White and Rosé Wines for Spring

wines

The 2024 Chardonnay Willamette Valley is a bright yellow color and offers notes of honeyed citrus, poached apples, and pretty spice. Full-bodied yet carrying a medium-bodied, fruity elegance, this vintage includes fruit from Freedom Hill and Durant. Aged in neutral French oak and concrete amphora, it has a great texture and a long-lasting finish. Drink now or over the next 7-8 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JDThe 2024 Chardonnay Willamette Valley wafts up with minty freshness, blending white flowers with nuances of ginger, flint and slate. The palate is soothingly round, with a pretty inner sweetness and supreme balance as lemon mingles with apricot and a saline mineral tinge. Lively tension puckers the cheeks while mouthwatering acidity and a salty flourish linger. The value here is unparalleled.Vinous Media | 93 VM

Tiny touch of rose gold to the yellow colour. Spiced pink grapefruit aromas lead to a silky and smooth palate that’s very elegant. There’s some lovely acidity, and a deep, saline, tense finish that has great length. The oak works well, it doesn’t occlude the fruit and freshness. Wonderful stuff. Fermented and aged in new oak barriques.Decanter Magazine | 96 DECAll Clairette Rose and vinified and aged nine months in 100% new French oak barrels, the 2024 Châteauneuf Du Pape Chapelle Blanc displays a medium gold hue and has fabulous notes of ripe orchard fruits, brioche, caramelized orange, and spice. It’s medium to full-bodied, round, concentrated, and textured on the palate, with ample mid-palate depth and volume, a great mouthfeel, and outstanding length. With roughly 166 cases produced, it’s up with the crème de la crème in the vintage and will keep for 10-15 years if well stored. Drink 2025-2040.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JDNotes of herbs, confit citrus and spices preface the 2024 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc, a medium- to full-bodied, round and sappy wine with a juicy, enveloping mid-palate that lead to a fresh, mouthwatering finish. This is a blend of 40% Clairette Rose, 40% Grenache Blanc and 20% Roussanne.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RP

Green apples, sliced pears and wet stones on the nose of this fresh and crisp white. It’s light- to medium-bodied, clean and refreshing. Drink now.James Suckling | 90 JS

Offers tension and grip, a slow unroll, reserved at first but as it opens you get luscious white peach and pear fruits, along with elderflower and apple blossom florals. Great stuff from this lovely structure-driven white wine. 50% new oak. 3.12 pH.Jane Anson | 94 JAJust bottled, the 2024 Blanc de Lynch Bages is a gorgeous, refreshing dry white to drink now and over the next handful of years. Lemon peel, white pepper, mint and chalky undertones are beautifully delineated. There’s a bit more Muscadelle in this year’s blend, but that is not especially apparent. Instead, Sauvignon Blanc drives the feel here.Vinous Media | 93 VMGreat aromatics. Quite varietal on the nose, green apple, peas, elderflower, white peach and some bitter orange rind. Bright and forward, this is crisp with a shot of lemon acidity at first before settling and becoming a bit more creamy with gentle bitter edges. Jasmine, white flowers, some white stone fruit and soft creamy citrus elements. A touch waxy too. Light, elegant, nothing too much here but super easy to drink with hints of interest. Ageing 50% new oak for 6 months in barrels on lees. 3.12pH.Decanter Magazine | 93 DECQuite a fresh, lively white with aromas of bright gooseberries, green guavas, fresh mangoes and creamy stone fruit. Crisp and bright, with very good acidity and a long,linear, refreshing finish. There’s a touch of salinity at the end. 77% sauvignon blanc, 12% muscadelle and 11% semillon. Drink now.James Suckling | 93 JSShoots from the glass with vivacious notes of green apples, white peaches, and fresh pears, leading to hints of lime leaves and sea spray. The light-bodied palate is crisp and refreshing with loads of chalk-laced orchard fruit flavors and a zesty finish.The Wine Palate | 91 TWPShoots from the glass with vivacious notes of green apples, white peaches, and fresh pears, leading to hints of lime leaves and sea spray. The light-bodied palate is crisp and refreshing with loads of chalk-laced orchard fruit flavors and a zesty finish.The Wine Independent | 91 TWIThe 2024 Château Lynch-Bages Blanc should certainly be outstanding. It plays in the fresh, focused, medium-bodied style of the vintage while bringing ripe melon, pink grapefruit, and floral aromas and flavors. It has nicely integrated, juicy acidity, and a balanced, lengthy mouthfeel.Jeb Dunnuck | 90-92 JD

