The 2008 Blanc de Blancs offers a very subtle and substantial, multi-layered bouquet of wet chalk, hazelnuts, stewed apples, lemons, toast, jasmine. Full-bodied and vibrant, this is a highly elegant, very mineral, pure, fresh, firm, tense and persistent Champagne of great complexity. It is still very young but has a great aging potential.

Roederer's 2008 Brut Blanc de Blancs is a powerhouse. There is a level of richness and overall intensity that almost suggests the presence of red grapes. Almonds, brioche, cooked apples and green pears meld together in an unusually deep, pliant Blanc de Blancs. All of that intensity carries through to a decidedly phenolic, layered finish supported by veins of insistent salinity. Weightless, tense and pulsating from start to finish, the Blanc de Blancs is a real head-turner in 2008.

Light nose and gentle froth. Lots of green notes. Not really mellow enough to enjoy. But neat texture and balance. (JR)