Entirely Chardonnay from Chouilly, the 2018 Champagne Grand Cru Chardonnay L'Inattendue Brut pours a brilliant pale-yellow hue and offers green apple, lime zest, white flowers, pastry dough, white peach, mint, and flinty earth. Medium to full-bodied, it is focused and silky, with good length and candied lemon lingering through the finish. A lovely Blanc de Blancs with plenty of freshness and room to develop. Drink 2026-2040.

The 2018 L’Inattendue Blanc de Blancs is a one-plot, one-cuvée wine, not made every year. It is 100% Chardonnay all from a single Grand Cru site in Chouilly. It spent 4 years on lees and has 2 grams per liter dosage. It offers up fragrant scents of chamomile, fresh ginger, and almond croissant, leading to a core of green apples, lemongrass, and chalkboard. The palate is delicate yet intense, very dry and crisp with super-fine bubbles and a long chalky finish.

Rapierlike acidity defines this mineral-driven Champagne, which offers a firm, almost crunchy and refined mousse. An overtone of oyster shell and brine laces flavors of glazed apple, baked peach and financier, with accents of lemon curd, crystallized honey and pastry cream. There's an intriguing interplay between the rich profile and firm, focused structure. Drink now through 2038.

Sliced pears, apples and chalk on the nose, with biscuits and chopped nuts. Fresh and clear-cut yet compact on the palate, with a medium body and very fine bubbles. Underlying minerality throughout. Dry. Chardonnay. 2g/L dosage. Drink or hold. Claire Nesbitt Deputy Tasting Editor

93+ The second iteration of this new cuvée from Henriot maintains the demonstrative and expressive style that is characteristic of this new cuvée. The 2018 Brut L'inattendue evokes aromas of peach, ripe orchard fruits and lemon intertwined with menthol notes and slightly smoky hints. Medium to full-bodied, enveloping and elegantly structured, it’s perfectly balanced with a vinous mid-palate and a long, mouthwatering and mineral finish. This is one of the most exciting cuvées from this house, which recently changed hands.