Pale straw color. Nose gives baguette, shortbread cookie, honey and a touch of spiced apple cider. Fine bubbles lead to a palate of baked brie, dried apricot, clove and allspice. This would be a lovely pairing with a cheese board, the aforementioned baked brie, lobster roll and saffron pasta with sea urchin.

The 2006 Fallet Dart Clos du Mont Brut Champagne is big in every way. It is barrel fermented in French oak, from a single vintage (2006), a single vineyard ("Les Hauts des Clos du Mont"), and has spent a mind boggling 15 years on the lees. That's more than most prestige cuvees from the greatest and oldest houses in champagne. This is a beast in all the best possible ways! Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, ripe and developed with vanilla cream, toasted baguette, gingerbread, peach, pear, hazelnut, almonds, Meyer lemon, lime, dried fruit, apple, and aged barrel notes like butter, honey, and caramel.

This wine shows the depth and complexity that only comes from exceptional fruit and long aging. The seventeen years it spent on its lees before disgorgement are the true star. The nose offers fresh-baked bread and spiced baked apples. The palate is a delightful surprise with every sip. It bursts with lively citrus, crisp apple, and chalky minerality. I found myself wondering how this is only eighty dollars. I don’t know—but don’t question it, just buy and enjoy it.