Champagne
Champagne, the epitome of elegance and celebration, is widely regarded as the pinnacle of sparkling wines. As one of the most prestigious wine regions in the world, Champagne has captured the hearts of wine enthusiasts and connoisseurs with its exceptional quality, refined craftsmanship, and iconic vineyards.
Historically, Champagne has been dominated by some world-acclaimed Champagne House, which source grapes and harvest from Champagne growers. These famous Grandes Marques include Louis Roederer (Cristal), Dom Pérignon, Krug, Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, and Bollinger, all of them are revered for their notable names that display unrivalled winemaking prestige and pedigree.
In the recent decade, the emerging Grower Champagne trend in Champagne is shaking up the industry by challenging the dominance of the big Champagne houses. These small-scale producers, also known as "Récoltant-Manipulant" or RM, grow their own grapes and produce their own Champagne, showcasing the unique terroir and character of their vineyards. Jacques Selosse, Ulysse Collin, and Champagne Vilmart & Cie are among the most prominent names in this trend, producing some truly artisanal and terroir-driven Champagnes.
Champagne is primarily made from three main grape varieties: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. These grapes are carefully selected and blended to create a harmonious and complex flavour profile. Chardonnay contributes elegance, freshness, and finesse, while Pinot Noir adds structure, depth, and fruitiness. Pinot Meunier brings a touch of roundness and vibrancy to the blend.
The region of Champagne is divided into several distinct sub-regions, including Montagne de Reims, Côte des Blancs, and Vallée de la Marne. Each sub-region has its unique terroir, characterized by variations in soil composition and microclimates, which influence the style and character of the wines produced.
Champagne offers various styles, from non-vintage blends to vintage cuvées and prestigious prestige cuvées. While Non-vintage Champagnes typically epitomise the house style, the vintage Champagnes are made from grapes harvested in one particular year (top vintages such as 1996, 2002, 2008 etc), in which these wines showcase the unique characteristics of the specific vintage.
The prestige cuvées, often the flagship wines of the renowned Champagne houses, are the pinnacle of excellence. These exceptional Champagnes are created using the finest grapes, the most meticulous winemaking techniques and often benefit from extended ageing to achieve unparalleled complexity and finesse.
Champagne is synonymous with celebration, elegance, and luxury. Its effervescent charm and timeless appeal have made it the drink of choice for countless special occasions and memorable moments. With its rich history, iconic vineyards, and unrivalled quality, Champagne continues to captivate wine enthusiasts and connoisseurs alike.
Champagne
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Vinous - Antonio Galloni (98)
The 2012 Cristal is the first made entirely from biodynamically farmed vineyards. Passionfruit, mango, spice and ginger open first, but it is the wine’s textural richness and volume that stand out most. The 2012 is one of the most opulent, flamboyant recent Cristals. Those qualities feel especially amplified in this tasting, perhaps because of the presence of wines from the surrounding vintages. It was a complicated season, as mildew reduced yields significantly, resulting in an especially rich Cristal that seems to be gaining intensity with time in bottle. Dosage is 7 grams per liter. Disgorged: 2020.保税价格￥ 6,770.00 -
Wine Enthusiast (96)
A beautifully balanced wine that exudes elegance as well as richness. It is drier than previous vintages of Cristal Rosé, yielding a bright, crisp and layered wine. Red fruits are married with orange zest and tight acidity. It can be drunk now, but it is a young wine and will certainly age well through 2022.保税价格￥ 9,625.00 -
Vinous (97)
The 2007 Cristal Rosé opens with the most captivating, extraordinary bouquet imaginable. Sweet, exquisite and beautifully layered in the glass, the 2007 is intense yet weightless, with extraordinary overall balance and remarkable finesse. Today, the 2007 Cristal Rosé is a wine of pure seduction. There is little doubt the 2007 is a great Cristal Rosé in the making. This is the first vintage in which all of the fruit was farmed according to biodynamic principles. According to winemaker Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon, biodynamic farming has brought increased aromatic presence in the fruit and also given the Pinot a bit more intensity than normal, so much so that in 2007 the blend is 55% Pinot Noir and 45% Chardonnay as opposed to the 60/40 split that has been more typical over the years. In 2007, the fruit was picked in August, which is also unusual, but bud break got off to an early start, so the growing season turned out to be longer than the classic 100-day period that is typical from bud-break to harvest. All of that means the 2007 Cristal Rosé is a much more classic-feeling wine that one might have expected.保税价格￥ 9,720.00 -
Vinous (97)
