Dom Pérignon is the most famous Champagne in the world, and for good reason. The bouquet sparkles with delicate fresh violets in a setting of white peaches. The soft delicate flavours continue while the senses are tickled by the most delicate of fine bubbles. Though this is such a fine delicate wine, the complexity is astounding, along with its length. Stunning.

COESSENS LARGILLIER Vendange Entiere, Coteaux Champenois

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.

Disgorged November 2022. Les Longues Voyes translates as ‘the long way’, referring not only to the 25 kilometres that you need to travel from the Laherte estate to arrive at the vineyard but also to the wine’s extended aging: 18 months in barrel and a further 18-20 months in bottle. The fruit is sourced from a single hectare of biodynamic vines in Chamery, Montagne de Reims, owned by a good friend of Aurélien Laherte’s. The 35-year-old vines are rooted in clay and silt over a limestone base. The wine was made from a single four-tonne press of grapes, which fermented naturally and matured in old Clos des Epeneaux and Leroux barrels. There was no malolactic conversion, and the dosage was 4 g/L. So, the estate now has two vintage Blanc de Noirs released at the same time: Les Vignes d’Autrefois from Meunier and Les Longues Voyes from Pinot Noir. The first comes from a chalky subsoil and the second from limestone, and it is fascinating to compare the different structures that result. Fans of Pinot Noir on limestone should move to the front of the queue.