One of the highlights of the range this year is the NV Extra-Brut Grand Cru La Côte Faron, based on the 2016 vintage and disgorged earlier this year. Bursting with notes of pear, buttered citrus fruits and peach mingled with beeswax, iodine, fresh pastry and vanilla pod, it's medium to full-bodied, pillowy and incisive, with a deep core of fruit, ripe acids and a long, sapid, chalky finish. This is one of the most seamless, refined lieu-dit bottlings in this collection.

Produced from a single plot of 100% Pinot Noir from Aÿ, La Côte Faron NV is based on the 2016 vintage with more than half the blend coming from a perpetual reserve solera started in 1994. A beautiful deep, burnished gold color with hints of amber, the nose unfurls to a depth of concentrated aromas of apple tart, caramel nut toffee, warm brioche plus faint hints of browned butter and chestnut honey. The medium to full-bodied palate is savory and very dry with a luminous halo of stimulating acidity brightening a plush core of black fruit, ripe citrus confit, honey, and lemon balm. Generous and engaging, this 2016 La Côte Faron finishes wonderfully long with a salty bitterness that lingers.

The NV (2016) Extra-Brut Aÿ La Côte Faron emerges from a tiny parcel measuring just 24 acres with a southern exposure. Scents of dried pear, ginger, crushed flowers and red berry fruit all grace this very pretty and expressive Champagne. The smaller scale of the base year is evident, and yet there is plenty going on. This is a very pretty and understated expression of Pinot Noir. Disgorged: February 16, 2023. Bottled with no dosage.