Taittinger Comtes de Champagne is the finest expression of the world famous wine from one of the greatest Champagne Houses. First produced in 1952, Comtes is made from 100% Chardonnay grapes from 6 Grand Cru sites in the Cité de Blancs. Showing a pristine pale yellow colour with very light, abundant bubbles which rise uniformly to form a fine mousse. The evocative bouquet opens with notes of pears and fresh cute white flowers. Left in the glass for a time, the nose develops a richness and density of pure character. Once on the palate, Comtes is lively, direct and precise with flavours of candied lemon zest and fresh pineapple. The balance is something to behold. This Champagne's marriage of finesse and aromatic intensity is a promise of further potential, but already offers very pleasurable drinking.

Fermented, aged and released in the same magnum bottle, only fruit from 7 Grand Cru vineyards is used to craft a blend of equal parts Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, which spends over 4 years ageing on lees plus 6 months post disgorgement. Further gentle ageing takes place until deemed ready for release by the Cellar Master. It displays a multitude of citrus, white and red fruits, linked by a common thread of minerality producing a mature complexity, elegance and length.

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 C + C Blanc de Blancs is blended from nine parcels across both north and south-facing hillsides in Cramant and Chouilly, including Les Robarts and Le Mont-Aigu. The oldest vines date back to 1951. The average depth of the soils of these parcels is marginally deeper than Oiry, with silty clay overlaying the chalk. In Suenen’s plots on Cramant’s eastern slope—Les Robarts, Les Basses Croix, Les Fourches du Nord, Les Vignes de Mardu—the soils measure one metre before the roots meet the chalk. In Chouilly, it’s closer to 60 cm. This extra depth, along with a good dose of southern exposure, makes for a more hedonistic wine. The blend is split between Cramant (70%) and Chouilly (30%). Although tempted to bottle each village separately, Suenen has found the two villages work even better as a blend; the textural finesse of Cramant marries perfectly to the more layered personality of Chouilly. Again, the wine aged on lees for nine months in enamelled tank (50%) and in used Burgundy oak barrels and demi-muid. It then aged for 30 months in bottle with no fining, no filtration and no cold stabilisation.

The most northern of Suenen’s Oiry parcels, La Cocluette is also home to the domaine’s oldest vines (planted in 1925), a site where the ancient roots bury deep into the dense Campanian chalk (the younger plantings from this site go into the Oiry Blanc de Blancs). Vines of this age are as rare as hens’ teeth in Champagne, and they gift tiny yields of concentrated berries. The land here is largely flat with a somewhat northern exposure. Here the base wine fermented naturally and aged for nine months in one 700-litre concrete egg and one 600-litre Stockinger barrel (the same that is used each year). It then aged sur lies for 60 months in bottle until disgorgement in July 2022, when it was dosed with 3 g/L. Suenen explains that the wines from this vineyard express themselves with great finesse. “The energy brought by this calcium-rich terroir makes the mouthfeel richer through a silky bubble. With time, the finish lengthens on a salivating mineral vibrancy.” Put another way, this is a more intense and complex expression of this region’s naked-chalk terroir than the NV Oiry

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.

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.