The 2006 Rosé Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon is powerful, intense and also classically austere in its make up. Crushed flowers, mint, red berries and cranberries are all finely sketched. The 2006 finishes with striking mineral-driven precision, and while it doesn’t have the opulence or exuberance of the 2002, it is still a very pretty and appealing Champagne. The Elisabeth Salmon is 50% Pinot Noir and 50% Chardonnay, with about 8% still Pinot Noir. Dosage is 6 grams per liter.

Created in 1988 in honour of Elisabeth Salmon, this has a rose-gold hue. About 10% of the 50% Pinot Noir used in the blend is vinified as a red wine, using grapes from the low-yielding, old vine Valofroy vineyard in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ. As with the other two founder's cuvées, 5% of the blend is vinified in old oak casks and it's aged on its lees for 11 years, with partial malolactic fermentation, receiving a final dosage of 6g/l. It has quite a powerful nose of red apples, redcurrants, roses and vanilla, with a long, mineral palate of sweet citrus, ripe orchard fruit and toasted nuts. A lovely food wine.

100% grand and premier cru vineyards. Pinot Noir from Montagne de Reims and Vallée de la Marne. Chardonnay from Côte des Blancs. 50% Chardonnay, 50% Pinot Noir and 10% red wine from the Valofroy vineyard in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ. 10 years' ageing on lees. Dosage 6 g/l. Mytik Diam technological cork. Tasted blind. Pale salmon. Just off dry. Very Pinot nose and then it finishes dry. Very lively. Appetising. Lots of fruit and complexity plus delicacy. Sudden dryness on the end but this is delightfully lively. (JR)