Essi Avellan: Deep lemon-gold. Aged nose with bruised apple notes, singular with spirity punch tones. Too much on the oxidative side and very, very dry. Crisp, but with withering fruitiness. 13

Andrew Jefford: Mid-gold, with an impressively sprightly, fine-beaded mousse. Drily restrained aromas. Not unfriendly, but without a lot of expressive force; perhaps that will come with time. Sappy, fresh, vanillic, clean, and sound; bread, vanilla, lemon right to the finish. Vinous, pure, and tapered, too. This Champagne works very well, and I have the feeling it would get better still as one demolished the bottle. 15.5

Tom Stevenson: On initial nosing of the flight, this had such a maderized nose that I asked for a second bottle, but alas, there was none. However, by the time I got to the end of the flight, much of the maderized character had dissipated and, though still present, the rest of the wine was enjoyable, particularly the balance between its yeastcomplexed ampleness and lean structure. Oh, and the aftertaste, which went on and on. 17