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Non-Vintage Collection

Per Case
£250.00

Plus Tutoring & Glassware from TFB

Per Case
£500.00
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Description & Technical Information
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Private Tasting Experience
This is an opportunity to taste seven non-vintage champagnes at your house or at a location of your choosing with an option to be tutored through the tasting. Nick our founder presents most of these tastings.

Non-vintage is the most traditional of all Champagne styles. A blend of multiple varieties, vintages and reserve wines, the idea is to assemble a consistent wine every year. Minimum ageing for non-vintage Champagnes is 15 months, although in reality most are cellared for 2-3 years.

The collection is a complex range of seven prestigious brands that each offer a different insight and experience of the different style of the house.

Included in the collection:
Bollinger Special Cuvée NV: Bollinger allow their non-vintage to mature for three years, which is twice as long as required, as they believe that great champagne needs time to develop its full character. A golden colour with a beautifully fine mousse. The nose is aromatic and complex with ripe fruit and spicy aromas. On the palate, rich apple and peach notes burst through. Hints of brioche and fresh walnut linger on the lasting finish to enhance this powerful Special Cuvée.

Charles Heidsieck Brut Réserve NV: To achieve the depth and complexity of the House style, Charles Heidsieck then age their non-vintage for a further three years after disgorgement, again much longer than the legal requirement of just fifteen months. Pale gold with fine and persistent bubbles, this has wonderfully complex aromas of ripe apricot and almond. On the palate it's extremely creamy, rich and fresh and also surprisingly nutty - likely a consequence of the age and high percentage of reserve wines. This is without doubt one of the best non-vintages around.

Louis Roederer Brut Premier NV: A culmination of wine from eight different harvests. Fine bubbles and a nose of fresh fruit and hawthorn. The inclusion of reserve wines gives it the complexity and roundness characteristic of Louis Roederer champagnes. Smooth, complex palate mingling flavours of apple and pear with blackberries, raspberries and cherries. This is a structured and elegantly mature wine, lively on the mouth with a smooth palate.

Pol Roger Brut Reserve NV: A blend of all three grape varieties from thirty still base wines. On the nose, the champagne is dominated by green apple and brioche. On the palate there is a certain nuttiness and a hint of honey supporting the freshness of the acidity. UK stock receives an additional 6 months post-disgorgement aging so it is ready to drink upon release but cellaring for a few years will reveal greater depths. Brut Réserve is the perfect apéritif champagne, never released until at least three years old.

Taittinger Brut Reserve NV: Produced each year from 95% first pressing of the grape. Renowned for its golden colour with a consistent and fine lingering mousse. The nose is light and delicate with hints of peach and brioche. On the palate it has considerable depth, yet is quite light in style with a subtle elegance and a long fresh finish. A great non-vintage brut.

Ruinart Blanc de Blancs NV: Contains 20-25% reserve wines from the previous two years. A pale yellow golden hue with slight luminous qualities. On the nose, fresh ripe fruits are ever present leading to a floral palate combined with peaches and hints of pineapple. This well-rounded and elegant champagne leaves hints of citrus fruits through to the long-lasting finish.
Expert Reviews
88/100
Essi Avellan MW
“Bollinger: Refined nose with stylish restraint. Carefully intertwined spicy-earthy notes to the lemon, apple pie, baked pear, cinnamon and vanilla tones. Mild deliberately oxidative character beneath the intense fruitiness. Seamless structure on the generous palate. Long, mineral, dry (8-9g/l) finish. Built to last, so deserves additional post-disgorgement ageing.”
EssiAvellan.com
Apr 2016
87/100
Essi Avellan MW
“Bruno Paillard: The Brut Première Cuvée benefits greatly from ageing and Bruno Paillard sees to it that the cuvée has enjoyed extended post-disgorgement aging already upon release. Soft and evolving creamy nose with fresh Pinot fruit coming through alongside burned sugar, red apple, sweet pastry, liquorice, and smoke. Good width and focus on the palate. It turns hazelnutty, charred and caramelly with time. Even over 10-year-old disgorgements can be stunning. Points may rise as high as 92 over time. The 2012 based cuvée is particularly charming with great harmony and depth alongside exemplary vivacity.”
EssiAvellan.com
Apr 2017
17/20
Jancis Robinson MW
“Charles Heidsieck: 2010 base. Disgorged March 2017, to be released at the end of 2017. No 2009 base was made so they jumped to a 2010 base.
Extremely powerful nose powers out of the glass! A certain sweet creaminess on the nose. Really quite rich. Very much more rounded and welcoming than the blend based on 2008. Not that many houses have a seven-year-old NV on the market! Real bullseye for the Charles style. Tastes readier than the 2008 base – a real standout.
Drink 2017-2022”
JancisRobinson.com
Sep 2017
17/20
Jancis Robinson MW
“Louis Roederer: Based on 2013. Disgorged early 2017. This cuvée is just starting out on the market now. Cool year with an October harvest, so a 150-day growing season. 2013 and the next two years were all glorious for Pinot Noir so there is lots of Pinot in this – 65%, of which 52% is Pinot Noir. 35% Chardonnay. Highest malo ever: 56%. Reserve wines constitute 25% (which is the norm). This includes 7% really old wines. Usually there are eight vintages, in this case back to 2004 maybe aged in old oak plus 18% from the year before in stainless steel. Their role is to add consistency. Typically, there will be 120 different batches of wine in Brut Premier.
Flirtatious and lively. Mouth-filling and satisfying. Dancing and lively. A very superior NV champagne.
Drink 2017-2024”
JancisRobinson.com
Aug 2017
16.5/20
Jancis Robinson MW
“Pol Roger: Quite rich on the nose - and palate. Good balance though. Do they make Pure (tasted just before) just to show us the virtues of the regular cuvée?! ”
JancisRobinson.com
Oct 2016
17.5/20
Nick Baker
“Taittinger: Particularly fine and strong stream of bubbles with lots of lemon and lime notes and hints of tropical fruits like guava and pineapple and some creaminess that you don't often see in these non vintage champagnes. Nice and dry and lingering. Lovely today on a hot London day. This current cuvee must have its core part of the blend from one of the great vintages like 2010. Wish this was declared on the label.”
TheFinestBubble.com
Jun 2016
92/100
Essi Avellan MW
“Ruinart Blanc de Blancs: Pale lemon colour. Youthful, gunpowdery mineral nose with straw, floral and lemon notes. Tart, linear, driven palate. Super lean and fresh with a succulent, fruity finish. Can be closed and muted at first but opens up to a beautiful, soft, toasty richness. The 2010 based cuvée is exceptionally good and shows remarkably in magnums. The 2011 was notably lesser whereas the 2012 based ones are opulent and caressing with generous tropical fruit. Beware of storage conditions as the clear glass allows the light to spoil it quickly.”
EssiAvellan.com
Dec 2016
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