Daosa Late Disgorged Blanc de Blancs 2017

Sparkling or Champagne that spends this amount of time on lees, 90 months in this case, can have too much savouriness and leesy-ness, without enough freshness or fruit. However, the Daosa Blanc de Blancs is gorgeous, mineral, generous and intense, without any loss of freshness or fruit profile. It’s a remarkable feat in sparkling winemaking and a testament to the quality of the fruit coming off the Bizot site. Honeycomb, spring jasmine, ginger biscuit, white and yellow peach, toasted almonds, cooking spices and apricot marmalade. Silky, fine and long, perfectly balanced and with a sense of effortlessness, with nothing forced. Unlike so much Grower Champagne, it doesn’t try too hard. If it’s a statement of sorts, it’s pure, drinking pleasure.

From a single site – the Bizot family vineyard. All chardonnay. Barrel maturation employed. A foamy texture belies the detail of fruit, spice, savoury oak seasoning and freshness here. Summer fruits, biscuits and bread, toast and cinnamon and honey and marshmallow and ginger. Intense, saline acidity and bristling, tight and fine bubbles. A little glossiness of intensity even with the freshness. It’s rich but lively, coursing with energy and yet shows off the mature fruit and secondary characters so well. A kaleidoscopic experience, per se. Just straight-up fantastic, and a world beater. 96 points – Mike Bennie, Halliday Wine Companion