The 2024 Caneco, which has a new colorful label, screams Albariño from Salnés with that mixture of sea breeze, flowers and freshly cut grass. It’s clean and expressive, and even though it’s still a little young and faintly reductive, it shows great balance and harmony. It has an austere and serious mouthfeel. 16,666 bottles produced. It was bottled in March 2025.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RP

Patrick Piuze’s 2024 Butteaux is a bit more structured and reserved out of the blocks than the lovely Montmains and will demand a couple years more in the cellar before it blossoms, but it may well be every bit as fine as the Montmains once it is ready to drink. The wine’s aromatic constellation is composed of scents of tart orange, lemon, apple, a fine base of limestone soil, paraffin, citrus blossoms and a deft touch of oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and youthful, with a fine core of pure fruit, excellent mineral drive and grip, lovely acids and a long, well balanced and very promising finish. 2032-2065.John Gilman | 93+ JG

The 2024 Chablis “les Séchets” from Patrick Piuze is also an outstanding wine in the making. The bouquet is very expressive already and is flat out stunning, soaring from the glass in a mix of lemon, pear, beeswax, a complex foundation of chalky minerality, white lilies, apple blossoms, citrus peel and just a whisper of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full, pure and succulent at the core, with fine soil signature, a lovely spine of acidity, great focus and grip and a long, complex and beautifully balanced finish. Fine, fine juice. 2030-2065.John Gilman | 93+ JG

Opening in the glass with aromas of spring flowers, Granny Smith apple, lemon oil and nashi pear, the 2024 Chablis 1er Cru Montmains is medium-bodied and taut, bright and chalky, with mouthwatering acidity and a long, precise finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RP

The 2024 Chardonnay Lady Marjorie is elegant, delicate and wonderfully nuanced. Lemon oil, crushed rocks, mint, slate and sage are finely delineated in a transparent, crystalline Chardonnay that is so impressive. The Lady Marjorie is a blend of sites in the Sonoma Coast. It’s such a pure, nuanced Chardonnay.Vinous Media | 94 VM

One of the few 2024s in bottle was the 2024 Cíes, a village Albariño from different soils and expositions fermented in neutral barrels of different sizes, where it matured for eight months. The year is characterized by good ripeness; this has 13.3% alcohol and notable balancing acidity and freshness. It’s clean, expressive and serious, with a salty twist and a faint bitter twist in the finish. 15,000 bottles produced.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPThe 2024 Albariño Cíes is from Meaño in Rías Baixas. This is from old vineyards and it fermented in used barrels. Expressive and floral, this opens with intense aromas of pear and white flowers, followed by hints of blossom and pear over time. The palate delivers freshness, sapidity and a subtle saline note. This was recently bottled.Vinous Media | 93 VMThis has notes of white peaches and citrus zest. The palate is medium- to full-bodied, angular and precise, with great fruit volume yet an equally austere, mineral finish. Drink now.James Suckling | 93 JS

An elegant and scented nose of pink cherry pits, peach skin and cherry blossoms. Medium-bodied with fresh, round acidity and a textured finish. Elegant and pure finish. Drink in 2027.Wine Spectator | 91 WSA blend of Grenache Noir, Cinsault, Rolle and Syrah, the 2025 Côtes de Provence Rosé Whispering Angel reveals a perfumed, fruit-forward bouquet of red berries, pomegranate, spices and flowers. Medium-bodied and round, it’s perfectly balanced and juicy, concluding with a mouthwatering, fruity finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90 RP

