The 2013 Brut Blanc de Blancs Cuvée Spéciale Les Chétillons is almost painfully tightly wound today, but what rewards it will offer for the patient! Unfurling in the glass with scents of citrus oil, toasted almonds, buttery pastry, freshly baked bread and crisp yellow apple, it's full-bodied, layered and incisive, with superb concentration and a taut, chiseled profile. Long and penetrating, it concludes with an intensely saline finish. This 2013 vintage, the region's last October harvest, increasingly seems like a vintage that harks back to a past era, and any readers who appreciate classically balanced Champagnes that blossom after two decades' bottle age will want to consider laying down some of this beautiful Les Chétillons. (WK) 96+

A harmonious Champagne that dances across the palate, with a fine, lacy mousse carrying a delicate mesh of Gala apple, yellow plum, tangerine and anise flavors. Sleek and mouthwatering, with a chalky underpinning and hints of blanched almond and biscuit on the creamy finish. (AN)