 Extra-Brut Grand Cru Avize - Champ Caïn derives from a parcel planted on a south-facing slope whose grapes were picked on October 10, 2023. It reveals a dense, complex bouquet with aromas of peach, pear, spring flowers, almonds, pa stry and citron oil combined with a fresh, minty character. Medium to full-bodied and perfectly balanced, this 2013 has a tauter and more fine-boned texture than usual, which is enhanced by bubbles of striking finesse and delicacy. It requi res patience (three to five years) to realize all its potential. Only 11,220 bottles and 398 magnums were produced.

The 2006 Brut Millésime Grand Cru is a really rich and intense, yet also a pure and fresh cuvée based on 60/70% barrel-fermented Pinot Noir and 30/40% barrel-fermented Chardonnay. It is a full-bodied, concentrated and extremely well-structu red cuvée with a grippy, long and persistent finish. The dosage is two grams per liter. There are lovely fresh berry flavors on the nose.

The first word that comes to mind in tasting Giraud’s 2002 Brut Argonne – which, as its name suggests, was initially raised in new Argonne oak barrels – is “sumptuous.” I cannot recall having previously tasted such an envelopingly and almo st thickly rich Champagne. The selection of Ay Pinot Noir chosen here is more than capable of subsuming any overt influence that new oak might otherwise have bestowed on it. Lightly baked apple, quince, and marzipan inform the nose and silk en, expansive, plush palate, accompanied by subtly resinous and smoky black tea. The combination of breadth, textural allure, and fine yet intensely active mousse is spine-tinglingly impressive, striking its balance between vinosity and eff ervescence at a remarkable high energy level. Hints of salt and iodine add interest, local color, and saliva-inducement to a powerful finishing wave of fruit and nut essences. I suspect one will be rewarded for following this 8-10 years dow n the pike; though I confess to lack of directly relevant experience. Claude Giraud – with whom I have corresponded but have yet to meet – farms 22 acres in Ay, supplemented by purchased fruit. He has become a vocal champion of wood from the local forests of the Argonne, although oak of diverse origins fills out his extensive barrel regimen. Rich, at times positively sumptuous; forceful, sometimes downright powerful; Giraud’s Champagnes make a bold statement that won’t res onate with every lover of this appellation’s wines. And given their prices, even if they weren’t scarce, only a small percentage of wine lovers would be able to access them. To me, they are not just impressive – at times exceptionally so – in their own right, but illustrate the glorious stylistic malleability of Champagne’s grapes and terroirs. I’ll look forwarding to visiting Giraud next year and reporting in much more detail on his stylistic vision and projects as well as h is individual cuvees. (I did not taste any recent releases from Giraud’s “Esprit de Giraud” series of tank-raised cuvees.) Imported by Great Signature Wines LLC, Atlanta, GA; tel. (404) 984-8700; and Old World Wines, Miramar Beach, FL; t el. (850) 225-0663

The 2016 Brut Coeur de Cuvée is just as impressive as it was last year. It offers a captivating marriage of textural depth and energy, classic Vilmart signatures. Candied citrus, slate, chalk, mint, sage and white pepper confer notable vibr ancy throughout. Readers will find a Champagne endowed with considerable dimension and presence. The long finish reverberates effortlessly. Dosage is 7 grams per liter. Disgorged: September 2022.

(75% chardonnay and 25% pinot noir) Pale yellow with a very fine bead. Seductively perfumed nose displays orange, lime, mineral, thyme and honeysuckle scents; the chardonnay is very strong today. Energetic and pure, with dusty minerality ad ding lift and cut to the fresh citrus and orchard fruit flavors. The long, juicy finish leaves behind a trail of minerals and peppery spices.

After the broad, muscular 2012 and the incisive 2013, Bollinger's 2014 Blanc de Noirs Vieilles Vignes Françaises represents something of a middle ground, with its charming, suave profile and elegant bouquet of crisp yellow orchard fruit, ma ndarin oil, praline and buttered toast. Medium to full-bodied, pillowy and layered, with impressive depth and density for the vintage but also unusually immediacy for this cuvée, it will offer a broad drinking window. Produced from ungrafte d Pinot Noir vines and fermented in old barrels, it represents the ne plus ultra of the Bollinger style.

The 2013 is the most powerful, dense young Salon I have ever tasted. Champagne of mind-bending complexity, the 2013 possesses tremendous mid-palate intensity and power from the very first taste. Lemon confit, dried flowers, mint and a touch of brioche appear first, followed by light tropical accents that add an exotic flair. Imagine the sizzling energy of the 2008 and the persistence of 2004, with more mid-palate richness and riper fruit. Two-thousand thirteen was a cool, lat e ripening year. Harvest started at the beginning of October under sunny, dry days and cool nights, conditions that have not been seen since then. Readers will find a spectacular, modern Salon endowed with tremendous depth and very little o f the youthful austerity that once defined Champagnes from cooler years here. The 5.5 grams per liter of dosage is perfectly judged. In a word: Magnificent.