Michel Bettane: Pronounced straw colour. Strong yeast autolysis character - very Vouvray-like in fact, with toasty aromas and just the beginnings of oxidation. Good dosage, but hardly what you'd call noble. 9

Simon Larkin : One grade deeper than [the Billecart-Salmon NV], perhaps; lazy bead. Broad aromas of weighty fruit. Good restraint on the palate, pleasing texture, good depth of bready, rich fruit and a persistent finish. A well-balanced style, with a gentle, autolytic fruit, and some race on the finish. Appealing. 14

Anthony Rose: Deepish yellow-gold, persistent bead, tiny bubbles, lively looking in the glass. Quite honeyed with some reserve-wine age on the nose. Quite a rich cushion of pinprick bubbles on the palate, firm and fresh acidity, a crisp finish, with some honeyed richness on the mid-palate; perhaps more of a gout anglais style. 14.5