Péters/Pierre Brut BdB Champagne Les Chétillons Cuvée Spéciale 2016

97 points Tyson Stelzer (The Champagne Guide): "(tasted in 2023 in France; 100% chardonnay; Les Chétillons, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger; 3 plots of vines aged 40-70 years, vinified separately; partial malolactic fermentation (since 2008); aged at least 6 years on lees). I love the classic elegance and precision of 2016, radiating a pale straw hue and defined by the classic lemon/apple line of Le Mesnil with a generosity of breadth reminiscent of white peach. The bright, glistening pyrotechnics of Chétillons chalk minerality explodes in a brilliant display of salinity, defining a long and energetic finish. Lees age is already building spicy, nutty, honey overtones and the start of creaminess in its texture. Medium-term potential. Outstanding. (Edition VII; 2024)"

97 points Claire Nesbitt (JamesSuckling.com): "This is very pure and mineral with chalk, lemon and white-grapefruit notes. It's laser-focused and sleek with vibrant acidity. Tight bubbles. Cool, long and precise. 100% chardonnay. 4g/L dosage. Disgorged 2023. Drink or hold. (7/22/24)"

96 points Antonio Galloni (Vinous): "The 2016 Brut Cuvée Spéciale Les Chétillons is an explosive, heady wine. It is, to me, a quintessentially modern Chétillons that offers plenty of Mesnil energy, yet also has more than enough fruit to avoid any feeling of the austerity that once characterized these wines. Crushed rocks, slate, mint, lemon peel and white flowers are all beautifully delineated throughout. The decision to delay the release of this wine by a year going forward seems very well judged. Today, the 2016 is showing so much better than it did last year. Dosage is 4 grams per liter. Disgorged: July 2023. Drink: 2024-2036. (Mar 2024)"

96 points/'Highly Recommended,' Wine Spectator: "This enticing Champagne glides across the palate with the cool poise of Grace Kelly on the big screen, showing finesse and elegant detail but also a sense of vitality that makes it hard to stop sipping. Creamy in texture, this is driven by chiseled acidity, which makes a finely knit frame for flavors of ripe green apple, crunchy white peach, blanched almond, fleur de sel and blood orange pith as they expand on the palate and the lasting finish. Drink now through 2036. 150 cases imported. (12/15/23)"

95 points Simon Field, MW (Decanter): "Rodolphe Péters' most celebrated cuvée is a blend of three parts of the Chétillon vineyard in Le Mesnil, embodying the village's glacial, tense and exacting Chardonnay. It's a cuvée that requires some patience, although the relatively forward 2016 vintage is already revving up with intense dried citrus, plum and orange cream, showing all the acceleration and build on the palate that this forceful cuvée, long one of the Côte des Blanc's most impressive parcellaire wines, makes its own. It may not be the purest, most svelte vintage, but 2016's compact energy and structure will serve this wine very well over the next two decades. Drinking Window: 2024-2040. (3/2/24)"

94 points William Kelley (Wine Advocate): "The 2016 Brut Blanc de Blancs Cuvée Spéciale Les Chétillons is showing beautifully, wafting from the glass with aromas of yellow orchard fruit, crisp peaches, freshly baked bread, warm biscuits and hazelnuts. Medium to full-bodied, pillowy and textural, it's layered, racy and fine-boned, with a bright spine of acidity, good concentration and a chalky finish. This comparatively approachable Les Chétillons was disgorged in November 2022 with four grams per liter dosage. Drink: 2023-2042. (12/14/23)"