A wine of sublime delicacy and finesse, the 2009 Cristal Rosé is simply magnificent. The 2009 is surprisingly refined, silky and nuanced for a wine from a warm vintage. The red and floral-infused overtones are quite attractive, but it is the wine's exceptional balance that places it among the best new releases of the year. Over the years, I have had the chance to taste many vintages of Cristal Rosé, a Champagne that needs bottle age to be at its very best. I suspect that will be the case here as well. Don't miss it.保税价格￥ 10,985.00 -
Jeb Dunnuck (99)
Just about as good as it gets, the 2012 Cristal Rosé is a magical effort based on 56% Pinot Noir and 44% Chardonnay. It’s a powerful, medium to full-bodied, incredibly textured rosé offering a huge amount of salty, chalky minerality as well as awesome notes of white cherries, orange blossom, caramelized apples, and toasted bread. It shows the ripe, rounded richness of the 2012 vintage yet has bright, racy acidity, perfect balance, and a great, great finish. It opens up nicely with air and will ideally be given 2-4 years of bottle age, and it should evolve for 2-3 decades.保税价格￥ 7,780.00 -
Vinous (99)
Tasted from magnum, the 2013 Cristal Rosé is ravishing. Dense, creamy and powerful, the 2013 captures all the qualities of the vintage, specifically the interplay of rich fruit from the warm summer and cooler inflections from a year that started late and ended late with a rare October harvest. Today, the 2013 is deep and beautifully seamless, but it is also young – far too young to be at its best. Dosage is 6.5 grams per liter, a bit less than for the standard bottlings, a decision taken to balance longer aging on the lees and a bit more residual sugar that is always left in the magnums after fermentation. Readers who can find the 2013 in magnum will experience one of the greatest thrills in wine.保税价格￥ 10,615.00 -
James Suckling (99)
Intense nose of preserved lemons, salted yellow plums, walnuts, toast, salted caramel, roasted chestnuts and dried pineapple. Beautiful and complex, from 15 years, 5 years en pointe, before disgorgement in 2018. Delicious, salty toffee character. Soft, silky bubbles. Long and powerful. Thought-provoking. Unique. Will be launched in September 2022. Drink on release or hold.保税价格￥ 17,150.00 -
James Suckling (98)
The nose has such beautiful, autolysis character with brown-mushroom and toasted-almond aromas. The nose has still-fresh lemons and oyster shell, with . Very smooth, pastry-like texture on the palate with even layers and a core of fresh lemons and peaches. The striking thing here is the balance and melted-together complexity. In a very great place. This spent seven years sur latte, seven sur pointe and was disgorged in 2014. Drink now.保税价格￥ 19,445.00 -
James Suckling (99)
An extraordinary champagne experience that you’ll never forget! Tons of white chocolate on the savory nose pulls you into this concentrated and chalky champagne with rich candied citrus and mirabelle fruit. So much oily umami complexity right through the huge breathtakingly vivid finish. Just 10% of each vintage of Cristal gets the extra years of aging for release as Vinotheque. Tasted at the Cristal vertical tasting at the champagne house on July 6th, 2023. Drink or hold.保税价格￥ 17,000.00 -
保税价格￥ 35,135.00 -
James Suckling (100)
The best way I can covey what it feels like to experience this truly extraordinary rosé champagne is to say that it tastes like a mature vintage Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru - a red Burgundy! - with very fine bubbles and an acidity that gives it a weightless delicacy, it’s impossible to resist. After a bit of aeration there’s also a note of teriyaki sauce which makes this even more special. Tasted from Jeroboam at the Cristal vertical tasting at the champagne house on July 6th, 2023. Drink or hold.保税价格￥ 30,265.00 -
James Suckling (98)
This now has such a concentrated nose of toffee, roasted hazelnut, butterscotch, nutmeg, cocoa, spice box, dried fruit, dried apricot and marmalade on toast. Rich and intense, with a mellow and creamy palate. Soft bubbles. Immediate pleasure. Drink now.保税价格￥ 4,515.00 -
Decanter (98)
A most subtle hint of toastiness is expressed as grilled hazelnut on the rather shy nose. Later on, a hint of crushed lemon balm adds to the citric aroma. The palate has a vivid mousse that carries very bright, vibrant lemon notes to the nose, backed and supported by a chalky depth. That line of acidity is luminous, scented, pure, lasting and rather linear, but it is balanced by notions of riper fruit, ripe Mirabelle plum, even apricot. There is something saline, long, absolutely citrus-focused here; exquisite. There is just so much fruit, which is always framed by citrus. Exquisitely long. Tasted from magnum.保税价格￥ 4,515.00 -
Decanter (99)
Just hints of smoky lemon play on the nose before a touch of grilled cashew appears, seemingly propelled by lifting scents of smoky lemon zest. Incredibly scented. The palate adds a completely new dimension of flavour with an expressive note of lemon peel that is as salty as it is ripe. A profound note of chalk seems to pull you into the coolest of depths. The mousse still sparkles with lemony brightness, and the legendary 1996 acidity is electric, luminous, incandescent. This is incisive, deliciously uncompromising, wonderfully complex, utterly concentrated yet twirling weightlessly on tiptoe like a prima ballerina. You cannot help but want more of that endless, mouthwatering length. Incredibly youthful and endless. Tasted from magnum.保税价格￥ 4,515.00 -
