Essi Avellan: Medium-deep lemon. Full, soft, deep nose, with yeasty roundness and oaky sweetness. Weighty, intense palate, which is smoothtextured. Finishes rather short and dry. 16

Andrew Jefford: Pale gold; steady mousse. Some oxygen here, and developed fruit, so oddly for an Extra Brut you have the impression of smelling some liqueur d’expedition. But this kind of close-contact autumn fruit scents is one of the things I love in Champagne. On the palate, this is very characterful, generous, and developed, with a good repertoire of stony flavors to match the orchard fruit; all that holds it back from a higher score is a slight clumsiness to the wine. 15

Tom Stevenson: Classic structure and fruit. Indeed, this has a lovely fruitiness, particularly mid-palate, spoiled only by a touch of bitterness on the finish. The bitterness appears to be from undeveloped extract, and it should open up after a year or so further aging. 16.5