Chamapagne Rosé is a true delight to the senses and Billecart-Salmon rightly takes its place in the top echelon. A vibrant Salmon pink colour greets the glass, with a long, smooth, delicate, elegant and refined palate to follow. Without the price tag that others of this quality demand, this is a Champagne that all must enjoy at least once.

HENRIOT L'inattendue Chardonnay Grand Cru, Champagne

With a mild, wet winter followed by a very dry spring, 2014 proved to be full of surprises and variable weather. Broad and well-structured on entry, the palate is perfectly balanced and complemented by some saline and fresh raspberry notes.

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.