Very floral nose with hints of fresh baked bread with butter and an unidentifiable sweetness (like something mixed with honey)

Flavours of toasted nuts marry harmoniously with a certain creamy, almost vanilla like quality that seems to rest on a bed of marzipan sweetness

Tiny bubbles tickling the palate and give way to a crisp clean finish of peaches and cream with a bit of toastyness/bitterness reminiscent of almonds roasted very dark and a bit of grapefruit

A favourite of Chris Gifford here at The Corkscrew

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of 007’s appearance on screen and the Bollinger / James Bond partnership, Champagne Bollinger is launching a limited edition of Bollinger La Grande Année 2002. The sleek black and silver bottle will be presented in a special box designed in the shape of a Walther PPK Silencer.

La Grande Année 2002 alone is certainly worth collecting; according to Bollinger Cellar Master Mathieu Kauffman, “it is the most exceptional vintage in the last decade.

Founded in 1818 this house is most famous for this wine. 92 points Wine Enthusiast: "A bone-dry but delicious wine, with red fruits and a beautiful onion-skin colour that just hints at rosé. Lovely acidity completes the serious and highly enjoyable wine." 91 points Stephen Tanzer.

If you like Champagne at all, you'll love this one. It is elegant and focused with a fine perlage, light salmon color, creamy texture and lingering finish. The house is now headed by Francois Billecart, the seventh generation of family owners.

Francois maintains scrupulous standards for his Champagnes, a follower of his forebears' motto: "Tradition is meaningless without great quality." The house style is light and elegant, with emphasis on finesse rather than power. Clean, crisp acidity is a hallmark of Billecart-Salmon. The secret for this is that about 8% still red Pinot Noir from their own vineyard in Mareuil sur Ay is added to the blend, making for a very elegant and subtle wine.

Louis Roederer is one of the largest independent Champagne Houses, owned by the same family, since it was founded in 1776. Under the direction of Louis Roederer, between 1832 and 1870, the house gained top-ranking with world-wide sales of 2.5m bottles, including 390,000 in the USA and 660, 000 in Russia where Louis Roederer champagne was an outstanding success.

In 1876, Louis Roederer II who had succeeded his father created the Cristal cuvee for Tsar Alexander II. Over 134 years later, it remains faithful to its origin, inspired by elegance, purity, and precision.

A classic, generous year, yielding both quantity and quality. 2004 followed the same climatic trends as 2002 : cool, moderate temperatures throughout the season, a considerably reduced, and rainfall (by about 30%) during the growing cycle, which, despite a particularly cold and rainy month of August, was fortunately followed by a dry and sunny September, ripening the grapes off impressively. The Louis Roederer vineyard team worked intensively in this period, and by the 20th September the grapes had attained a “vintage” balance, combining maturity and freshness

60% Pinot noir - 40% Chardonnay – 20% of the wines vinified in oak barrels with weekly batonnage. No malolactic fermentation. To create Rosé champagnes, Louis Roederer still uses the saignée method after cold maceration that can last 5 to 8 days in the liquid phase. Cristal Rosé is matured 6 years in the cellar and rests for 8 months after disgorgement to perfect its maturity

A pastel pink colour with bright, slightly orange glints. Fine, light bubbles in a long-lasting flow. The bouquet is delicate and subtle, with elegant fruitiness (red fruits: strawberry, fig), zesty hints (citrus fruit: lemon and orange) and juicier nuances such as vine peach. There is a deep, slightly sweet burst of aromas.

In the mouth, the bite is young, springlike and energetic: full-bodied and silky, but based on very mineral freshness. This mineral quality is typical for Cristal Rosé, expressing the chalkiness and saltiness of the Aÿ terroir. The second mouth has airy notes and great aromatic purity, displaying the discrete power of this great cuvée. On airing, a few traces of Danish pastry and lightly roasted dried fruits hint at its enormous capacity for change.

A Champagne house with an illustrious pedigree.

A blend of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay (70% 20% and 10% respectively), with a few years of ageing "sur lie" which gives it that gorgeous bready or brioche character.

Champagne houses, Heidsieck & Co Monopole, Charles Heidsieck and Piper-Heidsieck all go back to a Florens-Louis Heidsieck, who formed the company in 1785. Through births, marriages, deaths they became three separate houses and this is our favourite.

Maison JM Gobillard is a small family-owned property with approximately 25 hectares of Premier Cru vineyards in Hautvillers.

The focus is on quality, using hand-harvesting and yields limitation. The results? Aged for three years in the cellar before release, this superb Champagne has a fine delicacy and elegance. A red fruit nose with gorgeous soft texture with summer fruits, buttered toast and creamy feel. Some minerality with lemon towards the clean, crisp finish.

Maison JM Gobillard is a small family-owned property with approximately 25 hectares of Premier Cru vineyards in Hautvillers.

The focus is on quality, using hand-harvesting and yields limitation. The results?

Aged for three years in the cellar before release, this superb Champagne has a fine delicacy and elegance. A red fruit nose with gorgeous soft texture with summer fruits, buttered toast and creamy feel. Some minerality with lemon towards the clean, crisp finish.

40% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Meunier

5% of wines are matured in oak casks with weekly batonnage (stirring of lees). Partial malolactic fermentation brings even more creamy texture.

