Ten years on tasting.

70% Chardonnay; 30% Pinot Noir.  From grand cru vineyards in the Côte des Blancs and the Montagne de Reims.  Aged in the bottle on the yeast for at least 5 years   Disgorgement date: April 2011.

Yellow-gold and the most intense of these three cuvées.  Pure and old-viney, with dimensional swell through the middle: hawthorn, asian pear, loomi, horehound.  Marzipan toasted.  Finishes dry and tapered, bathed in a talcum minerality.   A Millésime from Ambonnay that marries gauzy richness with articulation.  A keeper for the cellar.  Now – 2020+.

RIP Lew.  You will always be remembered.