Merchants making up La Place de Bordeaux distribution system are continuing to take on new fine wines from around the world and the latest round of ‘beyond Bordeaux’ international releases has arrived in March 2023. In Bordeaux itself, this month has marked the first release of Château Latour 2015 and is set to also see Château d’Yquem 2020’s market debut on the 23 March (tasting note coming soon). Yet the rise of both March and September as key release periods for international wines sold via La Place de Bordeaux increasingly gives collectors and drinkers plenty to consider. See our round-up ..read more

In 1967, the redoubtable Madame Bollinger decided to challenge the contemporary fashion for youthful Champagne by releasing a recently disgorged older wine from the 1952 vintage. Named RD – Récemment Dégorgé or Recently Disgorged – the wine proved an instant hit, all the more surprising as it had been dosed as extra brut, again in defiance of practice and taste at the time. Scroll down for tasting notes and scores for Bollinger RD 2008 and 1979 {"content":"PHA+SGlzdG9yeSBsb29rcyBraW5kbHkgb24gTWFkYW1lIEJvbGxpbmdlciBmb3IgdHdvIGZ1cnRoZXIgcmVhc29uczogZmlyc3RseSBmb3IgdGhlIGVtcGhhc2lzIG9uIDxzdHJvbm ..read more

Alice Tétienne, chef de caves of Champagne Henriot. Champagne Henriot is a gemstone; a medium sized house producing just under a million bottles per year, with some magnificent vineyards across the region, many of them in bijou grand and premier cru sites. With a heritage dating back to 1808, and an impressive manor house to show off in Pierry, Henriot boasts an impressive range, which starts with the Brut Souverain non-vintage, currently built around a 2016 base. Henriot also now has an extremely articulate and passionate chef de caves in Alice Tétienne, born and bred in Champagne and only th ..read more

The 2015 La Grande Dame label and packaging has been designed by Italian artist and ceramicist Paola Paronetto. Veuve Clicquot has fired the starting gun on grande marque prestige releases from Champagne’s much-discussed 2015 vintage with the latest iteration of its recently-refined hommage to Pinot Noir. ‘There was no frost, no disease – the vintage was easy to handle’, chef de cave Didier Mariotti explained at the London launch, which also saw a preview of the 2012 La Grande Dame Rosé. The ‘solar’ character of the 2015 vintage, together with some pronounced drought conditions, conjured up un ..read more

It comes as no surprise that many Champagne houses have invested in Provence, with their similar marketing image of luxury, lifestyle and quality. Brad Pitt and Marc Perrin moved in a slightly different direction, starting with a Provence rosé and then taking their passion for rosé to Champagne. Scroll down to see the tasting note and score for Fleur de Miraval ER3 {"content":"PC9wPgo8aDM+SW5jZXB0aW9uPC9oMz4KPHA+V2l0aCBhIHNwYXJrbGluZyByb3PDqSBpbiBtaW5kLCBhbmQgZm9sbG93aW5nIGEgYmxpbmQgdGFzdGluZyBvZiBwaW5rIHNwYXJrbGluZyB3aW5lcyBmcm9tIGFyb3VuZCB0aGUgd29ybGQsIHRoZXkgZGVjaWRlZCB0byBmb2N1cyBvbiBDaGF ..read more

The cooperative movement in France started in 1901 with the Languedoc cooperative of Ensérune (now part of Les Vignobles Foncalieu), supporting rural communities in a post-phylloxera and industrial revolution world, and continuing to keep viticulture alive during world wars and economic recessions. Cooperatives are diverse in size, type of organisation and philosophy, and appear in every winemaking region in France, producing wines in a wide range of styles, quality levels and price brackets. Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for 20 top French cooperative wines {"content":"PHA+VGhlI ..read more

Back vintages of Deutz's prestige cuvées sleeping peacefully in the 'berceaux', deep in the house's chalk cellars. Named the Deutz Berceaux Vinothèque, literally the ‘cradles of wine’, the collection is made up of 17,000 bottles, born and aged at the Deutz house in Aÿ, Champagne. Just under 7,000 of these bottles are now being released to the market. Sotheby’s fine wine expert and head of wine Serena Sutcliffe MW once called Champagne Deutz a house for ‘those in the know’. However, on a visit to Champagne nearly 10 years ago, I found Deutz to be a work in progress. But this tasting confirmed t ..read more

Champagne Louis Roederer, one of the most forward-looking estates in Champagne, also learns from looking back. The arrival of not one but five late-release vintage Champagnes from the 1990s redefines both heritage and vision, and reinforces the enduring style of the house’s vintage Champagnes. Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for five Louis Roederer late-release vintage Champagnes {"content":"PC9wPgo8aDI+UmV2aXNpdGluZyByb290czwvaDI+CjxwPuKAmFdlIGFyZSBsYXVuY2hpbmcgc29tZXRoaW5nIHRoYXQgZ29lcyBkZWVwIGludG8gb3VyIHRyYWRpdGlvbiBhbmQgb3VyIGhpc3RvcnkuIFRoaXMgaXMgb3VyIEROQSzigJkgc2FpZCBjZWxs ..read more

It is not often that one gets to taste the past, but the release of Charles Heidsieck’s latest La Collection Crayères afforded a rare opportunity to delve deep into the cellars and glimpse gloriously mature Champagnes. This release includes both bottles and magnums of Charles Heidsieck Vintage 1982, originally released in 1989, and magnums of the house’s prestige cuvée Champagne Charlie, which was made in 1982 and originally released in 1990. Scroll down see tasting notes and scores for Charles Heidsieck’s La Collection Crayères 1982 releases {"content":"PC9wPgo8aDI+VGhlIGVsZW1lbnQgb2YgdGltZT ..read more

How do the non vintage wines compare? Champagne is one of the most fascinating wine regions of France, and it is also one of the most dynamic, as this is where tradition and change go hand in hand. It is technically just one large appellation, but multiple identities and stylistic expressions co-exist, adding to its dynamic force. Still today, for many fun-oriented consumers Champagne remains synonymous with partying. They continue to adhere, if you will, to the ‘party line’ of most Champagne marketing campaigns from the 1980-2000 period. For others, however, it is first and foremost a fine wi ..read more