Pale petal-pink in the glass, with that classic Provencal glow that practically begs for sunshine. The nose opens with fresh white peach, wild strawberry and a whisper of Mediterranean herbs. On the palate, it’s crisp and bone-dry, with bright citrus, a hint of ripe melon and a clean, mineral finish that lingers just long enough to make you reach for another sip. Elegant, refreshing and effortlessly food-friendly. Rosé fans have a sixth sense for the bottles worth restocking, and this one has quietly become a "buy by the case for summer" pick.Sokolin Tasting Panel | 94+ SP

One of the finest wine produced by Reynald Delille, the 2025 Bandol Rosé is a compelling wine not to be missed. Wafting from the glass with aromas of red berries, pomegranate, spices and iodine, it’s medium- to full-bodied, dense and tense, with a precise, seamless core of fruit framed by mineral acidity and a saline, perfumed character, concluding with a long, calcareous and ethereal finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94+ RP

Another success at this address, the 2025 Bandol Rosé is superb, revealing aromas of ripe orchard fruits, guava, red berries, flowers and confit citrus. Medium- to full-bodied, dense and layered, it possesses notable depth at the core, framed by racy acidity that brings both energy and definition. The finish is long and gently ethereal.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93+ RP

Pale, luminous salmon with a bright copper shimmer. Expressive and refined on the nose, with mineral-kissed stone fruit, fresh citrus and a delicate floral lift - think white peach, pink grapefruit and a suave hint of jasmine. Silky and expansive on the palate, offering juicy layers of ripe strawberry, tangerine and wild herb, with a deeper suggestion of honeyed melon. Ripe yet beautifully balanced, with the mineral and floral threads carrying gracefully through to an impressively long, focused, and seamless finish. Year in, year out, the most popular rosé we sell at Sokolin - and vintages like this make it easy to see why. Sokolin Tasting Panel | 94+ SP

The NV Extra Brut Sous Bois (base 2017) is creamy and quite generous in the glass. Dried pear, chamomile, passion fruit, spice and crushed flowers build nicely in the glass. There is a very slight suggestion of botrytis that adds character. I would choose to serve this at the dinner table with suitably rich fare, given its body and slightly phenolic edge. This release is based on 2017, with 34% reserve wines. Dosage is 5 grams per liter. Disgorged: June 2023.Vinous Media | 92 VMCrafted around the 2018 vintage, the NV Champagne Le Sous Bois is a blend of 33% Meunier, 39% Chardonnay, and the remainder Pinot Noir, with 37% reserve wine, the oldest part from 2006. A copper straw color, entirely barrel-fermented in cask, it reveals notes of smoky wet stones, toasted croissant, orange citrus, baked peach, almond, frangipane, and salty earth. Full-bodied yet savory, it offers a mouthwatering and brothy character while remaining fresh and youthful, without transitioning into oxidation. It’s very appealing now but should have no problem showing its best over the coming 10 years. 3 grams per liter dosage.Jeb Dunnuck | 92 JDHeavily based on the 2017 vintage (with 34% reserve wines dating back to 2006), fermented at low temperatures and entirely vinified in oak, the NV Le Sous Bois blends fruit from vast areas of Montagne de Reims, Vallée de la Marne and Côte des Blancs (notably Oger, Chouilly and Cramant). Disgorged with a dosage of five grams per liter in spring 2023, after five years of lees aging, it reveals aromas of green apple, vanilla, peach and toasted nuts, mingling with hints of caramelized sugar. On the palate, it is medium to full-bodied, precise and fine-boned, featuring a youthful fruit core supported by vibrant acidity, with subtle bitter phenolics asserting themselves on the finish. Given the challenges of the growing season, it incorporates a higher proportion of Chardonnay than usual.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RP