Decanter (97)
A touch of Mirabelle plum is framed by strident lemon on the nose. Smoky echoes seem to appear with more air, alongside freshly picked chestnut mushrooms. Later on, there is a real note of honey. The palate is bundled in its lemon expression: pure, heightened, linear, alive with lemon zest, almost like freshly squeezed Amalfi lemon juice tempering ripe Mirabelle plums. Yet there are shadows of grilled nuts, of deep chalk, of subtle smokiness - the bubbles still burst, carrying all these flavours. The finish presents a lovely note of peppery rye crumb. A very complex and compelling wine. You want to go back because every time you do, new things happen. Wow. Tasted from magnum.保税价格￥ 4,465.00 -
Decanter (97)
The merest touch of caramel pops up on the nose – or is it a tone of apple with a touch of maple syrup? Later on, lovely smokiness sets a reductive accent. The palate has a very textural presence, a very lively mousse, almost urgent and certainly vivid. That textural element is also expressed in flavours of wet chalk, countering bright lemon and being complemented by rounded ripeness of fruit. The lemony length is endless, mouthwatering, with an edge that is reminiscent of apricot or Mirabelle plum skin, underlining the mouthfeel before that lemon zestiness takes over again on the long finish. Tasted from magnum.保税价格￥ 4,465.00 -
Unleashing an unrivalled expression of Champagne's terroir, the Marie Noelle Ledru Brut Grand Cru Millesime 2006 is a revelation. Masterfully crafted by seasoned viticulturist, Marie Noelle Ledru, its composition is 100% Pinot Noir harvested from the prestigious Grand Cru village of Ambonnay. Hand-picked in the eponymous year 2006, every step from vine to bottle is veered by Ledru's careful and passionate hands.
This wine showcases the quintessence of a single, exceptional vintage, yielding exuberant aromas of ripe fruit, honeyed almonds, and subtle spice. The palate dazzles with precise minerality, suave complexity, and exceptional length, interlaced with delicate bubbles. Respectful renditions of organic viticulture principles are evident in every sip.
As a poignant homage to Champagne's unique character and tradition, the Marie Noelle Ledru Brut Grand Cru Millesime 2006 is an exquisite find for the discerning palate. Invest in a bottle, and savour the vintage magic in your glass.
保税价格￥ 11,795.00 -
保税价格￥ 4,930.00 -
Vinous (93)
The 2011 Extra-Brut Clos des Goisses is bright and perfumed, with lovely Chardonnay energy driving the citrus, floral and savory notes. In 2011, Clos des Goisses is a touch lithe, but its balance is simply impeccable. Given the challenges of the year, I would not push my luck on aging. If there is one wine I would be willing to bet on, at least for the medium term, it is Clos des Goisses. Dosage is 4.5 liters per gram.保税价格￥ 4,015.00 -
Wine Enthusiast (99)
The new release of this Champagne is impressively stylish. It comes from a vertiginous vineyard facing north across the Marne river, the soil producing a wine with intense minerality and texture that demands time to soften. So, the blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay is set for further aging. Ideally, wait for this magnificent wine until 2025.保税价格￥ 5,110.00 -
Vinous (97)
The 2002 Brut Cuvée Spéciale Les Chétillons, the original release and aged on crown seal, is tremendous. Wow. Ample, sweeping and dramatic, the 2002 is utterly captivating. Smoke, graphite, ash, apricot jam and pastry are some of the many nuances that come alive in the glass, with a top note of reduction that is very appealing. On this day, the regular release is just a touch ahead of the Oenothèque. It’s hard to say exactly why that is, but I suspect that the post-disgorgement time is optimal. This is the finest bottle of the 2002 I have ever tasted. Disgorged July 2010.保税价格￥ 15,570.00 -
Wine Spectator (98)
A beautifully bright and expressive Champagne, with precision and vivid acidity throughout; roasted coffee bean and graphite notes lead to a rich palate of toasted brioche, crystallized honey, bergamot and crème de cassis. Exotic ground spice details of cardamom, ginger and anise show on the finish. Tasted from magnum. Drink now through 2030.保税价格￥ 5,920.00 -
Sample the exquisite R. Pouillon & Fils Chemin du Bois Methode Fabrice Pouillon 2016, a distinct product of the celebrated Champagne house founded by Roger Pouillon in 1947. The maestro of his craft, Fabrice Pouillon, adheres to biodynamic principles in crafting this fine vintage from grand crus vineyards in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, Avenay, Val d’Or, and Festigny. This exceptional wine embodies an artful blend of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, and Chardonnay conceived in old wooden barrels, enabling a heavenly mineral complexity in each bottle. The unique Methode Pouillon lends an intriguingly oxidative style, resulting in an immersive, multi-layered flavour profile that glimpses dried fruits, toasted almond, and a hint of honey. A wine which encapsulates the spirit and expertise of the Pouillon lineage, R. Pouillon & Fils Chemin du Bois Methode Fabrice Pouillon 2016 is an assured choice for the discerning wine enthusiast.
