Essi Avellan | Deep lemon color. Distinct oaky tones to the nose. Charred, earthy-spicy, with appley fruit. Sweet, candy and ripe apricot fruit, too. Well-built, structured palate, distinctly vinous. Good concentration of fruit but on the oxidative side. Drinking well now, but it comes with further potential. | 91

Simon Field | Flaxen color, red grapes writ large, straw at harvest time. The bubbles are poised and persistent. The nose weaves a tale of gingerbread, cinnamon, and petits fruits rouges. Oak as a backdrop; linseed, glycerol, and sourdough. There is tannic support, not intrusive, and a spicy, almost jambon cru finish. A fine example of a Vintage blanc de noirs. | 92

Anthony Rose | Mid-golden bronze in color, showing its Pinot credentials. This gives sweet almond, vanilla, and overt nutty oak more than autolysis in the aromas, which are attractively savory, almost umami-like. There follows on the tongue a lively raspberries-and-cream mousse, all the while framed by a nice nuttiness of oak, a distinctive berry-filled sweetness. While it’s beautifully balanced with sufficient acidity for at least the next five years, this is a style that’s probably best drunk sooner rather than later. | 94