The NV Champagne Brut Rose is an attractive pale salmon hue, with a fresh perfume of wild strawberry, ripe peach, white and red flowers, a hint of tropical fruit, and grapefruit. The palate is rounded, with fruit up front and through the mid-palate, and it has a silky and fresh lift. There is a wonderful ease and drinkability to this wine, which delivers balance and finesse. Drink 2022-2037.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JDA lovely rosé in an almost vinous style, with mouthwatering acidity and a fine, lacy mousse carrying appealing flavors of ripe raspberry, white cherry fruit, star anise, mandarin orange peel and honeysuckle. Lightly chalky on the lasting finish. Enjoy with food. Drink now through 2020.Wine Spectator | 93 WSAttractive salmon color with aromas of dried strawberries and lemons, as well as hints of flowers. Full-bodied with tight tension from the fine phenolics that run through the palate. Hints of white pepper, peaches and sliced green strawberries with some candied lemons, too. Always an excellent bottle. 40% chardonnay, 30% pinot noir and 30% pinot meunier. Drink now.James Suckling | 93 JSWe started with a demi-bouteille of Billecart-Salmon Rosé: a safe option, but it does the job, even though I would say that a full bottle is better.Vinous Media | 92 VM(NV Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé NV (Disgorged September 2013)) Billecart-Salmon is probably most famous for their excellent bottling of non-vintage Brut Rosé, and the new bottling is another superb wine. The cépages is comprised of forty percent chardonnay, twenty percent pinot meunier and thirty-five percent pinot noir, with eight percent of the pinot noir included as still wine to give this wine its lovely, pale salmon color. The dosage is slightly higher here, but still judicious at nine grams per liter. The bouquet is pure and vibrant, wafting from the glass in a mix of tangerine, almonds, smoke, lovely minerality, wheat toast and dried flowers. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and very focused, with a fine core, racy, zesty acids and great cut and grip on the long and beautifully balanced finish. (Drink between 2014-2025)John Gilman | 92 JGThe palest of rosés, this is an elegant, structured wine. Its dryness is balanced by the fine apple and red-currant fruits and the strong sense of minerality. Fragrant and lightly structured, this fine bottling is ready to drink. Wine Enthusiast | 92 WEBased on the 2018 vintage, Billecart’s new NV Brut Rosé incorporates 40% reserve wines and some 6% still red wine. Bursting with scents of sweet red berries, peonies, stone fruits, white cherries, freshly baked bread and spices, it’s medium to full-bodied, pillowy and charming, with a seamless and enveloping core of fruit and a lively, fine-boned profile.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RPCurrently based on the 2016 harvest, this is floral and citrussy, showing a lithe, graceful balance. It’s a blend of 40% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir and 30% Meunier, with about 40% of reserve wine, and red wine accounts for 7% of the blend. Its delicate, subtly expansive flavours of raspberry and strawberry are enlivened by a tangerine-like acidity, and while it feels ripe and full in flavour on the palate, it never loses its sense of refinement and poise, finishing with detailed length and depth. (Drink between 2021-2026)Decanter | 91 DEC

