A bright straw/yellow hue, the 2017 Champagne Grand Cru Blanc De Blancs Mineral Extra Brut is entirely Chardonnay and is initially forward in the glass with aromatic notes of yeasty, fresh bread dough, delicate toast, dark wet stones, yellow flowers, pineapple, and pear. Medium-bodied, it offers a lively mousse, with an expansive feel that takes on some warmth, and a lovely salty, mineral touch that adds a fantastic spice to the relatively broad structure of this cuvée in this warmer vintage. As it opens in the glass, it takes on a good deal of focus and shines with notes of lemon confit all the way through. The wine’s powerful backbone and structure suggest this can age slowly over the coming 10-15 years. Disgorged May 2023.

The 2017 Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Minéral has turned out nicely, exhibiting notes of orange zest, Meyer lemon, white flowers and hazelnuts, followed by a medium to full-bodied, satiny and seamless palate that's layered, vinous and elegantly mineral, exhibiting a charming profile that will make this vintage approachable young.

See score and full tasting note at champagneclub.com.

100% Chardonnay from grand cru Avize. Dosage 3 g/l, disgorged May 2023. Peaches and cream and honeysuckle – a swirl of sweetness and charm and then creamy resplendence of fruit. Iridescent in the mouth thanks to long seams of glittering, lime-lit acidity. Really vibrant even as it tightens on the end with heart-fluttering briskness. (TC)