Gaston Chiquet Premier Cru Brut Tradition Champagne, France

Fresh and lively, with a leesy hint of bread dough mixing with candied berry, quince paste, lemon zest, wax and fleur de sel. Fine-grained, with a lip-smacking, juicy finish.

This is a later disgorgement (12/07) of the second cuve we shipped last year. “Our Champagnes have been sold too young,” said Nicolas, “and we wanted to start offering something more mature.” This is 78% 2004, 6% 02, 13% 01 and 3% 98, and as always 45% Meunier, 35% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir. It’s just lovely, maybe a little more rti than usual, more of the barley-cracker, quite streamlined, and drier-seeming than is typical for this cuve.