30% Chardonnay; 50% Pinot Noir; 20% Pinot Meunier.  Base vintage plus reserve wines going back twenty years.  Fermented in old wood barrique.  No malo.

From magnum.

Late ’90s disgorgement.  Rye straw color.  Quite a bold, masculine nose, with secondary notes that come with maturation, very much open for business: orchard and citrus fruit infused with baking spice, hay, aniseed, mock orange, singed pistachio, toasted marshmallow.  Lush and assertive on the palate, turning slightly smoky and working its way into every recess of the mouth: brandied pear, fig, cracked wheat and vanilla pastry cream.

A citric lemon vibrancy gives focus and lift to the wealth of material here.  Vibrative finish that both cresendos and echos.  Refined bead.  A first rate mousse: precise, welcoming and relaxed.  Easy to be impressed with its dual performance in power and grace: concentrated, rich fruit character informed by a soft, refined mousse.  Real depth of character and flair.  Very fine.