Originally a part of the legendary Piper-Heidsieck Champagne house, Rare is moving their Champagne Millésime to a new brand and want it to stand alone. (Think Delamotte and Salon.) The 13th vintage for this cuvée, the 2013 Champagne Millésime is a blend is 70% Chardonnay with the rest Pinot Noir, with the majority of the blend coming from the Montagne de Reims Grand Cru and Premier Cru. A bright yellow hue, its aromatics are exquisite and well-balanced, with fresh notes of key lime, candied apple, fresh croissant dough, fresh pineapple, and honeysuckle. Medium to full-bodied, it fills the palate with a rounded and supple texture and a pillowy mousse. It’s long on the palate and has a silky personality as well as a long, pristine finish. It has fantastic balance of decadence and freshness, and I could drink this all day. It’s going to have a long drinking window. Drink 2024-2044 and beyond. Disgorged December 2022. - Audrey Frick

The nose opens with an initial whiff of creaminess, followed by hints of creamy polenta and tart yet aromatic citrus and chalk. The palate is immediately striking with saltiness and savouriness. The foam is rich and tiny bubbles burst, releasing the citric charm of lemon and white grapefruit. There is something driven, vertical and precise on the taut body, softened by that creamy generosity and subtle oyster shell appeal of the mousse. The finish holds a delicious frisson of white pepper and grapefruit zest spice. A very straight-laced wine for now that will unfold in its long future.

An elegant, finessed Champagne, with the creamy mousse carrying a finely meshed yet concentrated range of blackberry puree and poached apricot flavors, plus blood orange peel, salted pistachio and aromatic accents of verbena, chalk and oyster shell. Shows mouthwatering acidity that carries the complex profile on the long finish. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Drink now through 2038. – AN

(94+ points) From a cool, late-ripening vintage that saw harvest extend into October—a year defined by relatively low temperatures yet enough sunshine—the 2013 Rare Millésime, released ahead of its 2012 counterpart, was disgorged at the end of 2023 with a dosage of nine grams per liter. It opens in the glass with a youthfully reserved bouquet of white flowers, passion fruit, buttered toast and lemon oil, with a deft touch of smoky reduction. On the palate, it is medium- to full-bodied, bright and tightly wound, revealing a crisp core of fruit that beautifully integrates its racy spine of acidity, enlivened by a pillowy mousse, culminating in a long, saline finish. Whereas the 2012 is more flamboyant and expressive, the 2013 is leaner, lighter structured, and slower to reveal its charms, promising to blossom further with additional bottle age. The blend follows the house approach: 70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot Noir, with Montagne de Reims as the principal source. - Kristaps Karklins