Bollinger’s NV Special Cuvée knocks it out of the park. Made from 60% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay and the rest Pinot Meunier, with 30% of the blend brought up in barrels, it boasts a rich, deep, medium to full-bodied style as well as terrific notes of lemon curd, crème brûlée, caramelized stone fruits, and hints of toasty nuttiness that develop with time in the glass. It’s a big, rich Champagne that stays balanced and pure. Beautiful stuff.Jeb Dunnuck | 93 JDRestrained and very pretty aromas include those of yeast, Meyer lemon, petrol and green apple where the latter element is picked up by the utterly delicious, vibrant and detailed flavors that possess fine complexity on the agreeably dry but not austere finish. The supporting mousse is dense but fine and overall, this is a wine that could be enjoyed now or held for up to a decade. Excellent. (Drink starting 2024)Burghound | 93 BHOne of Bollinger’s great assets is a massive stock of reserve wine, including 600,000 magnums held under cork. Gilles Descôtes tends those reserves, working with the blending team to subsume the variations of the current vintage into Bollinger’s Special Cuvée by using a majority of reserve wines in the blend. The result is a rich and harmonious Champagne with deep reserves of flavor. Its substantial, formal structure feels polished, its flavors balancing the cool earthiness of a limestone cave and the sunnier, bright floral notes of fresh cream. Built for food, whether emphasizing the freshness with lobster bisque, or the depth with beef Wellington and chanterelles.Terlato Wines Int’l., Lake Bluff, ILWine & Spirits | 93 W&S Like its rosé counterpart, the latest release of Bollinger’s NV Brut Special Cuvée is showing especially well, bursting from the glass with aromas of honeyed apples, crisp stone fruit, buttery pastry, ripe lemons and fresh walnuts. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and vinous, with a deep core of beautifully ripe fruit, racy acids and a pillowy mousse, it’s a charming, characterful wine that proves that Special Cuvée is firmly back where it belongs.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RPThere’s a pleasing, snappy quality to the acidity framing this elegant Champagne, enlivening accessible flavors of currant, Marcona almond and orchard blossom, with a minerally touch of saline-laced oyster shell that lingers on the finish. Drink now through 2022. 11,000 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WSLots of biscuit aromas and a wide spectrum of fresh-citrus, candied-citrus, red-apple and red-berry notes. Mouth-filling creaminess, plus quite an imposing presence and powerful structure for an NV Brut. Long, citrus and chalky finish that’s very clean and properly dry. 60% pinot noir, 30% chardonnay, 10% pinot meunier. Almost 20% barrel fermented and 62% reserve wines. Based on the 2017 vintage and disgorged July 2021. Drink now.James Suckling | 92 JSDominated, as always, by Pinot Noir and with wood fermentation and aging, this Champagne has a great poise between freshness and richness. It is intense and ripe, with apple and minerality coming together. The bottling is ready to drink.Wine Enthusiast | 92 WE (60% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot Meunier; 8 g/l dosage; L1403801): Pale yellow. Toasty aromas of apple and pear nectar are complemented by hints of toffee, honey and orange zest. Full and expansive on the palate, offering ripe orchard and pit fruit flavors and an undercurrent of smoky minerals and buttered toast. Smooth and gently spicy on the clinging, nicely focusd finish.Antonio Galloni | 91 AG(NV Bollinger “Special Cuvée” Brut NV (Aÿ)) The current release of Bollinger “Special Cuvée” is composed of its customary blend of sixty percent pinot noir, twenty-five percent chardonnay and fifteen percent pinot meunier. It was finished with a dosage of eight grams per liter and offers up is classic pinot-shaded bouquet of white peach, apple, bread dough, a beautiful base of soil tones, a touch of hazelnut and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and complex, with a fine core of fruit, a good spine of acidity, elegant mousse and a long, well-balanced and classy finish. This is still a young wine and I would tuck it away in the cellar for at least a few years and let its acids relax a bit and its secondary layers of complexity emerge. (Drink between 2020-2040).John Gilman | 91+ JGNotes of flowery beeswax, white fruit, and quince on the nose. The palate has a flinty austerity with Braeburn, white pepper and subtle spice followed by yeasty richness and brisk finish. Drinking Window 2020 - 2025.Decanter | 90 DEC

