The rainy and rot-troubled 2017 didn’t encourage the production of vintage Champagnes, whereas 2016 is a year whose wines I warmly welcome to the market. The growing season was full of challenges, yet the wines manage to charm with their immediate fruity appeal and exemplary freshness. This vintage character was beautifully reflected in Louis Roederer’s pure and vibrant Rosé Vintage, as well as in Leclerc-Briant’s beautifully evolving, bone-dry Blanc de Meuniers.

The initially praised 2015 is altogether a different story with its unexpected vegetal aromatics. For such an overall warm and sunny year, this surprising character is thought to have its origins in hydric stress issues. Even if the character troubles most wines of the vintage at least to some extent, Pol Roger’s lush and fruity Sir Winston Churchill 2015 is a welcome exception.

While 2015 as a vintage isn’t, perhaps, where it was predicted to be, 2014 is exceeding expectations. The year is yielding immediately drinkable, vibrantly fruity wines of appealing freshness and lightness. There is no looking past Bollinger’s particularly elegant La Grande Année Rosé or Piper-Heidsieck’s impressively complex 2014. I also found Delamotte Blanc de Blancs most joyously energising.

Many 2013s are, regrettably, already gone from the market, having for some reason stayed under the radar of the greatest hype and collector appeal. Friends of classically cool years and ultimate finesse in champagnes will cherish them, and those who want to invest in age-worthy bottles should stock up on these. Rare Champagne is a great testament to the vintage’s potential, a sublimely elegant wine for which I predict an even greater future than its brilliant 2008 edition. Taittinger Comtes de Champagne is also arriving on the market now with similar promise, showing beautiful restraint that speaks of exceptional longevity.

The 2012s are ready to impress and are likely to keep on impressing for a long time. In this tasting, there was no beating Laurent-Perrier’s enchantingly characterful Alexandra Rosé, a rare prestige cuvée rosé made with the demanding maceration method. Perrier-Jouët’s Belle Epoque Blanc de Blancs is an equally rare treat and I am most impressed how the 2012 reflects Cramant’s power and mineral elegance in this burstingly fruity vintage.

The 2010 vintage is a curious one thanks to a hot summer that ended with a rainy August, which brought about severe disease pressure. Consequently, few prestige cuvées were made but Ruinart’s magnificent Dom Ruinart showcases the year’s tremendous quality potential for Chardonnay. Here, the expressiveness is further aided by a shift from crown cap to natural cork for tirage, resulting in one of the best Dom Ruinarts ever. The price has taken a big leap up but so has the wine.

Some houses treat their clients to particularly long-aged champagnes. At Billecart-Salmon, the 2009 vintage – known for the roundness and generosity of its wines – produced a particularly creamy and rich Louis Salmon Blanc de Blancs. Time-generated complexity can also be savoured in Bollinger’s divine and age-defying R.D. 2008.

Charles Heidsieck Blanc de Millénaires can famously take time – and it also needs time. After the 1995’s long presence on the market and the extraordinary complexity of the wine, we tend to have sky-high expectations for every new vintage. I have been rather impatiently looking forward to the 2007 to open and show the cuvée’s hallmark toasty richness to its fullest. I am happy to report that the wine is now getting there, making this the moment to stock up on it before the next vintage arrives.

Finally, the tasting highlighted two extraordinary purchases: Moët & Chandon’s long lees-aged Grand Vintage Collections from the 2006 and 1999 vintages. Both are hugely impressive, showing immense complexity from ageing yet impeccable freshness. I was even more lured by the lees-y smoothness and toasty glory of the 2006, a vintage that is not normally on my list of favourites.

READ MORE: THE CHAMPAGNE REPORT 2023

Charles Heidsieck Blanc de Millénaires can famously take time – and it also needs time. After the 1995’s long presence on the market and the extraordinary complexity of the wine, we tend to have sky-high expectations for every new vintage. I have been rather impatiently looking forward to the 2007 to open and show the cuvée’s hallmark toasty richness to its fullest. I am happy to report that the wine is now getting there, making this the moment to stock up on it before the next vintage arrives.

Finally, the tasting highlighted two extraordinary purchases: Moët & Chandon’s long lees-aged Grand Vintage Collections from the 2006 and 1999 vintages. Both are hugely impressive, showing immense complexity from ageing yet impeccable freshness. I was even more lured by the lees-y smoothness and toasty glory of the 2006, a vintage that is not normally on my list of favourites.