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97+ Points! The 2012 Champagne Clos de Goisses is true to character and is the most opulent and decadent expression. It is flush with a generous perfume and liqueur, with ripe apricot brûlée, toasted brioche, raspberry eau de vie, and saline. The palate is round and full, though light on its feet, with kirsch and a chalky texture. Its salinity makes up for the more modest acidity and contributes to a compelling and savory wine. - Audrey Frick, JebDunnuck.com, Nov 2022   

97 Points! The 2012 Extra-Brut Clos des Goisses is a Champagne of extraordinary elegance and finesse. Silky and aromatic, the 2012 impresses with its mid-weight, refined personality. Hints of kirsch, red plum, flowers and chamomile open gently in the glass. Clos des Goisses is often a rich, vinous Champagne, but the 2012 comes across as restrained and understated in all the right ways. Its aging potential will be measured in decades not years. Sadly, severe spring frost took with it a startling 50% of the crop. According to Charles Philipponnat Pinot fared better than Chardonnay. Ultimately, though, the Goisses blend is a typical two-thirds Pinot and one-third Chardonnay. Dosage is 4.5 grams per liter. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous

97 Points! This is a stunning new release from Fleur de Miraval. The best year. Aromas of peaches and flowers with cotton candy and citrus. Hints of cherries and other berries. It’s full-bodied with very fine bubbles and a creamy texture. It’s fluffy on the palate, like feathers floating through the air. Salted caramel and sweet pastry in the aftertaste. Some earthy, soil character, too. So complex. This has been made from a base of the 2018 vintage. 25% pinot noir and 75% chardonnay grand cru (50% is proprietary reserve blends from 2007 onwards, and 25% is from opened bottles of blanc de blancs Champagne, dating back to 1998) This is really unique. Dry at the end with 4g dosage. - JamesSuckling.com

95 Points! The 2008 Brut Blanc de Blancs, picked in the Côte des Blancs, underwent full malolactic fermentation and spent over ten years on lees. Lemon and wet chalk are distinct yet subtle on the nose, with their salty, bright, precise trail continuing onto the palate, where deeper saltiness reigns. This wine manages to be rich, smooth and sinuously slender and linear at the same time, with deep, delicious, umami-resonant savoriness. It is a wonderful wine of great elegance, with superb freshness and youthfulness. Lovely now, with nuance and even an overtone of licorice, but certain to evolve. Dosage is 3 grams per liter. - Anne Krehbiel, Vinous

97 Points! From the 5.83-hectare walled vineyard in a cooler, 'classic' vintage for Champagne, giving this a finessed and charming expression. Baked pastry and soft lemon curd notes on the nose, smells inviting and softly floral - honeysuckle, jasmine, lemon and lime rind with some peach. Juicy and so zesty straight away, bright, mouthwateing, scintillatingly fresh and lively, thrilling even, with tiny persistent bubbles that instantly froth and fill the mouth. Alive and energetic with lemon rind and juice, succulent green apples and strawberries, grapefruit and ginger bitterness with touches of salinity and graphite dotting the finish. This makes you instantly want another glass, but this has structure too and such a long finish. No malolactic fermentation. Dosage 4.5g/l. Made by Charles Philipponnat and Thierry Garnier. - Georgia Hindle, Decanter Magazine

96 Points! The 2014 Clos des Goisses, 71% Pinot Noir and 29% Chardonnay, is Extra Brut at 4.5 g/L dosage and was disgorged in March 2023. It needs a little coaxing to bring out delicate scents of wet pebbles, lime blossom, and green apples plus emerging wafts of Marcona almonds, yuzu, and baking bread. Light-bodied and very dry, the palate is super-fine and delicately crafted, with a lively backbone supporting the intense flavors, finishing long and minerally. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent

94 Points! A vibrant rosé Champagne, with firm, well-honed acidity deftly wrapped in a smooth texture and rich notes of marzipan, dried white cherry, blood orange peel and salted Marcona almond. Reveals hints of ground ginger, lemon thyme and wet chalk, with a long, lasting finish. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Drink now through 2030. - Wine Spectator

