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.

In 2024, five years after the debut of their collaboration with Champagne Thiénot, Penfolds released the inaugural vintage of their very own Champagne Cuvee Brut. The new cuvee—45% pinot noir, 35% pinot meunier, 20% chardonnay—is a wonderfully fresh aperitif that balances lily, camomile, yuzu and orange blossom with roasted nuts, vanilla and custard apple. Peter Gago describes it as ‘Friendly – a style that doesn’t confront, it embraces. Emotive, not cerebral.’ The inaugural release, disgorged March 2024, is made up of pinot noir from Aube (Fontette) and Saint Thierry (Merfy), pinot meunier from Vallée de Marne (Vandière/Verneuil) and chardonnay from Nogent. Penfolds’ early decision to look beyond Magill Estate—seek the best fruit for a given style, irrespective of borders—led them to become the greatest name in Australian wine, and paved the way for Penfolds Champagne Cuvee Brut.

Louis Roederer Brut Nature Deluxe Rosé 2015 exemplifies innovative craftsmanship and terroir expression in Champagne. This cuvée is crafted from Premier Cru fruit in Cumières, blending 50% Pinot Noir, 37% Chardonnay and 13% Meunier, and stands out as a collaboration with designer Philippe Starck. A portion of the ripest Pinot Noir is cold-infused and blended with the Brut Nature base, then co-fermented for complexity. The wine is bottle-aged for six years on lees and finished with zero dosage, resulting in extraordinary purity and depth.

Its superb maturity tantalizes all the senses with a deep pink robe highlighted with glints of copper, an extremely delicate persistent effervescence, a nose of crushed strawberries, lime and liquorice underlined by a hint of roast coffee and cacao. The palate is entranced by a variation of gourmet sensations. The fresh, precise and taut attack gives way to reveal a supple, molten and heady structure. The finish imparts fruity notes underscored by a saline freshness. With the purity of its precise, gourmet aromatic structure, the Comtes de Champagne Rosé is perfectly in line with its predecessors and promises to offer excellent ageing potential.