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Staff Favorites - Graham Collis
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Reviews
2018 Billecart-Salmon 250th Anniversary Vintage Champagne
Review Date: 05-07-2026
This is a great bottle to be Billecart-Salmon’s anniversary champagne, as it represents the house so well. This champagne is defined by its elegance and minerality, despite the record-breaking heat in the 2018 vintage. The nose leads with crushed rock, and toasted sourdough, while crisp red apple notes give depth. The palate is consistent with the nose, and the warmth of the 2018 vintage lends lovely roundness and concentration of flavor. The finish is long and crisp. I have tasted this bottle twice within a week now and am already looking forward to the next time I get to enjoy it.
Price:
$119.99
Michel Arnould "Gènese" Verzenay Grand Cru Extra Brut Champagne
Review Date: 04-14-2026
This bottle is a perfect example of Champagne's ability to balance power and elegance. The aromas have a crystalline purity, evoking crisp red apple, freshly baked bread, and roasted hazelnuts. With time in the glass, these fruit and yeasty aromas are peeled back, revealing tremendous saline/iodized mineral character. The palate skips straight to the mineral character that had to be searched for on the nose, and has amazing tension and concentration. I could not help but be reminded of Bollinger's special cuvee while tasting this. Would highly recommend!
Price:
$44.99
Michel Arnould "Observation" Grand Cru Verzenay Brut Champagne
Review Date: 03-25-2026
This Champagne checks all the boxes for me. The nose bursts with bruised apple, cinnamon, and yeasty notes that evoke apple pie. With time in the glass, more subtle layers emerge, including salty, chalky mineral notes. On the palate, the texture is the true star, striking a beautiful balance between tension and roundness. The tension comes from high-quality fruit, 100% sourced from the Grand Cru village of Verzenay, while the roundness is shaped by the roughly 20% use of oak during vinification and élevage. These elements are typically reserved for far more expensive bottles, making this an especially accessible expression of luxury Champagne.
Fallet-Dart Brut Rosé Champagne
Review Date: 03-06-2026
What a great representation of Champagne Rosé! This bottle has loads of different fruit aromas, reminiscent of fruit cocktail, while maintaining Champagne’s signature elegance through hints of sweet cream and toasted brioche. The palate is full of ripe nectarine, red apple, and finishes with a lovely iodized mineral character. This is a crowd pleaser, and at 40 dollars offers great value.
Price:
$39.99
Pierre Mineral Brut Rosé Champagne
Review Date: 02-26-2026
This is a fantastic example of Champagne rosé at an excellent price. The nose and palate are vibrant and full of energy, opening with aromas of slightly underripe strawberry and freshly baked, buttery croissant. On the palate, concentrated flavors of strawberry and wild raspberry take center stage. The finish is bright and precise, driven by razor-sharp acidity. This is a wine that begs to be enjoyed on a sunny day.
Price:
$49.99
2018 Fallet-Dart Extra Brut Champagne
Review Date: 02-19-2026
The nose bursts with perfectly ripe red apple while underlying toastiness and
minerality lends elegance. On the palate, the apple steps slightly back, allowing the
minerality, fine bubbles, and vibrant acidity to shine. The ripeness of the apple
character negates any need for a higher dosage. This checks every box I want from a vintage Champagne, and at fifty dollars, it can’t be beat.
Price:
$49.99
Dérot-Delugny "Retour en Avant" Brut
Review Date: 02-19-2026
This wine truly surprised me. I was worried that Pinot Gris’ high aromatics would overpower the nuance and elegance that defines Champagne, but with one sniff these worries were put to rest. The nose is toasty and chalky, as champagne should be, but still expresses the aromatic profile of Pinot Gris. There is a ton of red apple, pear, and honey on the nose. The palate confirms the nose and is beautifully complemented by a firm streak of acidity. If you like the generous fruit of Prosecco and are interested in trying something more refined, I would give this a try!
Price:
$49.99
2019 Fallet-Dart "Pur Meunier" Champagne
Review Date: 02-18-2026
If you were to look up Meunier in a dictionary, this should be the definition. It checks every box that I look for in Champagne-- bright crunchy fruit, sweet creaminess, savory yeastiness, and a salty chalky minerality. The palate has weight and flesh, and finishes with a jolt of electric acidity that literally makes my mouth water. This bottle rejects the notion that Meunier is just a blending grape. Buy it while you can!
Price:
$69.99
A.D. Coutelas "Cuvée 1809" Brut Champagne
Review Date: 02-12-2026
WOW! This wine offers a beautiful dance between the toasty notes from the oak in which it was vinified, and the yeasty complexity gained from eight years of lees aging. While these elements are lovely and concentrated, they remain restrained, allowing the fruit to express itself through aromas of ripe pear and white flowers. The influence of oak lends a roundness to the palate, which is lifted and energized by vibrant acidity.
Price:
$64.99
Fallet-Dart "Clos du Mont" Brut Champagne (2006)
Review Date: 02-12-2026
This wine shows the depth and complexity that only comes from exceptional fruit and long aging. The seventeen years it spent on its lees before disgorgement are the true star. The nose offers fresh-baked bread and spiced baked apples. The palate is a delightful surprise with every sip. It bursts with lively citrus, crisp apple, and chalky minerality. I found myself wondering how this is only eighty dollars. I don’t know—but don’t question it, just buy and enjoy it.
Price:
$79.99
2023 Domaine Guillaume Curveux Pouilly Fuisse 1er Cru "Les Vignes Blanches"
Review Date: 02-07-2026
Wow this is great value. I could easily be convinced that I am drinking something from the Cote d'or if I hadn't seen the label. While this wine is high in oak, the quality of the 1er cru vineyard is still at the forefront. The wine's limestone character and lemon peel aroma balance the oak, leading to a wine with both elegance and power. The palate is creamy, concentrated and finishes long with mouth-watering acidity.
Price:
$29.99
2016 Fallet-Dart Brut Champagne
Review Date: 02-06-2026
This is an elegant wine. The nose offers minerality, white flowers, and a lovely umami note. The palate shows great concentration—so much energy pulses through this wine. You can sense the limestone and chalk in which the vines were grown, a character I usually associate with far more expensive Champagnes. The finish is soft and lingering. Man do I want another sip.
Price:
$49.99
2024 Domaine Pascal & Mireille Renaud Mâcon-Charnay
Review Date: 02-05-2026
This Macon has everything I want for a daily-drinking Chardonnay. It has a very mineral driven nose, with hints of stone fruits and creaminess. The high quality of this wine, and the 2024 vintage, really come through on the palate. The flavors are concentrated while maintaining great vibrancy. If you like classic Chablis try this!
Price:
$23.99