In some ways, this is the emblematic wine of the domaine. It was Michel Bettane, the influential French critic, who encouraged Francis Egly to bottle this single vineyard wine separately, with the first release being from the 1989 vintage. This latest offering was bottled after the 2016 base had spent close to one year in cask before being blended with 50% reserve wines from the 2015 vintage. All the vinification and aging for both vintages was in barrel. The fruit comes from old Pinot Noir vines in a single terroir known as Les Crayères. The vines here were planted in 1946, so are now 75 years old (vines of this age are extremely rare in Champagne). Here the soil is barely 30cm deep, then it’s chalk, hundreds of metres down—hence the name of the site (craie is French for ‘chalk’, crayères references chalk quarries which likely once existed here). Les Crayères is situated mid-slope with a full south-facing exposure, not far from the estate’s cellars. The old vines are deeply rooted, giving the wine a classic, mineral energy that weaves its way through the powerful, layered Pinot Noir fruit. The deep concentration is a product of the ripeness and low yields that both the site and its ancient vines naturally deliver. The 2016 base is both a tribute to the greatest sites of Ambonnay and to the Egly-Ouriet domaine. Houses that emphasise blending may consider a 100% old-vine Ambonnay like this to be too intense; Egly gives it to you full throttle! This release is a wine of profound depth yet also great finesse. It’s still early days for the nose (if you open it now, give it time) while the palate is already stunning; a chiselled, mineral mouth bomb. The dosage is only two grams per litre and it’s invisible. An expression of a singular terroir, this is, of course, a unique wine that is, as always, built for food and for aging.

Expect flesh and concentrated ripeness yet also chiselled structure and intense, saline minerality.

A very important estate in St-Émilion, Château Angélus was acquired by the de Boüard de Laforest family in 1924 and merged with the previously owned Château Mazerat. The apostrophe was dropped in 1989 and is now simply known as Angélus. The wines are characterised by a fabulous texture offered by the high component of Cabernet Franc with the plump softness added by the Merlot creating a wine of pleasing plushness.

Armand de Brignac Champagne, colloquially known as the Ace of Spades, is well known for it's striking bottle design, references in pop culture and its unquestionable quality. Brut Gold is the flagship cuvýe of the range and the first style ever produced under the label. Its unmistakable gold-plated bottles are decorated at a single site in France's Cognac region and are fitted with pewter labels hand-applied to the surface of the bottle. The wine itself is marvelously complex and full-bodied, the bouquet is both fresh and lively, with light floral notes. On the palate, a racy fruit character perfectly integrated with the wine's subtle brioche accents.

The wine had an intense, full and radiant bouquet, with notes of honeysuckle, orange coloured fruits and hints of iodines sensations. The creamy chewiness characterising the vintage is channeled in a direction that is edgy yet embracing with a wave of aromatic persistence. Smokey, biting and full of energy finish balances it all out.