(a 50/50 blend of chardonnay and pinot noir, made from grapes grown in the grand crus Cramant, Chouilly, Mesnil-sur-Oger, Verzenay and Bouzy; disgorged January, 2009): Vivid yellow-gold. Deeply scented bouquet of dried apple, nectarine, honey, orange rind, toffee and gingerbread. Broad, palate-coating orchard and pit fruit flavors are complemented by toasty lees and spice nuances and lifted by slow-building minerality. Becomes sappier and chewier with air while retaining vivacity and finishes with outstanding power and persistence, leaving spice and mineral notes behind. This Champagne is complex enough to drink now but its depth suggests that it will repay extended aging. (JR)

A lovely mix of ripe glazed apple, peach and pear fruit flavors, offering more mature oyster shell, porcini mushroom and toasted nut notes, with aromatic hints of ground spice, fresh lily and graphite. Fresh and mouthwatering throughout, with delicate texture and a long, mineral-tinged finish. (AN)

‘BP calls this a naughty boy because it was such a difficult vintage but the result is fantastic for those who had the patience to wait.’ Disgorged in January 2009 and aged for a full 25 months afterwards. Dosage a relatively high (for NPU) 6 g/l. Eleven barriques each of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, yielding 6,523 bottles. Did they think magnums would never come round? Deep gold. Smells much older than the 1999. Dried spices on the nose that developed into candied fruit. But still masses of acidity on the palate. Still so much acidity! Lots of energy. Ideally you would continue to cellar this. Or open it long before drinking. Not yet integrated. Bone-dry-tasting. Muscular -- hardly any flesh in evidence! (JR)