If it’s good enough for James Bond, it’s good enough for you. Bollinger Champagne has made a number of cameos in James Bond films over the year. This non-vintage Special Cuvée is an example of a classic Champagne done well. Notes of marzipan on the nose and the palate give toastiness and leesy notes, specifically sourdough. It’s classic for a reason and would only elevate any table it finds itself on.Decanter Magazine | 95 DECFine and seamless, with mouthwatering acidity well-meshed with a rich range of crème de cassis, poached apricot, gingerbread and almond extract flavors, plus accents of fleur de sel, Meyer lemon peel and star anise. Long and lively on the creamy finish. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. Drink now through 2028. 14,257 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 93 WSThe NV Champagne Special Cuvée (60% Pinot Noir and based on the 2021 harvest) pours a bright yellow/silver hue on opening and reveals a fresh and actually more mineral-driven profile on the nose than I was expecting, revealing layers of fresh raspberries, brioche, wet stone, and orange blossoms. The palate is medium to full-bodied and classically rounded, as you would come to expect from this house, but it retains good tension and a silky, chalky texture, with an ultra-fine mousse, salinity in its notes of grapefruit zest and almond, and a creamy texture through the finish. It’s very well-styled and is going to drink well over the next 10 years. They always try to have 8-10 vintages the blend, the oldest being 18 years (15 years when it goes into the bottle). 8 grams per liter dosage.Jeb Dunnuck | 93+ JDRestrained and very pretty aromas include those of yeast, Meyer lemon, petrol and green apple where the latter element is picked up by the utterly delicious, vibrant and detailed flavors that possess fine complexity on the agreeably dry but not austere finish. The supporting mousse is dense but fine and overall, this is a wine that could be enjoyed now or held for up to a decade. Excellent.Burghound | 93 BHBollinger’s NV Special Cuvée 007 is not a re-release of the 1969, which James Bond famously mentions in the film ’Moonraker,’ but it is a pretty wine that captures the essence of the house style nicely, attractively packaged to coincide with the latest Bond movie. It offers up scents of orchard fruit, baked apple tart, brioche, spice and dried floral notes, all in a profile that holds plenty of near term appeal.James Suckling | 93 JSLike its rosé counterpart, the latest release of Bollinger’s NV Brut Special Cuvée is showing especially well, bursting from the glass with aromas of honeyed apples, crisp stone fruit, buttery pastry, ripe lemons and fresh walnuts. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and vinous, with a deep core of beautifully ripe fruit, racy acids and a pillowy mousse, it’s a charming, characterful wine that proves that Special Cuvée is firmly back where it belongs.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RPThe new release of Bollinger’s “Cuvée Spéciale” non-vintage Brut is crafted from its customary cépages of sixty percent pinot noir, twenty-five percent chardonnay and fifteen percent pinot meunier, with thirty percent of the vins clairs fermented in casks for this bottling. As is typical for this bottling, it was aged thirty to thirty-six months sur lattes and the final blend includes fifty percent reserve wines. It offers up a refined bouquet of apple, peach, fresh-baked bread, chalky soil tones, gentle smokiness and a topnote of dried flowers. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied, focused and complex, with a lovely core of fruit, good mineral undertow, elegant mousse and a long, crisp and beautifully balanced finish. Fine juice that will age gracefully and be an even more interesting drink five to ten years down the road. (Drink between 2024 - 2045)John Gilman | 91+ JG

Year after year, Egly’s NV Blanc de Noirs Grand Cru Les Crayères remains one of the most compelling and reliable wines from the Montagne de Reims. Sourced from a south-facing lieu-dit in Ambonnay that was planted between 1946 and 1947 on shallow chalk soils with just 30 centimeters of topsoil, it was disgorged in October 2024 with a dosage of one gram per liter. This release blends the richer 2017 vintage with the taut, incisive character of 2016. Notably, prior to 2000, Francis Egly produced this cuvée as a single-vintage expression, only later opting for a two-vintage blend to buffer against the variability of any given season. The wine ascends from the glass with a bouquet of remarkable complexity—aromas of acacia, ripe pear, orange zest, toasted nuts and patisserie elements unfurl. Full-bodied, concentrated and layered, with ample chalky structuring extract and mouthwatering acidity, it concludes with a long, saline finish. While I often vacillate between Les Crayères and the Millésime as to which I favor, this year, Les Crayères stands as the most captivating wine in the cellar. It offers immense youthful appeal yet promises to evolve beautifully with age. Readers would be wise not to hesitate—it fully lives up to its reputation, and I’d gladly secure bottles for my own cellar.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RP

The NV Champagne Grand Cru Blanc De Blancs Substance is the only wine in the range from Selosse that is produced in a true solera system, with criadera, and this release has the addition of the 2016 vintage going into the cuvée. The nose offers fantastic layered depth framed by a minty freshness lifting from the glass, along with notes of fresh apricot, marzipan, citrus oils, and wet stones. The palate is textural with a core of rich sapidity and buoyant acidity that creates a weightless and impeccably balanced feel throughout. The mousse is fine, but the wine’s savory texture takes the lead. It’s going to drink well now or over the coming 20 years. Disgorged in February 2024.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JD

