The elegant mineral style of the venerable house of Delamotte is based on a preponderance of Chardonnay from Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Avize and Oger together with Pinot noir from Bouzy, Tours-sur-Marne and Ambonnay, with just a dash of Pinot Meunier from the Vallée de la Marne. Aged on the lees for 30 to 36 months, Delamotte Brut receives only a slight dosage. Delicately toasty, ultra-fresh aromas suggest flesh of green apple and crisp pear, hazelnut cream, with hints of white flowers and lemon peel; a joyous equilibrious mouthfilling frothy feel on the tongue, at once powerful and harmonious, mineral and just toasty, with an agreeable freshness and potency of flavor that carry on long and oh so pleasingly on the tongue.

From the makers of the famed Cristal, Brut Premier is the embodiment of the style of Champagne Louis Roederer. Produce of a bit over half Pinot noir, with about one-third Chardonnay and a touch of Pinot meunier, Brut Premier is a blend of multiple vintage wines enhanced by the addition of about 10% oak-aged wines from Roederer’s extensive reserve cellars. Light gold in color with vivacious and persistent bubbles; refined and complex aromas suggestive of just baking baguette, honey and citrus, with hints of anise, almond and hawthorn; a most refined Brut Premier on the tongue, with a gently expansive froth and a crisp, chalky dry, mouthwatering refreshingness and lasting flavors a most welcome reprise of those first lovely whiffs. While supplies last: $40.00 the bottle  $204.00 the case of six

Bollinger Brut Special Cuvée is the calling card, the purest expression of the style of Champagne Bollinger. Produce of 60% Pinot noir, 25% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot meunier grapes; luminous yellow/gold in color; noticeably and reliably rich and toasty on the nose with nuance of citrus peel and buttered biscuit; full‑bodied and dry, frothy and toasty on the tongue with bold, sumptuous and satisfying depth of flavor.

Founded in 1849, Pol Roger is one of only a few Grande Marque Champagne houses that remain family owned and operated. Pol Roger Brut White Foil is produced from the first pressing only of fruit from Premier and Grand Cru Vineyards, about ⅓ each Chardonnay from Cote des Blancs, Pinot Noir from Montagne de Reims, and Pinot Meunier from Vallee de la Marne and Petite Valle d'Epernay: pale gold in color with an ultra fine bead; flowery, delicately toasty aroma; creamy textured, then supremely balanced on the tongue with a dry, well-rounded and harmonious finish that so elegantly cajoles another pull. We find it delectable. And, if it is true that a Champagne house be judged by the quality and consistency of their House Brut, then the house of Pol Roger, in our humble estimation, ranks among those at the very top.

Based on ‘09 (they do a sort of solera where each year’s NV is based on the most recently available vintage, combined with the previous year’s blend), disgorged 11/11; it’s riper, warmer and easier than last year’s ‘08-based wine, less vertical and flowery; more satsumas and tonka bean and soursop; the palate is stupidly chalky, a little drier (6.2 vs. 6.7) than last year; spicy and vinous and salty and long. Fantastically impressive, in command, no quarter. - Terry Theise, author and wine-importer extraordinaire, from his 2012 Champagne catalogue. Regularly $55.00 the bottle, on sale while supplies last at:

Krug Grande Cuvée is the signature wine of the great Champagne House of Krug and, to be sure, a considerable demonstration of the skill and the intuitive craftsmanship requisite in the making of the very finest Champagne. Typically, Krug Grande Cuvée is composed of from as many as 50 wines from 20 to 25 crus and from six to ten different vintages, a work carried on by (among others in the Krug inner sanctum) the family Krug itself, the end result of which is a shimmering sparkling wine, seemingly effortlessly balancing richness and freshness, power and finesse. Brilliant golden in color with aromas that are deep and profound, already suggesting the very best that might be coaxed from mere grapes grown in such a wonderful chalky soil; there’s a fine toasty quality, for sure, a suggestion of citrus preserve and perhaps a fine wildflower honey with nuance of baking spice, but, truly, words elude us; yet there is surely a sense of the grandeur of it all at work here; the wine just struts out onto the tongue with presence and power, yet perfectly balanced and proportioned, like a vinous version of the big bang, bursting and expanding with complex flavors and, as it has so well been put, "finishing in a final flourish of freshness leaving one longing for more." If there were one name in Champagne that gets the tongues of our discerning Champagne-loving clientèle (and ours, as well) most atwitter, it’s Krug! Regularly $162.50 the bottle, on sale now at: