Billecart-Salmon : Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon Rosé 2012

Sleek and elegant, with a seamless knit, this is finely textured, with the raw silk–like mousse carrying flavors of peach skin, white cherry and toast point that show hints of white blossoms, pickled ginger and oyster shell through the lasting finish. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Disgorged winter-spring 2023 (My Origin 121234). Drink now through 2035.

This has a lovely copper color with aromas of cloves, spiced apples, raspberries, gingerbread and pastries. Delicious yeasty and spicy undertones. Excellent density and focus, with fine and firm bubbles, yet it’s light on its feet and so fresh. Long, chalky and salty at the end. Chardonnay and pinot noir. 3.8g/L dosage. Drink or hold.

55% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir (8% of which is added as red wine). Dosage 3.8 g/l. Released April 2024. Super-mature nose, more developed than the Nicolas François. Lots of autolytic persistence and yeastiness. There's a lovely umami aniseed note in the background, with a level of complexity and interest that is especially rare for rosé champagne. (RH)

The 2012 Brut Rosé Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon is a very sexy Champagne, but it is also quite reserved, especially within the context of the year. Crushed rose petal, kirsch, white pepper, slate and mint are all beautifully delineated in a sculpted, taut Rosé. Its finest drinking belongs to the future. Dosage is 3.8 grams per liter. Disgorged: January 2023.

First produced in 1988 and made only in top years, this Champagne is named after the producer's founder. With age (more than nine years on lees), it has developed a patina of toastiness and roundness. There is a toasty character that chimes with this fine wine's crisp texture. Drink now.