Essi Avellan: Medium-deep lemon color. Stylish, gently toasty nose, with yellow apple and vanilla. Fruity and juicy on the one-dimensional but fresh palate. Medium-long drying finish. This is faultless but uninteresting. 14.5

Simon Field: Straw coloring, with a hint of green; summer flowers on the nose, with citrus and Mirabelle plum, too. The palate is fuller, marginally richer than expected, but as a function of ripeness rather than overindulgence with the dosage. A toasty, focused mid-palate, leaving one just a little disappointed by a rather short finish. 15.5

Tom Stevenson: This is atypically floral for a blanc de noirs, with clean, crisp, but somewhat anonymous fruit on the palate. While it is okay as an apéritif Champagne, it does not quite cut the mustard for a specialist cuvée. 14