(2019) With 40% of reserve wines in the blend, from harvests up to 15 years old, this is always one of the most complex of the Grande Marque Brut NVs. The wine is also unusual in that the 60% of the base vintage is made from one-third each of the three main Champagne grapes. It has a sumptuous nose, creamy, toasty, with fig and hazelnut, a hint of ripe peach then onto the palate where that toastiness is alluring, but the sweet nectarine of the fruit fills the mid-palate before excellent, shimmering acidity gives great accuracy to the finish.
(2019) When I tasted this wine early in 2018, I noted: "an austere reticence that is quite uncommon for a 2005”. One year on, the wine is beginning to build some fruit. Stylistic somewhere between 2004 and 2006. Medium weight, with a bouquet of crunchy red fruits, that picks up some tangerine zest on the back of the palate. This has good potential, although one to bury at the back of the cellar to allow the fruit to build. I wouldn’t broach the first one until 2022, should hold nicely for a decade beyond that. (SP)
(2019) The 2004 vintage has all the precision one looks for in the best vintages. Several years since disgorgement and still so light, primary and fresh. Supremely understated, yet there is so much complexity underneath the pretty, flowery veneer: cranberries, grapefruit, and a delicate note of raspberry. All of this is nicely braced by firm acidity. A classic Dom Pérignon that will age gracefully, slowly building in weight. Drink from 2021 until 2036. (SP)
