Jancis Robinson (19)

Deep honey copper colour. Rich, creamy and full of pleasure. Rich nose yet lift on the palate. Utterly hedonistic.

Wine Advocate (100)

Disgorged in September 2020 with four grams per liter dosage, Bollinger's 2008 Blanc de Noirs Vieilles Vignes Françaises is one of the monumental wines of this great vintage. Soaring from the glass with a generous, honeyed bouquet of pear, orange rind, dried fruits, mocha and toasted bread, it's full-bodied, textural and enveloping, with huge concentration, racy acids and a pillowy mousse. Vinous, rich and sumptuous, it concludes with an immensely long, resonant finish. Bollinger waited until the grapes of these ungrafted vines attained 11% potential alcohol before harvesting, and they have produced the most powerful wine of the vintage—as well as one of the most profound.

Vinous (97)

The 2010 Vieilles Vignes Françaises dazzles from the very first impression with striking aromatic presence and utterly captivating balance. Mirabelle, sweet red cherry, jasmine and passion fruit are some of the many notes that give the 2010 its decidedly racy, exotic personality. The 2010 exudes rare energy for this vintage, which was hardly easy in the field, not to mention real pedigree. It is absolutely unforgettable. I only hope to have a chance to taste it again someday.

Wine Advocate (97)

A brilliant wine, Bollinger's 2013 Blanc de Noirs Vieilles Vignes Françaises is finer boned and more elegant than the powerhouse 2008, but it is still one of the most powerful, intensely flavored wines produced in the region. Wafting from the glass with a deep bouquet of golden orchard fruit, honeycomb, baking spices, orange oil and ripe stone fruits, it's full-bodied, broad and fleshy, with a layered core of fruit girdled by racy acids. Concentrated and vinous, it concludes with a long, saline finish.

Vinous (95)

The 2008 Extra Brut N.P.U. Nec Plus Ultra is a brilliant, taut Champagne. The combination of vintage and the extra brut style favored a Paillard that yields a young Champagne that is quite austere. It will be interesting to see if the 2008 fills out with time in bottle. Today it is piercing in its intensity. Disgorged: April, 2019.

Wine Enthusiast (98)

This is an iteration of a legendary Champagne. Perfectly balanced, still packed with white fruit but just touching nuttiness, the wine is at its peak. Celebrating one of the great Champagne vintages of this century, this wine is totally memorable and magnificent. Folio Fine Wine Partners.

Wine Spectator (96)

A textbook blanc de blancs in a relatively opulent style, with ample grilled nut, brioche and spice character alongside classic flavors of poached apricot, kumquat, oyster shell and lemon blossom. This rich profile is well-defined by racy acidity, sleek and well-cut, driving the long, lacy finish. A beauty. Drink now through 2035. Tasted twice, with consistent notes. 4,500 cases made, 185 cases imported.

Wine Enthusiast (97)

One of the great Blanc de Blancs Champagnes, this wine only hints of its age and maturity. Up front, the wine has layers of white fruits and a steely texture. It is behind those features that the brioche and almond character begins to show. This is a wonderfully balanced wine, ready to drink now.

Matthew Jukes (19.5+)

2014 Blanc des Millénaires is only the 8th vintage of this wine released since the inaugural wine in 1983. Let’s not beat around the bush – is a spectacular Champagne. To put this wine to the test, I opened my sample bottle and tasted it with four wine trade Titans. A buyer, a retailer, a journalist and an importer were all struck dumb by this wine. I told them they were not allowed to spread the word until today – which as I understand it is the release date. I set the scene for this tasting by opening a magnum of another famous Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru before pouring Blanc de Millénaires to ensure that everyone’s’ palates were in match fit condition to assess our hero wine. After the cooing and nodding abated regsarding the much-loved magnum, I popped the cork on BdM and poured one of the most colourless Champagnes I can remember. And then the magic started. After the sensual creaminess of our ‘apéritif Blanc de Blancs’ it was immediately apparent that ’14 Blanc de Millénaires was cut from very different cloth. This is a raspingly refreshing wine. It is so precision-cut you might want to wear gloves. There is no doubt this unnervingly keen creation is not one for beginners. And if you feel a tear fighting to set free from a loose duct, just let it go. This wine is all about emotion and you must be leaden-hearted for it not to move you profoundly with its laser-sighted flavours and extraordinary tension. Flavour-wise it is incredible how so much direction and decisiveness can emerge from such a seemingly demure wine. Approaching its tenth birthday, and with eight of these years spent on its lees, it seems like this wine has been chiselled out of a gleamingly white chalk sarcophagus as it sits naked in the glass, and there is so much potential here it takes the breath away. My intrepid group could not summon the energy to scratch our collective heads. There was just a collegiate sense of disbelief and then, a couple of minutes later, an exhalation of exultation – a synchronous moan of pure joy that somehow kicked us all back into the moment, granting us permission to acknowledge what had just happened. Given the experience around the table, we were of one voice – this is a landmark vintage for Heidsieck’s incredible Chardonnay and while it is straight-jacketed, brutally honest, and epically long, there are just enough white florals, tender sablé tones and dramatic citrus zestiness, to signal that this wine will be nothing short of era-defining given time.

