Tyson Stelzer's Champagne recommendations
Tyson Stelzer is one of Australia’s most respected and prolific wine writers. In addition to tasting and reviewing thousands of wines each year, Tyson also specialises in Champagne, and is among the world’s foremost experts in the field. Here are five of Tyson’s top picks for summer!
Louis Roederer et Philippe Starck Brut Nature Rosé 2012
Louis Roederer’s inspired (and more than courageous) ‘infusion’ method of rosé cofermentation produces a soft, silky harmony like nothing else. The inaugural Philippe Starck Rosé has an altogether distinct mood to everything to emerge from this hallowed house to date, fusing juiciness and spiciness with tension like never before. A masterful triumph and downright delicious.
Bollinger PN VZ15 NV
A bright new star has arisen from deep within the pinot noir firmament. Departing Bollinger’s home on the southern slopes of the Montagne de Reims, the house tactically jumped over the hill to the cooler northern aspect of the fabled grand cru of Verzenay in the warm 2015 vintage. Glittering, crystalline energy brilliantly contrasts the exacting pinot noir DNA that is Bollinger.
Billecart-Salmon Vintage 2008
Categorically the finest Billecart Vintage yet, this is a cuvée of laser line and immortal structure that rejoices in the lightning energy of 2008 and the exacting precision engineering of the house. A cuvée to age for at least another 20 years (and it will easily live for 50). In sheer, breathtaking purity, monumental chalk minerality and endless longevity, this is one of the champagne buys of the decade.
Krug Grande Cuvée Edition 168 NV
Krug is older and more complex than ever, its latest iteration a blend of 198 wines from 11 vintages from 2012 back to 1996. And yet it is the most profound declaration of the grand contradiction that is Krug: brighter, paler and fresher than any Grande Cuvée I can recall! Purity and focus lift it to heights not achieved since the epic 2008 base in Edition 164.
Taittinger Comtes de Champagne 2008
One of the most anticipated releases of the decade, the fabled Comtes 2008 has finally reached our shores. A frothing core of salt minerality bores to the depths of Avize and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, the most mineral of sparkling crus in the known universe. With breathtaking precision, zen-like focus and unmitigated drive,