保税价格￥ 5,830.00 -
Savor the effervescent elegance of R. Pouillon & Fils Les Blanchiens Premier Cru 2016, a testament to French winemaking artistry. Exclusively grown in the iconic Premier Cru vineyards of Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, the grapes are given a tender touch as they are hand-harvested. The producer, R. Pouillon & Fils, renowned for their century-long legacy and commitment to sustainability, painstakingly ages this Brut Nature on lees for three years, enhancing the depth and fullness of its expression.
A lovely blend of 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay, its distinct character presents a rich sensorial journey with nuanced hints of apple, pear, and yeasty brioche, graced with a crisp, lively finish. R. Pouillon & Fils Les Blanchiens Premier Cru 2016’s savoir-faire and earth-conscious cultivation celebrate the enduring essence of Champagne's terroir, capturing an exquisite vinous harmony in every bottle. Savour its vivacious charm—a radiant accompaniment to life’s memorable moments.
保税价格￥ 4,385.00 -
Vinous (97+)
The 2007 Dom Ruinart is the first vintage made entirely by Chef de Caves Frédéric Panaïotis, which shows just how long the production cycle is in Champagne. A striking, tightly-coiled wine, the 2007 Dom Ruinart will leave readers week at the knees. In this vintage, Panaïotis took Dom Ruinart, which has traditionally relied on a relatively high percentage of Chardonnay from the Montagne de Reims and tilted the balance to 75% Côtes des Blancs and 25% Montagne de Reims fruit. As a result, the 2007 is much more chiseled and steely than is the norm. The citrus, slate, crushed rock, white pepper, mint and floral notes really sizzle in this powerful, dramatically rich Champagne, with bright saline notes that add freshness and vivacity to the striking finish. The 2007 is a stunning Champagne by any measure. Although it is very early, the 2007 has the potential to go down as one of the great Dom Ruinarts. It is every bit that special. Dosage is under 5 grams per liter, a pretty striking change from the 2006, which was closer to 10. Readers who can grab the 2007 won’t want to miss it.保税价格￥ 5,565.00 -
James Suckling (98)
This vintage is dense and reminds me of white truffles. Plus, there are bread dough and ripe fruit undertones. It's full-bodied, rich and layered. Fabulous. Seems to grow in density with air. At its peak now.保税价格￥ 42,415.00 -
Wine Advocate (95)
The Salon 1999 Brut Le Mesnil – disgorged already in 2011 and dosed with a pretty typical six grams of residual sugar – displays faintly fusil and quarry dust notes as well as hickory nut, almond, walnut and toasted wheat piquancy on the nose. Polished and subtly creamy in texture yet brightly juicy with apple and lemon, this displays an uncanny sense of lift and refinement, perfectly complementing the honeysuckle and heliotrope perfume that waft inner-mouth. You could lose yourself in the ineffability of this wine’s floral diversity and in its resonantly nut and grain low tones. Hints of apple pip lend subtle additional piquancy on a long and at once soothing as well as stimulating finish, with suggestions of oyster liquor becoming prominent as the bottle stands open for a few minutes, and serving to milk the salivary glands for all that they are worth. Follow this for at least a decade.保税价格￥ 19,170.00 -
Decanter (100)
An almost ideal growing season with no periods of extreme weather, ending with a cool but sunny September. Harvest began on 16 September. The very classy nose has a mineral-infused character underlying its spicy, floral scents. This Salon has the power to be long-lived and the freshness and vivacity to be already enjoyable, but also to be an ideal companion for a gastronomic meal. Perfection.保税价格￥ 22,380.00 -
Wine Enthusiast (100)
This new release from a great vintage for Chardonnay in Champagne is a perfect blanc de blancs, showing a wealth of intensity from the crisp, chalky, mineral tones to the perfumed apple notes. The aromas hint at developing toastiness that adds depth and complexity. The wine is still young and it will age for years. Drink from 2020.保税价格￥ 21,825.00 -
Wine Enthusiast (99)
This legendary Champagne, only produced in exceptional years, comes from the village of Le Mesnil in the Côte des Blancs. It is made from 100% Chardonnay and aged for many years before release. Its minerality, concentration and beautiful fruit are still astonishingly young and deserve further aging. Drink from 2020.保税价格￥ 29,575.00