Extremely complex, showing dried apples, light caramel, brioche and flint with cedar, nuts and hints of gunmetal. Integrated, caressing bubbles. Medium-bodied with a laser-guided, compacted and extremely long palate that focuses the character and the flavors. So deep and polished. Tangy at the end. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 97 JSVibrant and rich, statuesque yet graceful, this lovely Champagne offers an expansive range of patisserie apple and pear fruit, grilled macadamia nut, lime and tangerine peel notes, with fragrant saffron, clove, espresso and mineral accents. A lithe, focused spine of lemony acidity and an underlying streak of salinity are enmeshed in the flavor profile, and the fine, satinlike mousse carries everything on the long, mouthwatering finish. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Meunier. Disgorged winter 2023–2024 (Krug ID 124003). Drink now through 2040.Wine Spectator | 96 WSThe nose is immediately inviting, filled with toasted brioche topped with baked apple, pear and citrus peel, soft florals and spice for depth. The palate is generous and finely textured, balancing bright acidity with a creamy mousse that carries lemon confit, honeyed stone fruit enveloped in a nutty pastry. It finishes long, saline and utterly compelling, leaving a lasting impression of finesse and energy. Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEThe NV Grande Cuvée 173ème Édition, based on the 2017 vintage, is every bit as exceptional as it was the last time I tasted it a few months ago. Beautifully textured, the 173ème offers a captivating mix of floral and tropical notes, with gorgeous richness and fabulous balance. Time in the glass softens the mid-palate nicely.Vinous Media | 95 VMThe NV Champagne Grande Cuvee 173eme Edition is bright and mineral-driven, crafted around the 2017 vintage with 150 wines from 13 vintages back to 2001. It offers notes of wet stones, custard, lemon rind, honeycomb, white peach, and citrus blossom. Full-bodied, it has power and finesse, with mineral texture and a long-lasting finish. It has fantastic spice as well in this edition, and it has excellent underlying acidity and tension with a great savory finish. Olivier Krug commented on the warm weather of 2017, noting that they were keen to pick on the early side in this vintage and were finished with their harvest when many others had just begun. Disgorged in early 2024.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JDKrug’s recently unveiled NV Grande Cuvée 173ème Édition—accounting for approximately 80% of the house’s total production—performs well, particularly considering the challenges of the base vintage, 2017. That year saw considerable rot pressure in red varieties, making meticulous sorting essential; some lots deemed unfit for Krug’s standards were even diverted to distillation. The conceptual cornerstone of the Grande Cuvée is the use of the house’s vast library—drawing from some 500 options—to complement the base vintage and moderate the extremes of any given growing season. The 173ème Édition comprises 150 wines across 13 vintages, with the 2017 base making up 69% of the final assemblage. Disgorged in January 2024 with a dosage of 4.5 grams per liter, it opens with aromas of pear, golden apple, lemon curd and early white blossoms interlaced with a distant hint of nutmeg. On the palate, it is medium- to full-bodied, textural and charming, laden with tangy acidity and animated by a pillowy mousse, and it concludes with a long, saline finish. Compared with its immediate predecessor, the 173ème Édition is broader and more giving, while the 172ème Édition tauter and more incisive. As experienced Krug aficionados will recognize, the inclusion of reserve wines—which may have undergone malolactic fermentation—renders the Grande Cuvée more immediately approachable than the house’s vintage-dated Champagnes, offering a more generous drinking experience on release.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPKrug’s Grande Cuvée 173ème Édition is crafted around one of Champagne’s most traumatic harvests of the past 20 years in 2017, where rampant rot and lack of maturity forced extreme sorting at harvest time. It’s exactly the sort of year that plays to the house’s strengths in its reserve wine library and pixelated, parcel-by-parcel vinification, though. Together with 31% reserve wines dating back to the 2001 harvest, it’s a relatively forward Grande Cuvée, but not overly marked by the challenges of the year. There’s a juicy apricot fruitiness evident up front, enlivened by some brightness of ground pepper and charred grapefruit peel, with aromatic details of green coffee and a food-friendly dried mushroom savour following in the glass. The softened, cushioned mousse is already feeling nicely settled, complementing the sense of roundness and ease. There’s plenty of cooked lime Chardonnay focus pulling the palate into some length and intensity, even if the quantity of Chardonnay in the blend is not perhaps as high as might have been expected considering its relatively strong performance in the year; the reserves, too, bring a delicious length and intensity to the otherwise up-front palate. This edition may be pitched for earlier drinking than some, but will provide fine gastronomic possibilities in the meantime.Decanter Magazine | 94 DEC

