Vintage Champagne
100% Chardonnay from Cramant, Chouilly, and Cuis, made from older vines and a large portion of Grand Cru fruit. Absolutely fabulous!
Founded in 1890 Vilmart is still a family-run house. Grand Cellier d'Or is 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir from a single parcel in Rilly-la-Montagne – “Les Blanches Voies Bas,” over 45 years old. Like all of Vilmart's cuvees, this wine does not go through malolactic fermentation and spends ten months in 4-6 year old oak barrels. The current disgorgement spent over 50 months sur latte and was disgorged in December of 2011.
A must have in any champagne-lover’s cellar. “The 1999 Brut Blanc de Blancs is impenetrable. This is a massive, full-bodied Salon that totally saturates the palate with fruit. The 1999 comes across as big, rich and powerful." The Wine Advocate
Intense mineral-accented fruit flavors.
94 points Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar “Bright yellow-gold. Heady floral-accented citrus and orchard fruits on the nose, with smoky mineral and floral overtones adding complexity. Velvety and chewy in texture, offering deep, juicy orange and poached pear flavors and suave honey and chamomile nuances. Blends precision with power, finishing with a distinct mineral quality and excellent persistence.”
92 Points Steve Tanzer “Impressively complex scents of lemon and lime, anise, sweet butter and chalk, with a hint of marzipan in the background. Dry and incisive, offering pure citrus and orchard fruit flavors complicated by honeysuckle and mineral nuances. Finishes with excellent clarity, length and lingering chalkiness.”
97 Points Wine Advocate "The 1996 Dom Perignon Oenotheque offers up layers of pastry, lemon, smoke and toastiness. At first deceptively understated, the wine turns positively explosive and layered on the palate, showing remarkable tension, elegance and power, all wrapped around a seriously intense frame."
Non-Vintage Blanc
Krug is King!
97 points Wine Spectator “ This is all about balance and the integration of power and finesse, with finely honed acidity supporting flavors of quince paste, dried black cherry, spun honey and candied orange zest, while rich notes of roasted walnut, coffee liqueur and toasted cardamom resonate on the finish. Hard to stop sipping. Drink now through 2028.”
A cuvée dominated by Chardonnay but leavened by the elegant Pinot Noir grown in Vertus.
93 Points Robert Parker “exceptional finesse, as well as remarkable intensity and richness on the palate. The wine is vibrant, with well-defined pin-point bubbles. I have been buying Larmandier's Champagnes since importer Neal Rosenthal began to represent them. Larmandier's exquisitely made wines achieve elegance, allied with considerable definition and richness.”
The Lallier Family has been in Ay for over five generations. They are making spectacular Grand Cru Champagne at a price we can toast to!
91 Points Burghound “An expressive nose of lemon, green apple and soft baked bread nuances leads to a very rich and full-flavored mid-palate as the relatively high proportion of pinot noir is definitely evident. There is ample mousse and when coupled with the marked pinot character it combines to create a distinctive Champagne of excellent depth if not necessarily great refinement. This could easily be enjoyed now or held for another few years first.”
The Geoffroy family have been winemakers since the seventeenth century and the property has stayed in the family for almost 400 years, uninterrupted!
91 Points Steve Tanzer “43% pinot meunier, 32% pinot noir and 25% chardonnay; Aromas of fresh pear, lemongrass and lime zest, with a hint of jasmine. Juicy and penetrating, with tangy citrus and orchard fruit and flavors underscored by a note of chalky minerality. Finishes clean and racy, with lingering floral and gingery spice qualities.”
91 Points Tanzer “Light yellow-gold. A highly perfumed bouquet evokes ripe tangerine, peach, honey and white flowers, with a slow-building vanilla nuance. Pliant and expansive, offering juicy, spice-accented citrus and pit fruit flavors and a touch of buttered toast. Finishes sappy and long, with lingering floral, spice and creme brulee notes.”
Rosé Champagne
Situated in the heart of the Champagne vineyards, Canard-Duchene was founded in 1868 by barrel maker Canard and winemaker Duchene and is regarded today as one of the most prominent Grand Marques in Champagne.
91 Points Wine Spectator “With its delicate pinkish hue and magnificent pearlised ribbon, Authentic Rosé stands apart for its intense, fresh fruit aromas of strawberries and raspberries, with a subtle hint of grenadine, against a backdrop of mineral notes for enhanced freshness.”
The Lallier Family has been in Ay for over five generations. They are making spectacular Grand Cru Champagne at a price we can toast to!
92 Points Burghound “An exceptionally pretty nose offers up notes of strawberry, pear and raspberry. The supporting effervescence is soft yet voluminous and contributes to the round and seductive mouth feel of the refreshing and utterly delicious flavors. This is really very fine, indeed it possesses the most refinement of any wine in the range. In sum, this is a really lovely rosé and worth a look.”
92 points Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar “Bright orange-pink. Toasty strawberry and raspberry aromas are accented by iodine, floral oils and dusty minerals. Broad and supple in texture, with sappy red berry and blood orange flavors supported by a firm spine of minerality. Finishes spicy, silky and long, with a late rose pastille note adding an exotic twist.”
95 Points Wine Spectator “Rich and smoky, with a range of savory dried herb, tea rose and curry spice notes layered with flavors of black cherry, date, ground coffee and candied orange peel. Firm, mouthwatering acidity integrates effortlessly with the flavors and silky texture, making it hard to distinguish a soloist's highlight among the symphony's vibrant whole...95."
Large Format!
93 points Wine Spectator “Beautifully balanced and refined in texture, this displays exotic ground spice and floral accents to the flavors of poached white peach, Meyer lemon and candied ginger, with hints of pastry and honey. Offers a lasting, mouthwatering finish. Drink now through 2023.”
94+ by Robert Parker March 2014 Jade Palace dinner. “A stunning magnum of the impressive, long 2000 Pol Roger Champagne Winston Churchill. Still very young out of magnum, it was dominated by its Pinot Noir component.”
93 Points Galloni “The 2006 Brut Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs Cuvée Fleuron brings together all the best qualities of the house style. Rich, layered and expressive, yet with tons of mineral cut, the 2006 Fleuron has it all.”.
91 Points Wine Spectator “The Lanson Black Label Champagne is an elegant, berry and citrus-infused bubbly, very fresh and lively, with an intensity that carries through to the long, long finish.”
The Pol Roger family takes extreme pride in more than160 years producing some of world’s finest Champagne. Founded in 1849, Pol Roger is one of only a few Grande Marque Champagne houses that remains family owned and operated. Always consistent and charming!
