Gimonnet Brut Champagne BdB Millésime de Collection VV 2008 1.5L

98 points Tyson Stelzer (The Champagne Guide): "(disgorged 20 July 2018; 57% Cramant [35% of the vines planted in 1911 and 1913, and 10% more than 40 years old], 29% Chouilly [mostly Mont Aigu planted 1951], 12.5% Cuis Croix-Blanche planted in the 1960s, 1.5% Vertus; aged 9 years on lees; 4.5g/L dosage; cork; 3596 magnums). Didier Gimonnet’s aspirations for Special Club are elegance and ageing potential, and his Millésime de Collection represents a later release of the greatest vintages, exclusively in magnums. His philosophy is to age magnums 10 years on lees. Debuting in 2015 as the most stunning-value prestige cuvée I’d tasted in five years, Special Club 2008 is back for a breathtaking encore, to the tune of just 3596 magnums. Its jaw-droppingly affordable price aside, this cuvée astounded me with its utmost finesse and enduring stamina from the moment it first hit the ground, when I begged you not to touch a bottle for 10 years, and to keep one for at least 30 years. I have marvelled at its freeze-frame slow-motion evolution in bottles since, but there was no anticipating its profound immunity to the passage of time in glorious magnums: it seems as pristinely beach-fresh today as the moment its precious grapes left their grand old vines. My note was virtually unchanged in both of the previous two editions of this Guide, and, unfathomably, again today. In raw, youthful innocence, it’s the definition of pinpoint purity, the epitome of introverted, tightly coiled restraint, revealing only the most subtle signs of its petals beginning to curl open. Beguiling transparency of pure acid drive propels an incredible finish that splashes long and strong with frothy, salty chalk minerality, somehow boring even deeper into its hallowed chalk bedrock in magnum than bottle. Brilliant white cherries and citrus still ring out in clear peals like church bells to an undercurrent of ever so slowly rising nuances of nougat, anise and now toasted brioche. A cuvée of effortless poise, unrelenting drive and breathtaking, scintillating, crystalline purity. Gimonnet’s greatest achievement – at least until 2012. (2020-2021)"

97 points Tyson Stelzer (Decanter): "The best-value sparkling wine of any kind that I have tasted in the past five years. In all its raw, youthful innocence, this is the epitome of introverted, tightly coiled restraint. A beguiling transparency of pure acid drive propels an incredible finish that splashes long and strong with breathtaking, scintillating, crystalline minerality. This is a cuvée of effortless poise and boundless energy. Drinking Window: 2023-2038."