This great rosé combines texture with bright fruit and a bit of age. It is poised between a ripe dosage and a crisp texture, with red fruits and toastiness marking the flavors. It is a fine bottling to enjoy now. Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEFragrant wafts of smoke and spice accent the steeped raspberry and mandarin orange peel flavors of this tightly meshed rosé Champagne, which is backed by a vivid spine of mouthwatering acidity and is silky on the palate, with hints of dried herb, licorice and toasted almond playing on the finish. Drink now through 2025. 9,000 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 93 WSA rich rosé Champagne, offering seamlessly woven flavors of baked black cherry, candied pink grapefruit peel, brioche and pastry cream. Vibrant acidity and a finely detailed mousse send this dancing across the palate. Drink now through 2024...Wine Spectator | 93 WS(NV Laurent-Perrier Brut Rosé NV (Tours-sur-Marne) American Cuvée) I am not sure that there is any difference between cuvées for this bottling on each side of the Atlantic, but as there has been some history of this being the case with several Grandes Marques, I figured that I would post notes on examples tasted both here and in France. As readers may already be aware, Laurent-Perrier’s Brut Rosé is made up entirely of pinot noir and is produced in the saignée method, where the wine’s color is produced by a short maceration period on the skins- in this case from forty-eight to seventy-two hours. The new release here in the states is superb, offering up a beautifully vibrant nose of cherries, strawberries, rye bread, a very complex base of soil, rose petals and a gently smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and very refined, with a lovely core, elegant mousse, crisp acids and outstanding length and grip on the focused finish. I do love this bottling! (Drink between 2013-2025)John Gilman | 93 JGThe latest iteration of Laurent-Perrier’s NV Brut Cuvée Rosé is showing brilliantly, bursting from the glass with notes of smoky red berry fruit, apples, blood orange, pomegranate and warm biscuits. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, broad and vinous, with a delicate mousse, good depth at the core and ripe acids, concluding with a sapid, gently phenolic finish. This is a sophisticated, gastronomic rosé that would work well at table.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RP(100% saignée Pinot Noir): Vivid orange-pink. An expressive, spice-accented bouquet evokes fresh raspberry, orange pith, white flowers and ginger, with a hint of rhubarb adding an earthy flourish. Sappy and broad in the mouth, offering intense red fruit and bitter citrus flavors underscored by chalky mineral and white pepper notes. Rich yet lively rosé with excellent closing thrust and floral persistence.Vinous Media | 92 VMThe latest opus of Laurent Perrier’s non-vintage Brut Cuvée Rosé offers elegant and fresh aromas of red berries, blood orange, pomegranate and pastry. With ripe acids, the palate is tense, fine and chiselled, with a vinous texture with iodine and a salty finish. Dosage: 7g/L. Disgorged spring 2020. Drinking Window 2021 - 2025.Decanter | 92 DECShows a linear line of crisp acidity and vivid fruit of dried strawberries and orange peel. Full-bodied, tight and focused with a bright finish. Fruity yet vivid. Commanding. Drink now.James Suckling | 92 JSIntensely floral, this wine has a copper-pink color that’s reflected in the coppery and salty edge of its raspberry and mineral depths. It’s ripe, savory and clean, and hard to resist if there are duck rillettes nearby.Wine & Spirits | 92 W&S