"Very pale straw-yellow color. Fine mousse. Subtle aromas of flowers and spices. Sweet, creamy and fine, with complex flavors of peach, apple, pear and nutmeg. At once stony and gentle, with a supple, creamy texture and brisk but harmonious acidity. Very nicely balanced blanc de blancs Finishes with lovely length and lingering sweet fruit." 91 points. Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, Nov/Dec '03.

Fashioned from fruit harvested in two outstanding vintages, 1995 and 1996, the non-vintage Cuvee de Reserve (degorge le 29/04/2004) is a blend of equal proportions Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, and Chardonnay. Its intricate aromas display creamed toast, notes of vanilla, minerals, and poached pears. Concentrated, impressively deep as well as rich, this powerful Champagne coats the taster’s palate with loads of spice-laced white fruits and toasty almonds." 93 Points, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate #162 (Dec 2005)

Gaston-Chiquet
At a glance:  

These are sensually gorgeous, hedonistic wines that everyone cozy up to.

How the wines taste:

How Gaston-Chiquet tastes is determined from year to year according to the wines in the cuvees. Nicolas Chiquet disagrees. And he's partly correct; after all, the vineyards are the same, the proportion of grapes in the cuvees is fairly constant, and the blending aims at consistency in the Non-Vintage wines. I may detect minute variations because I wish to; it's what I like about wine, and how my palate was formed. Basically Chiquet's wines are juicy and caramelly, but in some years they have a certain chiseledness and filigree detail that makes them more than mere lip-smackers.

Nicolas Chiquet

More on Gaston-Chiquet:

What on earth is happening at Chiquet?  I mean, the wines have just been screamin’ the past two years, so much so it was almost absurd.  Part of it is the introduction of 1998 wine into the blends, so I asked Nicolas Chiquet “What happened to you in 1998?”  He looked at me wanly.  “We had good weather,” he said.  Read more