Stunning wine. Super precise, a faint herbal/green verdant character in the nose amidst bright green apple and pear fruit, chalky and stony mineral notes, and more savoury doughy and yeasty flavours that develop with air. Power matched with tremendous focus and acidity on the palate, and incredible length. Wow.

Liked this a lot, but it was outclassed by the Taittinger CDC. It's a bigger, rounder wine than the Comtes - the doughy and yeasty flavours are more prominent here, though there's again a faint herbal/green apple skin aspect to the nose. The fruit again comes across with a remarkable sense of freshness on the palate, and there's a vein of stony mineral flavours beneath. Really nice.

I'm normally not the biggest fan of rosé Champagne, but this was on point. Bright strawberry and raspberry fruit framed by mineral, yeasty, and vanilla cream notes, very focused and precise on the palate with a full body lifted by powerful acidity, finishing long.

Comes across a touch creamy and soft in contrast to both the regular Comtes and the Bollinger GA rosé, but there's serious depth here. Layers of red berried fruit, biscuit and yeasty notes, a gentle chalky mineral undercurrent, and a faint herbal accent on the nose all come together very seamlessly. There's plenty of acidity here, though the palate feels a bit more rounded than in the other Champagnes, not showing the same incredible focus and clarity that the regular Comtes did. That's nitpicking though - this is an awesome wine.

Very pretty old Nebbiolo nose, with dried rose petals and herbs, old wood, leather, and other savoury earthy and tarry notes framing gentle red fruited notes. The palate gives the impression that it's on the downslope - there's some dusty red fruit in the background beneath the array of mature, savoury flavours, though it feels a bit thin on the back end and the fruit feels a bit dried.

Better than the last bottle I had - served blind, I was wondering if this might be an older Rioja. Really pretty aromatics, very floral and red fruited with other cedary and tarry accents that keep evolving with air. Still very fresh and lively on the palate with bright acids beneath, really enjoyable.

This has that old Nebbiolo character in spades - layers of savoury tarry, earthy, and smoky notes framing red berried fruit and dried rose petals. Very pretty to smell, but it comes across a bit austere on the palate, with the fruit a bit thin and the acidity rather sharp. Really interesting, though somewhat charmless.

Really liked this. In a great place right now, with all those savoury tarry, earthy, red fruited and herbal flavours coming together very seamlessly on the nose and palate. Lots of complexity here, and a very polished palate presence with the tannin feeling rather fine grained, and bright acidity giving it plenty of lift.

Corked.

Comes across slightly tired on the nose - there's still some red fruit, tar, and sweeter floral notes here, but a dusty earthy overlay to the flavours. A very gentle, polished palate presence with the tannins mostly resolved and nice acidity beneath, but again the fruit on the palate seems a bit faded.

One of my wines of the night. Absolutely spectacular showing. The fruit here is more youthful and primary than in the other two wines, but there's still a ton of complexity here. Rich, sappy red berried fruit and cherries augmented by more savoury earthy, meaty, spicy, and faintly leathery notes, and conveyed with an incredibly polished, elegant palate presence. There's plenty of structure here still, but the tannin feels so graceful and fine grained, and the bright acids give it tremendous lift. Amazing length on the finish. A real wow wine.

What a great fragrance - an array of spices, high toned floral notes, some meaty funk, and more savoury earthiness framing a core of bright red fruited flavours. The palate presence is very polished, though not showing quite the same degrees of intensity, persistence, and sense of power that the '98 did. The aromatics are a real wow though, and only keep getting better as this sits in the glass. I could have kept smelling this all evening.

Wasn't such a big fan of this when I had it in 2011. This bottle's an entirely different story. A powerhouse of a wine, with an intense, dark fruited aroma that keeps expanding and evolving with air as more savoury earthy, smoky, spicy, and faintly meaty and furry notes develop on the nose. It doesn't show quite the same aromatic complexity as the '93 or '98, but the palate presence here is also remarkable - so silky, polished, and incredibly long.

Served blind out of half bottle, just a couple of days after Brad Kane opened an absolutely exceptional bottle of this. Sadly this wasn't on the same level - there are some dusty apple and red berried fruit flavours apparent, but the fruit seems to have mostly faded and it shows a lot of older cedary, black tea, and earthy notes without much freshness on the palate. I liked the two 1975s a lot more.

Very pretty, fully mature and drinking very nicely now. Lots of complexity here, with an array of spices, dried flowers, old wood, and red apple fruit on the nose and palate, and more savoury soy and other umami flavours emerging with a bit more air. It comes across a touch soft on the palate, without the same level of acidity and focus as the '75 Viña Real, but still a really great bottle.

A really great showing. Comes across fresher and more youthful than the '75 Imperial, with more intensity to the apple and red berried fruit, and exotic spicy and sandalwood notes augmenting the aromatics. Great depth and complexity here, matched by plenty of acidity on the palate which gives the fruit a sense of vibrancy and lift. Fantastic.

Second experience with this wine, again served blind by Ben, and my impressions are again very similar. A lighter, fresher expression of Sauternes with the usual tropical fruit/apricot marmalade/honeyed flavour profile, but the botrytis is dialed back a bit more here, and there's plenty of acidity cutting through the sweetness. Very nice.