95 Points! The judges were all struck by the purity of Côte des Blancs specialist Delamotte, sister house of Salon in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. President Didier Depond believes in the ‘freshness and poise’ of Chardonnay, which here comes entirely from grand cru villages (with just 8% Pinot Noir, also from grand cru villages of the Montagne de Reims). Based on the ripe 2020 vintage, with a modest 15% reserve wines, the class of the source material shines in this exemplary bottling. Tom Hewson: Very alluring bright cherry, honey and brown butter richness. Serious, with stony minerality, dried flowers and mandarin/grapefruit. Stunning. Eugenio Egorov: Fresh redcurrants, cranberries and apples, notes of tangerine and bread crust. Rounded fruit is balanced by lively acidity, with a light mousse. Victoria Mason MW: Nutty oxidative aromas, flinty funk, creamy white peach and lemon curd. This is complex and intense, with a vibrant, pink grapefruit, tangy freshness. Persistent and elegant. - Decanter World Wine Awards

97 Points! Like a stallion out of the gate, this shows an initial explosion of power, in the form of mouthwatering flavors and fine texture, before quickly settling into an elegant gait. The racy acidity is seamlessly knit, buoying the lacy mousse and flavors of cassis, toasted brioche and tangerine, with accents of candied ginger, hazelnut and fleur de sel lingering on the long, creamy finish. Drink now through 2035. - Wine Spectator

* ETA Second week of March...

96 Points! The 2012 Brut Millésime blends 70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot Noir, with Chardonnay mainly from Montagne de Reims and a small portion from Côte des Blancs, giving it a slightly unusual yet eternally sleek Chardonnay bent. It spent a decade on the lees. Its nose is a smoky wonder, combining ripe, almost tropical fruit with a gorgeous toasty sense of grilled almonds. An overtone of candied orange peel flashes up momentarily. The palate brings wonderfully golden plum fruit, ripe yet fresh, juicy and utterly aromatic, verging on apricot and always surrounded by a toasty, warming frisson of grilled nuts, pervaded by a streak of finest freshness. This is immensely youthful, captured with brilliantly pure fruit and lasting expression that rings long in a toasty umami echo. - Anne Krebiehl MW, Vinous

96 Points! A graceful Champagne that waltzes across the palate, with a fine, plush mousse carrying a lovely range of ripe black cherry, pureed raspberry, candied ginger, Mandarin orange peel, grilled nut and pastry flavors enlivened by a vibrant spine of lemony acidity. To a certain extent, the precision and elegance belies the focus and breadth on display, so sip this slowly and enjoy as it opens in the glass and expands on the palate, echoing on the finish. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Drink now through 2040. - Wine Spectator

96 Points! A Champagne of great intensity and concentration, pure citrus oil, candied lemon and toasty exotic fruit. It's exceptionally soft and satin-like, creamy and comforting, then a stony, saline intensity draws out the finish. For the first time in the history of Rare Champagne, the house has released a vintage that is older than its previous release. This 2012 comes after the 2013 was released in 2023. Cellar master Émilien Boutillat says this is because when tasting the 2012, he and the team found a connection between this and the iconic 2002, so it deserved a little bit of extra time in the cellars before release. – Decanter

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98 Points! Originally a part of the legendary Piper-Heidsieck Champagne house, Rare is moving their Champagne Millésime to a new brand and want it to stand alone. (Think Delamotte and Salon.) The 13th vintage for this cuvée, the 2013 Champagne Millésime is a blend is 70% Chardonnay with the rest Pinot Noir, with the majority of the blend coming from the Montagne de Reims Grand Cru and Premier Cru. A bright yellow hue, its aromatics are exquisite and well-balanced, with fresh notes of key lime, candied apple, fresh croissant dough, fresh pineapple, and honeysuckle. Medium to full-bodied, it fills the palate with a rounded and supple texture and a pillowy mousse. It’s long on the palate and has a silky personality as well as a long, pristine finish. It has fantastic balance of decadence and freshness, and I could drink this all day. It’s going to have a long drinking window. Drink 2024-2044 and beyond. Disgorged December 2022. - Audrey Frick, JebDunnuck.com

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