Brandon Boesch

9.5

First time with this one and love it. Really opened up after 4 hours of air and I liked it better room temp. I get a bunch of honey, honeysuckle, strawberries, plum, a bit of fruit custard tart. It is definitely austere with good acid but after a few of the recent grower champagnes I’ve recently had that took varnish of my teeth this seems balanced. Wish I would have bought two of these. Disgorged 2021. — 13 days ago

Jay Kline

9.1

Popped and poured from magnum; no formal notes. The Barnaut Grand Réserve NV pours a bright golden color with notes of lemon tart, yellow raspberries, brioche, meringue, tarragon, cashews, yellow flowers and notes of honey as it warms. On the palate, medium acid, rich with chalky minerals. A really quite lovely grower/producer NV made with 2/3 Pinot Noir and 1/3 Chardonnay. No disgorgement data available. — 16 days ago

Brent Young

9.3

Laid in chalk cellars in 2016
Disgorged in 2019

👃Smoky minerality is predominant. Also hazelnuts, patisserie, apples and pears. This is bold

👅Fresh and precise. Good fruit. Full bodied. Pronounced minerality. Minimal oxidative notes. Slight perfume. Excellent acidity and enough sweetness to make this very drinkable.
Tolerated a broad range of temperatures

Solid value for champagne and a champagne that should please a wide audience. (Maybe not the “no dosage” adherents)

And a beatiful bottle no less👍 — 13 days ago

Willie Carter

9.2

And now for something quite different. A champagne rebel and man of his own time and mind, Charles Dufour is producing some extraordinary wines. And they live up to the hype. A nice mild amber color with lazy, small bubbles. The nose is rather intense with a nice bit of nutmeg up front. Plenty of citrus fruit that never overwhelms but is certainly enveloping. Woodsmoke and wood, red apples, and just a little honey.

As natural as natural wine gets. Organic, hand picked, herbicide free. This most certainly tastes natural, in the best way possible. 60% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay, and an added 10% of Pinot Blanc. From beautiful Côte des Bar terroir and aged for two years on lees. 80% of the wine comes from the 2018 harvest with the remaining 20% coming from a perpetual reserve dating back to 2010. With an extra brut dosage of 3 g/l, there’s rather zippy acidity and innate purity here.

This really is one of those bottles that unique and highly, highly expressive. Very nuanced with outrageous complexity. The palate is fantastic with apples and a bit of cinnamon to boot. Every sip screams natural and terroir driven. Special, special stuff. Unique and gorgeous. — 6 days ago

Kevin Løk

8.9

This won a $40 and under bubbles tasting back in December but it's feeling too fruity in May. Still a good value but I'm looking elsewhere for those upcoming Miller-Geitz nuptials. — 3 days ago

with Caroline

Jan A

9.9

This was my wine of the night. Heavy oxidized style, nutty components on the nose that seamlessly transposed to the palate. Moldy yeast components, almost beer like yellow color. Sherry like taste sometimes. Just a jaw dropping wine that blew the other champagnes in the flight away by miles 🚀. — 13 days ago

Willie Carter

9.2

When we talk purity and honesty in wine, Larmandier-Bernier instantly comes to mind. An attractive light golden robe and impressive perlage. The nose is instantly striking with plenty of green apple and butter. Lemon and limes along with marzipan. Chalky and fresh, this is one that you really should just sit with for a while and appreciate. The pastry aromas are absolutely killer here. The citrus fruit notes are really prominent over time. So pretty.

A biodynamic Blanc de Blancs from masters of their terroir. Stately and august while remaining approachable. It’s a wine you want to be effusive. Full of personality, charm, and complexity there’s such power and grace with this champagne. Brilliant acidity but there’s no way I would mark this as zero dosage if tasted blind. Laser like precision here. So classy and luxurious.

In the mouth, this is pure joy. Pure finesse and excellence. Terrific texture and balance. Citrus and slight toasted brioche notes. There’s a really nice streak of spice towards the end, especially on the second day. This champagne may not be right for everyone but it’s certainly right for me. I love this. — 12 days ago

Conrad Green

9.4

Fresh and crystalline with a salty, oyster shell nose. A little sweetness in the front, a fiber mousse with tall detail and transparency. Light on its feet alongside the Dom 02. Not as intense but very pretty. — 4 hours ago

with Walker, David and 1 other

Mario Vaillancourt

8.9

Bouteille un peu moins impressionnate que la précédente, c’est bien surtout pour le prix, pommes mures, assez frais mais semblait plus évoluée et un brin plus “liquoreuse”. 88-89

Nice with ripe apples, some freshness but this bottle was mot as impressive as the last one, a touch more heavy or liquor feel to it. — 4 days ago

Peter van den Besselaar

9.3

Vintage 2016 | Refinement and elegance. Beautiful. 100% Pinot meunier. 4gr dosage, degorgement 9/2020. From Ecueil, a small place with very good growers. | Paired with Sunday lunch, codfish and courgette/tomato ovendish. — 6 days ago