Here’s a very concentrated and sophisticated Champagne that has terrific dried pear fruit and a lot of spiced bread character. Breathtaking intensity and balance at the very long and dramatic finish. So much positive energy! A pure pinot noir that was vinified entirely in oak casks. Limited production. Disgorged June 2022 and marketed with 4.5 g/l dosage. Drink or hold. - Stuart Pigott

From grapes picked in the Le Leon area, a single-plot vineyard covering 2.5 hectares, the 2014 Le Léon extra brut from Philipponnat has a gorgeous, fresh bouquet with aromas of white pepper, spring flowers, red berries, pear, white fruits and menthol intertwined with vanilla and spice notes. Medium to full-bodied, incisive and pure, it’s crystalline with a delicate, beautifully fine-boned and intensely mineral palate that concludes with a penetrating, mouthwatering, very long finish. This 100% Pinot Noir could see its 20th anniversary in fine form. - Yohan Castaing

Philipponnat’s Le Léon single vineyard bottling hails from the same named lieu à dit in the village of Aÿ. Along with the Clos des Goisses, Le Léon was one of the first two vineyards owned by the Philipponnat family (dating all the way back to 1522!). Their parcel is planted entirely to pinot noir and in the 2014 vintage, all of the vins clairs were barrel-fermented for this bottling and did not go through malolactic. The 2014 Le Léon was aged for seven and a half years on its fine lees prior to disgorgement in June of 2022 and finished with a dosage of 4.25 grams per liter. The bouquet is pure and refined, wafting from the glass in a blend of apple, white peach, raw almond, pâtissière, a beautiful base of chalky soil tones and a topnote of white flowers. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very elegant in profile, with a superb core of fruit, excellent soil undertow and grip, sophisticated mousse and excellent length on the complex and impeccably balanced finish. This is great, great juice.

This is a serious, vinous and utterly moreish Pinot Noir from the Vallé de la Marne that defies the difficult reputation of the 2014 vintage. There is a touch of savoury wildness to it, but the blackberry, raspberry and dried apple fruit is fulsome and saturated, lifted with some allspice and shaped with a surprising chalky, mineral tension. Compelling.

A tightly closed fist, the 2014 Champagne Grand Cru Le Lyon Ay Extra Brut is packed with tension and intensity that commands time to ease its grip. From a south-facing slope, but not as steep as the Clos de Goisses, it‘s entirely composed of Pinot Noir without undergoing malolactic fermentation. In the glass, it sports a bright yellow hue and offers up aromas notes of stone fruit with Mirabelle plum and white peach, star anise, and orange peel. The palate is angular and zesty, with nervous energy, and its lively mousse accents its spice and stony mineral texture. With time in the glass, it gains in intensity, revealing a more powerful side that will continue to expand with time. Drink 2025-2045. - Audrey Frick

The 2014 Extra Brut Le Léon is an undeniably attractive Champagne. Dried pear, spice, ginger and dried flowers lend notable complexity. This is a very pretty wine in what was a very challenging year in this part of Champagne. The warm, south-facing site was well positioned considering the cold, rainy weather that was prevalent throughout portions of the summer. -- Antonio Galloni