Rich and well-spiced, this creamy Champagne is defined by firm acidity and a chalky undertow. Shows a range of flavors, with notes of baked melon, toasted hazelnut, golden apple and lemon preserves accented by a skein of warm baking spices and graphite that winds through and lingers on the finish. Drink now 

If you like uncompromising Champagne, this wine is a steal. Guillaume Doyard focuses this cuvée on 45-year-old chardonnay vines he farms in Vertus, along with estate parcels in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Oger, Avize and Cramant. He ages a portion of the base wine in neutral barrels and, once bottled, en tirage for four years. (The current release is half 2014, the balance from the two prior vintages.) The first pour offers rich, gingery spice, its earthy fruit hinting at apricot and green olive, the long lees aging building textural depths. Come back to it a day later and the wine has opened to a racy purity, lasting with an umami savor and the pale richness of fresh hazelnuts.

Based on the 2017 vintage, complemented by reserve wines from 2016 and 2015, Doyard's NV Brut Blanc de Blancs Cuvée Vendémiaire (2017 base) delivers inviting aromas of citrus oil, crisp stone fruit, almond paste and freshly baked bread, followed by a medium to full-bodied, fleshy palate with tangy acids and a charming, giving profile, concluding with a bright, saline finish. No matter the base vintage, this bottling attains incredible consistency in terms of quality.