Willie Carter

9.2

And now for something quite different. A champagne rebel and man of his own time and mind, Charles Dufour is producing some extraordinary wines. And they live up to the hype. A nice mild amber color with lazy, small bubbles. The nose is rather intense with a nice bit of nutmeg up front. Plenty of citrus fruit that never overwhelms but is certainly enveloping. Woodsmoke and wood, red apples, and just a little honey.

As natural as natural wine gets. Organic, hand picked, herbicide free. This most certainly tastes natural, in the best way possible. 60% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay, and an added 10% of Pinot Blanc. From beautiful Côte des Bar terroir and aged for two years on lees. 80% of the wine comes from the 2018 harvest with the remaining 20% coming from a perpetual reserve dating back to 2010. With an extra brut dosage of 3 g/l, there’s rather zippy acidity and innate purity here.

This really is one of those bottles that unique and highly, highly expressive. Very nuanced with outrageous complexity. The palate is fantastic with apples and a bit of cinnamon to boot. Every sip screams natural and terroir driven. Special, special stuff. Unique and gorgeous. — 12 hours ago

Guillermo Gonzalez

9.1

Tart green apple, lemon/lime. Dosage starting to come through but total crowd pleaser. Aperitif at Tulum villa. — 6 days ago

Jason Keefer

9.0

Crisp, semi-sweet green apple and a bit of lemon rind. Nice bubbs! — 8 days ago

with Natasha

Brent Young

9.3

Laid in chalk cellars in 2016
Disgorged in 2019

👃Smoky minerality is predominant. Also hazelnuts, patisserie, apples and pears. This is bold

👅Fresh and precise. Good fruit. Full bodied. Pronounced minerality. Minimal oxidative notes. Slight perfume. Excellent acidity and enough sweetness to make this very drinkable.
Tolerated a broad range of temperatures

Solid value for champagne and a champagne that should please a wide audience. (Maybe not the “no dosage” adherents)

And a beatiful bottle no less👍 — 8 days ago

Vanessa

9.0

One of our fave go-to Champagnes 🍾 🥂 Perfect poolside sipper at Caesar’s Venus Pool in the desert heat. — 2 days ago

with Deked1

Alan Weinberg

9.5

simply amazing. One of the best showings yet. Just gorgeous wine. — 8 days ago

Chris A

8.9

Simple, refreshing and crisp. Does not overpower at all - Rather it lands softly like a gentle caress on the palette, with green apple and citrus notes in the background like a whisper. Great starter as an aperitif or a solid mixing partner for a mimosa or other sparking drink. Good value for the price - cheers! — 8 hours ago

Jay Kline

9.2

Brought to Tasting Group; presented double-blind (I wanted to hear the taster say, “evidence of gas”…which never gets mentioned since nobody ever brings sparkles). I digress. The wine pours a burnished rose gold color with a persistent mousse. On the nose, baked Granny Smith apple, lemon rind, apricot, macerated raspberries and whipping cream. That palate dazzles with the same, aforementioned fruit though, the apricot comes across more pronounced. There are chalky minerals too. The wine is dry but has a compelling, sweet attack. Acid is medium+. A very long, creamy and almost saline finish that’s immensely satisfying. Some called Franciacorta, some Cava and some Limoux but most called NV Champagne. Blinding sparkling wine can often be tricky. Anyway, this Minière F & R Brut Zero was loved by all. This bottle was heavily based (79%) on the 2016 vintage with the balance coming from 2015. Basically 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay respectively. Disgorged 08/2021. — 11 days ago

Peter van den Besselaar

9.3

Vintage 2016 | Refinement and elegance. Beautiful. 100% Pinot meunier. 4gr dosage, degorgement 9/2020. From Ecueil, a small place with very good growers. | Paired with Sunday lunch, codfish and courgette/tomato ovendish. — 19 hours ago

Peter van den Besselaar

9.1

Vintage 1995 | oxy style | paired with a shrimp mango cocktail — 3 days ago