Brut Premier uses all 3 Champagne grape varieties from more than 40 different plots. The wine is an assemblage of 6 years of harvesting, a part of which comes from the Louis Roederer reserve wine collection, matured in oak casks for several years. It is matured for 3 years in the cellar and rested for 6 months after disgorgement to perfect maturity. Dosage of between 10 and 11 g/l is adapted to each vintage.

Established by Nicolas François in 1818, Billecart Salmon is known within France and around the globe for fashioning the most elegant Champagnes, fully rounded Cuvées with the cleanest palate and eternal, seemingly ageless styling. Non-vintage Champagne does not get better than this.

Jancis Robinson says "I tasted 18 current non vintage cuvées of the most famous champagne houses last week blind – a rare treat – and Billecart-Salmon Brut Réserve was the most impressive for me!"

I'm glad we think like her!

Maison JM Gobillard is a small family-owned property with approximately 25 hectares of Premier Cru vineyards in Hautvillers.

The focus is on quality, using hand-harvesting and yields limitation. The results?

Aged for three years in the cellar before release, this superb Champagne has a fine delicacy and elegance. A red fruit nose with gorgeous soft texture with summer fruits, buttered toast and creamy feel. Some minerality with lemon towards the clean, crisp finish.

Cocoa Atelier is a recent and very welcome addition to our area and we sell a selection of their chocolates in store. Imaginatively made with French flair and the best of ingredients. Dublin now has its own slice of chocolate heaven

Fascinated by the diversity of aromatic expression of the Pinot noir grape in Champagne, Louis Roederer decided to elaborate his Vintage Brut on the structure and power of the Pinot noirs of the Montagne de Reims, where the north-northeast facing vines are slower to ripen and give often rough and closed wines at the start of maturation, the personality of which becomes remarkably more refined and intense under the effects of oak barrels and time. In 1850, he decided to buy more than 15 has of prime Verzenay vineyards so as to control the combination of the grapes for this wine.

70% Pinot noir and 30% Chardonnay. About a 30% of the wine is matured in oak casks with weekly lees stirring or "batonnage". No malolactic fermentation which gives the wine a wonderful structure and texture. It is the matured for at least 4 years in the cellars and rested for 6 months after disgorgement to finish it perfectly. Dosage is between 8 and 10 g/l depending on the year.

Since 1776, the House of Roederer has been adding to their deep knowledge of terroir, soil and climate and separate vinifications.

From the heart of the vineyards on the Côte des Blancs, where limestone soil brings out the finesse and subtlety of Chardonnay, Roederer selected two exceptional wines (Le Mesnil sur Oger and Avize) with typical and complementary characteristics enabling the elaboration of intense wines that are both subtle and aromatic. This elegant vintage soon became the Roederer family’s favourite wine for many occasions.

100% Chardonnay with 15 to 20% of the wines fermented in oak barrels with weekly batonnage and no malolactic fermentation. The finer, softer bubbles for the Blanc de Blancs come from a low pressure technique

It then undergoes an average of 5 years maturation in the cellars and rests six months after disgorgement to finish it perfectly. Dosage of between 8 and 10 g/l depending on the vintage.

A great rosé Champagne should be made from very ripe grapes, a difficult feat in the cool Champagne climate.. That is why Louis Roederer decided to invest in one of the most precocious vineyards of the Champagne region, in Cumières, where the light of the steep, south-facing clay and limestone slopes face is accented by the Marne River, producing high phenolic maturity. In selected plots, Louis Roederer applies precision viticulture adapted to the elaboration of a saignée rosé.

70% Pinot noir, 30% Chardonnay with 20% of the wines fermented in oak barrels with weekly batonnage. No malolactic fermentation was performed, keeping a taut structure throughout. To make rosé champagnes, Roederer still uses the saignée method after a 6-8 day cold maceration.

The structure and richness of our Roederer Brut Rosé makes it a great match for main courses, particularly salmon, lamb, veal, guinea fowl, and other game birds.

Ruinart is Champagne’s oldest house, with a history that dates back to 1729. The wines are quite well-known around the world, where the estate is making an effort to re-establish its presence. Today the wines are made under the guidance of Chef de Caves Frederic Panaiotis, who clearly has an outsize passion for these Champagnes as well as the house’s rich heritage.

Although Ruinart is best known for their vintage Blanc de Blancs, the Rose is perhaps even more fascinating, particularly after a few years in bottle, which in important vintages allows for the Pinot Noir to speak with great eloquence.

The Ruinart wines tend to be medium in body and are made with levels of dosage that are closer to the high end of the spectrum. Although the back labels show codes which can be tracked to disgorgement dates, it would be nice to see Ruinart provide disgorgement dates for its wines

Louis Roederer is one of the largest independent Champagne Houses, owned by the same family, since it was founded in 1776. Under the direction of Louis Roederer, between 1832 and 1870, the house gained top-ranking with world-wide sales of 2.5m bottles, including 390,000 in the USA and 660, 000 in Russia where Louis Roederer champagne was an outstanding success.

In 1876, Louis Roederer II who had succeeded his father created the Cristal cuvee for Tsar Alexander II. Over 134 years later, it remains faithful to its origin, inspired by elegance, purity, and precision.

Critical acclaim

"Exceptionally rich and dense, an exceptional wine that reveals itself in layers, from the first fruit attack to the mineral texture and the way it gradually fills the mouth. Selected from old vines, there is a great flavor in this wine, with the promise of many years' aging.
- 97 Points, The Wine Advocate