Andreas Larsson (96)

Bright light golden colour with fine and lively bubbles. Nice purity on the nose, chalky and flinty with ripe but fresh yellow fruit like peach, passion fruit, lemongrass, fresh butter, brioche and floral notes. The palate shows a nice bite and precision, lovely freshness, fine extract, rounded creaminess with layers of succulent stone fruit, crushed nuts and pastry notes. Very long and lingering finish, still in a youthful stage but great potential here.

Essi Avallen MW (94-97)

Charles Heidsieck’s racy 2013 vintage is a blend of ten Grands and Premiers Crus: Oger, Vertus, Chouilly, Cuis, Verzy, Aÿ, Ludes, Ambonnay, Tauxières and Avenay-Val d’Or. Usually appreciated for the richness and toast-enriched complexity of its Vintage cuvées, Charles Heidsieck 2013 plays on totally different assets, cool refinement and silky linearity. Despite excellent ripeness of the grapes, the October harvest brought about a tight acid line and fine aromatic restraint to it. Toastiness is subtle for the time being, but remarkably elegant, perfectly lining the sweet orchard fruit profile. Its best quality is the prism like radiance and purity of fruit. Showing highly youthful, this wine promises to be slowly but gracefully ageing. Suitably dosed at 9g/l.

James Suckling (98)

An amazing 2008 rosé Champagne that has all the structure and aromatic complexity - sushi ginger, oolong tea and caramelized mandarin orange - we associate with this vintage, but also has more charm than most. On the palate, this has stunning concentration, yet is diamond bright. The interplay of creaminess, fine tannins and mineral acidity builds and builds at the breathtaking finish. The color comes from about 7% pinot noir red wine, partly from the little-known Les Riceys in the far south of Champagne. Drink or hold.

Decanter (97)

Best In Show In contrast to our Best in Show Vintage Champagne, this non-vintage Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs is clearly a youthful wine – but one with impressive potential. Pale and fine-beaded, its taut, mouth-watering scents of ivy leaf, plant sap, green apple and green grape contrive to suggest both exceptional vineyard origins but also a relatively low dosage. On the palate, the wine is pure, deep, vinous and driving, with fine-bladed intensity. Pristine, structural acidity carries it towards a high-focus, faintly saline finish, once again suggesting soil, stone and fruit rather than yeast and a concluding liqueur. Yes, it’s young, but you could age this pure, refined Blanc de Blancs for up to a decade (if you have cool cellaring conditions) to great benefit.

L'Aphrodisiaque 2016 is a marriage of 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir vinified entirely in older oak barrels of at least 15 vintages.

L'Apotre Blanc de Blancs 2014 which is certainly the star of his cellar, is a single-vineyard Blanc de Blancs (100% Chardonnay) from old vines planted by his grandfather in 1946. The wine is vinified in oak barrel which lend this Champagne a powerful vinous character.

James Suckling (94)

Complex aromas of quince, dried mango, honey, toasted almond and gingerbread. It’s full-bodied and vinous with creamy, soft bubbles and bright acidity. Toasty and layered. Long, dense and flavorful. Delicious now.

