Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame is name in honour of the famed and undoubted Champagne pioneer, widow Clicquot. Widowed at the tender age of 28, Madame Clicquot continued her late husband's work and is the sole reason why her Champagne house is held in the high esteem that it is today. The 1998 La Grande Dame is a wine of pure beauty and power. A majority blend of Pinot Noir, the vintage conditions are clearly visible in the glass with flavours of peach, apricot and touch of brioche and nuttiness. A true classic for the ages.

Leclerc Briant was an early adopter of organic practices beginning in the 1960’s and pioneered the concept of single-vineyard Champagne starting in the 1970’s. Fifth generation vigneron, Pascal Leclerc started to follow biodynamic principles in 1988, with part of the production Demeter certified since 2003. Today, enologist Hervé Jestin continues the legacy of this visionary house. Ten hectares of vineyard spread between the Premier Cru villages of Cumières, Hautvillers, Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, Bisseuil in the Vallée de la Marne, Villers-Allerand and Rilly la Montagne in Montagne de Reims and the Grand Cru villages of Cramant and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger in the Côte des Blancs. Leclerc Briant also holds long-term contracts with another 8 hectares of biodynamically farmed vineyards. Les Basses Prières is from a single 0.17-hectare plot in the premier cru village of Hautvillers in the Vallée de la Marne. The southeast facing plot is planted to 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay with an average vine age of 40 years. Spontaneous fermentation and aging take place in used 225-liter French oak barriques for 9 months followed by 36 months aging sur lattes. The wine receives a low dosage with just 2 grams per liter of residual sugar. 1,800 bottles produced.

The 2018 Marc Hébrart Rive Gauche-Rive Droite Grand Cru Millésime offers a balanced blend of equal parts Pinot Noir from Aÿ and Chardonnay from the Côte des Blancs. This Extra Brut Champagne, with a dosage of 3 grams per liter, was disgorged in preparation for long-term aging and refinement. More complex and spicier than its 2016 counterpart, this vintage reveals aromas of spices, toast, baked bread, white flowers, and spring blossoms. Medium to full-bodied, it is dense and rich, with a delicately layered fruit core. The palate is well-balanced, concluding with bright acidity and a refined, pinpoint mousse. This 2018 vintage underscores Hébrart’s meticulous approach, offering a Champagne that pairs structure with elegance and the ability to develop further with time. Drinking Window: 2024–2044.

Elegant, with colour changing naturally from a pretty raspberry hue to salmon-pink. A precise nose of extraordinary freshness and a wide range of red fruits: raspberry, redcurrant, strawberry, black cherry. A fresh and sharp attack for this supple and rounded wine. On the palate, it offers the sensation of plunging into a basket of freshly picked red berries. Pinot Noir from 10 different crus located mainly in the South and North areas of the Montagne de Reims including the famous Côte de Bouzy. Notably from the finest crus of Ambonnay, Bouzy, Louvois and Tours-sur-Marne. The grapes from carefully selected plots are sorted and destemmed before vatting. The maceration lasting from 48h to 72h depending on the harvest helps the extraction of the colour and the development of the full aromatic richness of the Pinot Noir, with 5 years minimum ageing.

It’s a stunning, racy example of Avize, a little deeper than the Terre de Vertus, although more delicate and less fleshy than the Vieille Vigne du Levant.