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Another TN forgotten from my birthday.

This was raved about by the wine merchant, so we put aside Billecart-Salmon and Pol Roger and decided to try.

A huge nose of toasted almonds - complete with the butter they were toasted in. Delicious.

Buttery soft entry that gives way to a lovely toast note that lingers for a long time. Hazelnuts toasted on a fire. I don't know enough about describing the texture of champagne but this is light, lively not too so, and gorgeously dry. The fresh acidity is perfectly integrated, announcing itself first as green apples or perhaps gooseberries, rising in the finish to refresh and cleanse, but never too sharp or bitter. The finish, of a medium length, became more acid as the wine was open, the toasty, nutty autolytic notes falling back a little, not that this is a fault.

This is certainly one of my favourite NV's. Seems to be sadly creeping up in price.

Weirdly, I'm finding that almost all Brut Reserve from 'name' marques costs £39.99 wherever you buy it.

Yes, it seems like only yesterday they were all about £25, then they went to just shy of £30, since breaking the £30 barrier they have all swarmed up to £39. I notice with a sense of impending doom that a few, here and there have crept past £40. Even the grower's champagnes, which used to be around 30% cheaper are doing their little all to price themselves at a similar level to the grand marques.