The 2007 Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs, which I tried last month and liked enough to do a video on my website (wine-chronicles) came across nicely coiled in as a young vintage Champagne would, but full bodied, too, displaying ripe pear finesse echoed in the finesse of the bubbles. The finish was marked by lime and wet stone, leaving me with the overall impression of a smooth and elegant white Burgundy with les bulles. For lovers of tertiary notes in the Champagne, stash this away for a few more years and it will gain in complexity.

An exceptional 2002 Dom Ruinart Rosé Champagne. I saw several of us reach for the bottle a second (or third) time, and the wine was gone fairly quickly. With reason. At once beautifully crisp and full-bodied, “like a super elegant rosé”, Ken Brown commented. The wine blends 80% Grand Cru Chardonnay, 72% from the Côte des Blancs (Avize, Cramant, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger) and 28% from the Montagne de Reims (Puisieulx, Sillery) and 20% Pinot Noir made into red wine, from the Silvery and Verzenay crus. It did 100% malolactic fermentation and has a dosage of 5.5 g/l. Superb balance that demands gastronomic foods. Easily a wine for grilled salmon, roast chicken, even veal.

Notes of hazelnut and toffee. Salted almond. This is pretty taut and lovely for its age. Indeed, the color is excellent, too. An overall impression of being svelte. Paul who brought it said that they had "a good run" in early 1990s, even if the 1993 vintage is not recognized as being that great. Indeed, both Decanter and wine critic John Gilman loved this in rather recent tastings. Rated 97 points by Decanter in a 2017 tasting, the panel noted that 1993 may be an average vintage overall for the region, but this 1993 proved a "real beauty, equal to the 1995 but in a different style." Gilman gave it 94 out of 100, when he tasted it in 2016. He described the wine as having been "fully mature for many years now, but continues to be fresh and lively on the palate, with its internal structure sound and seamless."

And then came one of the wines of the night and for me the wine of the night. Thank you David for bring the now rather legendary 1996 Salon Blanc de Blancs Le Mesnil*. So laser like, with focus but still tasting like a baby! At the same time a pleasing creaminess, like a super high end, home made French butter, finishing with zest and lift, candied red apple freshness. The finish lasted for something like a minute. As we sipped through it (it was gone also rather quickly), the finesse and depth became more evident with just a tiny suggestion of hazelnut to show its age, but really just a smidgeon. "Such precision and laser focus, but bursting with flavor," remarked Chris. Indeed.