Matured within the esteemed Maison De Venoge's centuries-old wine cellars in the heart of Champagne, France, comes the exquisite De Venoge Cordon Bleu Brut 2002. As a highly respected blend of 50% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Noir, and 25% Pinot Meunier grapes, it showcases the superior craftsmanship of De Venoge's winemakers. Each grape is meticulously selected from Premier and Grand Cru vineyards within the Montagne de Reims and Côtes de Blancs regions, thus guaranteeing exceptional quality.

The De Venoge Cordon Bleu Brut 2002 unveils an aromatic symphony of honeyed apricot and brioche, harmonized with a sublime buttery character. The palette is further tantalised with nuances of fresh almonds and pear, elevating the complexity of this divine vintage. A captivating cascade of finely tuned bubbles and luminous golden hues, it elegantly embodies the timeless sophistication of De Venoge's Champagne legacy.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (94)

The NV Extra Brut Oeil de Perdrix is fabulous. Deceptive in its mid-weight structure, this impresses with its persistence, cut and overall complexity. There's so much to discover in this striking, layered Rosé. Mint, white paper, chalk and jasmine linger on the articulate, vibrant finish. The Dehours Oeil de Perdrix is 84% Meunier and 16% Chardonnay, based on the 2022 vintage. Dosage is 1.1 grams per liter. Disgorged: December 2024.

Wine Advocate (94)

Disgorged in early 2024 without dosage yet carrying three grams of residual sugar, the 2008 Blanc de Blancs Collection unfurls in the glass with a deep bouquet of lemon oil, Granny Smith apple and smoke, mingled with iodine, roasted cacao bean and burnt buttered toast. On the palate, it is medium- to full-bodied and concentrated, textural yet incisive, with impressive depth at its tightly knit core, underpinned by a bright spine of acidity and culminating in a long, chalky finish. Already highly pleasurable, it nevertheless possesses the structure to withstand the test of time. The cuvée incorporates fruit sourced from the six grand cru villages of the Côte des Blancs.

The Wine Independent (94+)

Delamotte Blanc de Blancs 2014 is an assemblage of six Grand Cru terroir that was disgorged October 2022 and finished with a seven gram per liter dosage. Light burnished gold with a pinpoint, vibrant bead, the 2014 flaunts alluring aromas of lemon confit, poached yellow apple, white flowers, and brioche with hints of white pepper. Medium-bodied with a textured, open-knit palate of plush orchard fruit and racy acid vibrancy, it has a long, mineral finish.

Wine Advocate (95)

The citrus-colored 2008 Amour de Deutz Brut Millésime is still yeasty on the nose, but very clear and elegant on the palate. This is a super pure and mineral, well-balanced Millésime with a long, intense and persistent finish. This is full of tension and finesse. A great wine.

Wine Advocate (95)

Harvested in October, the 2013 Amour de Deutz—disgorged in September 2022 with a dosage of seven grams per liter—has evolved beautifully with additional post-disgorgement maturation. Based heavily on the Côte des Blancs fruit, it offers a profound bouquet of candied lemon, peach, pear, roasted pineapple and gooseberry layered with roasted cacao bean and smoky accents that underscore its subtly reductive signature. These olfactory impressions transition seamlessly onto the medium- to full-bodied palate, which is unusually generous in context of the vintage: fleshy, multidimensional and with a sweet fruit core enlivened with pinpoint mousse. This Blanc de Blancs culminates in a lingering, toasty finish, rendering it irresistibly approachable even at this early stage.

Vinous (98)

I remember the first time I tasted the 2002 Dom Pérignon with then-Chef de Caves Richard Geoffroy at Hautvillers. It was the upcoming release at the time. As was his custom, Geoffroy served the 2002 in a flight that included a number of previous releases. The bouquet was immediately stunning for its audacity. I had never tasted anything like it. Two thousand-two was a year marked by extreme ripeness in the Chardonnays, and that opulence has always been a big part of the wine’s profile. Today, what strikes me most about the 2002 is its timelessness. That youthful opulence remains, yet the 2002 is still vibrant, almost shocking in its freshness. Apricot, ripe peach, tangerine oil, butter and dried flowers all build towards a captivating crescendo of aromas and flavors that saturates the finish. Readers can look forward to another two decades of exceptional drinking.