Ployez-Jacquemart : Extra Quality Brut

Complex and alluring, with rich, spicy, buttery pear and vanilla flavors that are focused and intense. Nutty, doughy notes turn creamy on the complex, long finish. Drink now through 1995.

(60% Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier and 40% Chardonnay; roughly 6 g/l dosage; LA 08-230913): Light gold. Spice-accented pear, melon, white peach and honey on the nose and in the mouth. Supple and expansive, with suave floral and gingery spice qualities building with air and adding back-end lift. Finishes supple and long, with lingering tangerine and floral notes and a late jolt of chalky minerals.

Golden, smooth, easy to drink.

The latest release of Ployez-Jacquemart's emblematic NV Extra Quality Brut was disgorged with around five grams per liter dosage after three years on the lees. Mingling aromas of orange oil and fresh peach with hints of brioche and smoke, it's medium to full-bodied, fleshy and enveloping, with a tightly wound core, racy acids and a dry, chalky finish. It will show even better after an additional year or two on cork.